ExxonMobil talks monomaterial functionality in frozen food packaging

29 Apr 2024 --- ExxonMobil partnered with Constantia Drukpol to develop a non-laminated monomaterial freezer film for plant-based food products provider Bonduelle to enhance recyclability and reduce complexity. Azalea Rangel Ramirez, ExxonMobil’s market developer EU for PE primary packaging, talks to Packaging Insights about the product development. 

ExxonMobil found that approximately half of the European freezer film market consists of PE coextruded multilayer films and the other half of laminated films. Bonduelle wanted to switch from complex laminated metalized freezer films to coextruded unlaminated monomaterial PE film to improve potential recyclability and simplify its portfolio.

Utilizing ExxonMobil’s Exceed performance PE, the companies created a packaging solution for freezer films that meets functional requirements such as sealability, mechanical strength and puncture resistance.

“Our role as a resin supplier was to bring the appropriate materials that could contribute to a successful design. We did this by focusing on the required functionality of the packaging,” says Ramirez.

“ExxonMobil’s polymer expertise and broad PE portfolio help to develop specialized formulations. We have strong technical support, which can help develop tailored formulations for different film applications. In the PE business, we are working closely with the industry to bring solutions that help do more with less downgauging and design for recyclability.”

Constantia Drukpol provided the project’s extrusion, packaging and HD flexo-printing expertise, while Bonduelle conducted industrial trials, ensuring that the solution met the market’s demands. 

The new film performs better in puncture and tear resistance, especially for challenging-to-pack vegetables like spinach and broccoli.“By combining expertise and resources, the group leveraged complementary strengths to overcome technical challenges and create a high-performance recyclable freezer film that meets consumers/brand appeal requirements,” remarks Ramirez.

How does ExxonMobil address the challenges associated with recycling multi-material films?
Ramirez: ExxonMobil’s approach involves collaboration with industry partners, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and brand owners to explore new technologies.

By investing in R&D, the company aims to identify viable solutions for recycling laminated films and other complex multi-material packaging, such as chemical or advanced recycling. The company is developing monomaterial formulations that can be easier to recycle than traditional multi-material films by leveraging its expertise in polymers.

One of the key advancements is our broad performance PE portfolio, which is the best in class and has combined superior mechanical properties (stiffness and toughness) while being easy to process. 

The design noted in the Bonduelle case study consisted of a combination of two materials – on the one hand, Exceed 1012 performance PE brings excellent low-temperature toughness and puncture resistance. On the other hand, our latest platform, Exceed S performance PE, utilized in the core layer, offers outstanding stiffness and toughness balance.

How scalable is this solution in terms of meeting the needs of other brands and converters beyond Bonduelle?
Ramirez: First, the successful collaboration between ExxonMobil, Constantia and Bonduelle demonstrates the effectiveness of collaboration in driving innovation and overcoming challenges in the packaging sector. This collaboration model can be replicated with other brands and converters looking to develop recyclable packaging solutions, allowing for knowledge sharing, resource pooling and collective problem-solving. The frozen food packaging is recyclable.

Initial feedback from the market has been positive, and similar freezer film solutions have been implemented. An example would be ExxonMobil, Tobe Packaging Industries and Aegis Packaging created monomaterial, recyclable flexible films that can be used in many food packaging applications, such as stand-up pouches and flow wrappers.

How did you address the challenges of maintaining film integrity during the packaging process for frozen foods?
Ramirez: Bonduelle wanted to improve packaging recyclability, reduce packaging weight and simplify their portfolio, so they decided to switch from complex laminated metalized freezer films to coextruded monomaterial PE film structures that do not use adhesives.

Frozen food films have demanding requirements such as excellent sealability as they are usually packed on a vertical form film and seal line at high speeds. Excellent mechanical strength is also required as frozen food bags are filled with different types of products that can generate pin holes in the film and, as a consequence, can tear apart. Furthermore, low-temperature bag drop resistance is needed because the bags are dropped into the shipping box from quite a height.

In the Bonduelle portfolio, there are two types of vegetables: the “easy to pack” variety like green beans or peas, so no corners on the packaging and the more challenging to pack vegetables like spinach and broccoli, which can have very sharp edges. 

Frozen food films have demanding requirements such as excellent sealability, mechanical strength and resistance.Our project focused on providing a monomaterial PE coextruded solution for the challenging-to-pack vegetables. At the same time, they also simplify their packaging to create a solution that can be used for all types of vegetables, from “easy to pack” to “challenging to pack.” The new packaging meets performance criteria and can use less plastic than previous solutions thanks to downgauging.

The main challenges were designing a film that provided the required mechanical properties mentioned above, used less plastic material, was designed for recyclability and was visually appealing to consumers, in addition to getting the film to run on Bonduelle’s many packaging lines in plants across Europe.

What are ExxonMobil’s plans for packaging R&D?
Ramirez: We aim to continue investment in R&D to explore new materials that can help enhance the sustainability benefits of packaging products. This includes developing performance PE that can help enable solutions designed for recyclability, downgauging and incorporating recycled content (film formulations that can offer light, rigid and stiff films).

ExxonMobil continues collaborating with industry partners, customers and OEMs to help drive innovation. By working together across the value chain, we can leverage collective expertise to help address complex challenges in the packaging sector.

Plastics play a vital role in helping to meet society’s needs. Our expanding advanced recycling capacity offers greater opportunities for collecting and processing hard-to-recycle plastic waste. Our Product Solutions business provides products to help our customers more effectively incorporate recycled content into their products and make plastic packaging easier to recycle by reducing complexity and moving toward monomaterial solutions.

By Radhika Sikaria