Impact and Lifecycle of New Barrier Polymer in Beverage Carton Recycling: A Lab-Scale Experimental Study
Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The growing emphasis on sustainable packaging and increasing regulatory pressures on recyclability have driven the need for alternative barrier materials in multilayer beverage cartons. This study investigates the recycling behavior of a water-soluble polymer, polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), used as a barrier layer in beverage cartons. A lab-scale experimental setup was designed to simulate industrial recycling conditions and evaluate the solubility, detectability, and potential quantification of PVOH during the hydrapulping process. Methods including UV-Visspectrophotometry, FT-IR spectroscopy, and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) were employed to monitor the polymer’s behavior in both aqueous and solid fractions. A colorimetric method based on iodine complexation was optimized for PVOH quantification. While enzymatic and acid hydrolysis were not implemented in this study, they are proposed as potential future strategies to correct for starch interference, alongside a dual-wavelength technique. Subsystem tests revealed that temperature and film thickness influence PVOH solubility and diffusion dynamics. CEPI-based recyclability trials confirmed partial migration of PVOH into process water, highlighting the importance of robust detection protocols. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how water-soluble barrier polymers behave during recycling. This knowledge may inform future material design and support the development of standardization efforts for recyclable multilayer packaging.
Author: Dursun, Oguzhan
Language: English
Subfield: Polymers and Plastics
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7029451516