New film hits Chicago: ExxonMobil debuts PET ‘flotation separation’ solution

ExxonMobil Chemical has launched a new film specially designed to assist the flotation separation of labels from PET bottles to assist their recycling, which also offers up to 50% on-bottle shrinkage.

Introducing the its new Label-Lyte 50TD200 shrink sleeve film at the Pack Expo trade show in Chicago today, ExxonMobil said it was suitable for customers who required transverse-direction (TD) shrink sleeves in the food, beverage, healthcare and consumer goods spheres.

Pack Expo also marks the debut of three other Exxon Mobil films, including Metallyte 70MET-HPP, an oriented polypropylene (OPP) film with a proprietary sealant layer, designed for use with chips, crisps and snacks, bakery products, biscuits, cookies and crackers and confectionery.

Targeted at the same sectors, Bicor 18 MAT-S is a one-side matte finish, heat sealable OPP film that offers weight savings of up to 5% compared to fin seal packages.

Raft of new launches

In addition, two new OPPalyte films are also aimed at the frozen foods market, one of which, the 42 WOS-RH, is designed to provide consistent line performance, despite the condensation build-up that sometimes affects performance on frozen dairy production lines.

Laurie Cardillo, global marketing manager, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Films Business, said: “These new products are pushing forward the boundaries of what can be achieved in flexible packaging and labeling, helping our customers to grow their businesses.

According to ExxonMobil – which cited an in-house LCA study from 2012 that was peer reviewed – its new Label-Lyte shrink sleeve film weighs much less than 50µm (micrometer or 0.001mm) PET and OPS (oriented polystyrene) and consumed less energy while producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Separable label demand

Kevin Frydryk, global labels film market development manager, ExxonMobil Chemical said that closed-loop recycling of PET bottles was driving demand for low density TD shrink sleeve label materials that were easily separable from the container.

ExxonMobil said the Label-Lyte film allowed for creative, full-package decoration of complex containers such as contoured plastic bottles, aluminium and steel cans, aerosols and curved glass for “unique brand differentiation”.

Since it offers a lower density (0.9 g/cc) than commonly used TD shrink materials, the company said its 50 micro polyolefin film provided yield advantages, as well as good receptivity to most inks and high print definition.