Driven by the discussions about recycling targets for plastic packaging, mono-material
packaging structures are receiving more and more interest: for example, biaxially
oriented polypropylene (BOPP) or polyethylene (BOPE) films. Reasons for this are a
better sortability of the packaging and an improved quality of recycling materials. With
mono-material structures the question of barrier solutions and their role for recycling
comes up. If one looks at traditionally used aluminum metallized films or aluminum foil,
future packaging designs demand a transparent barrier solution like AlOx, SiOx or
EVOH.
Here the inline coating technology offers decisive advantages for BOPP and BOPE
applications. Brückner’s newly developed technology is installed between the machine
film orientation (MDO) and the transverse film orientation (TDO) process: A wet
chemical treatment applied there directly inline provides a tailored base-layer (primer)
for the subsequent AlOx / SiOx metallizing step and can be used at regular 3-layer
BOPP or BOPE film stretching lines.
The metallization layer is a perfectly bonded, very homogeneously distributed over the
complete film width and shows outstanding oxygen and water vapor barrier values –
comparable even to high-barrier films such as metallized BOPET or aluminum foil.
Since the coating material is water-based, transparent and in nanometer scale (typically
< 100nm), the environmental impact and effect to the recyclability is minor and thus
within the strict laws and regulations. It is even superior from an economical point of
view to any barrier solution with EVOH. Besides this, the treatment is long-term stable
without decay.
Benefits of inline coating at one glance
Huge variety of possible applications and film types
Cost efficiency
o Thinnest, very consistent coating layers in the nanometer scale
(< 100 nm): Low coating material costs
o No additional corona treatment needed on coated surface
o Low investment costs due to the narrow coating width before transverse
orientation
o Utilization of the transverse orientation unit’s pre-heating zone as dryer:
energy optimized process without separate dryer
o Low operation costs by saving expensive off-line coating processing
steps
Enhanced film properties
o Improved bonding of the coating to the film in the virgin, not yet
crystalline state – superior to offline-coating
o Improved printability
o Significantly higher metal adhesion – perfect barrier improvement after
metallization
(Al / AlOx / SiOx)
o Antifog and antistatic layers
o Long term stable surface energy
o Improved recyclability due to lowest impact of the thin layer technology
The inline coating technology is not only available with new Brückner film stretching
lines but can also be upgraded on used lines. Brückner Servtec has a complete
concept for the line modification:
Tailored upgrade package for existing BOPP film-production lines
Full integration in the existing control system
All necessary modifications of existing components to run inline coated film
Film producers going that upgrading step profit from Brückner Servtec’s know-how of
coating formulations and process, the experience of more than 40 installed Brückner
inline coaters for BOPET and BOPP, the ccomprehensive R&D resources at the
Brückner headquarters as well as a network of corresponding partners in the industry.
Brückner Maschinenbau, the world market leader for film stretching lines, and Brückner
Servtec, offering service & upgrading solutions for film stretching lines, are members of
the Brückner Group, Germany, a worldwide leading supplier of tailor-made engineering
solutions and services for the plastics and packaging industry, with more than 2,600
employees. Other members of the group include Kiefel, specializing in machines for
forming and joining plastic materials for a variety of industries, and PackSys Global, one
of the world’s leading packaging equipment manufacturers.
