Thin Laminate Films for Barrier Packaging Application – Influence of Down Gauging and Substrate Surface Properties on the Permeation Properties

A reduction in thickness of barrier laminated film systems generally leads to a quality decrease of the resulting packaging materials' functional properties. Especially for food packaging applications, adequate oxygen and water barrier properties are indispensable. The focus of this study was therefore the development of thin film systems using metallized aluminium or ethyl vinyl alcohol barrier laminates with low oxygen and water vapour transmission properties. Biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate and biaxially oriented polypropylene aluminium‐coated thin film laminates as well as corresponding ethyl vinyl alcohol film systems could be successfully produced with oxygen transmission rates of <0.5 cm³(STP)/(m² d bar) and water barrier values of <0.1 g/(m² d). It could be confirmed that the film thickness of these materials within the range of the investigated dimensions does not have an influence on the barrier properties. In fact, the parameters of the production process influence the functional properties of the film systems and must therefore be adapted. Machinability of these excellent thin film systems requires further investigation on packaging lines before they can be transferred to packaging application. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.