Dow’s Pack Studios Adds Advanced Film Technology

Resources for sustainable flexible packaging R&D have taken a robust step forward at Dow’s Pack Studios innovation hub in Freeport, TX, where the company recently installed advanced blown- and cast-film production equipment.

Dow added a machine direction orientation (MDO) unit to Pack Studios’ nine-layer blown-film line and installed a new cast-film extrusion line. Films from the blown-film line are ideal for food and specialty packaging applications, and the cast films are designed for commercial and industrial applications.

Pack Studios is a development and test facility where brand owners and packaging suppliers can experiment with materials and processes. The facility enables users to evaluate packaging performance and sustainability without losing production time on their own lines.

Commercial-scale MDO film tech.

Dow’s new MDO unit supports the production of durable mono-material polyethylene (PE) blown films. According to the company, the addition enables Pack Studios to offer the only in-line, commercial-scale MDO pilot capabilities in North America.

The MDO capability aligns with Dow’s Design for Recyclability initiative, which promotes recyclable mono-material films to replace nonrecyclable, multi-material packaging materials.

DOW

In addition to facilitating recycling, the MDO technology enables lighter-weight film, another sustainability benefit. The MDO unit stretches the plastic to the limit of its tensile strength; thus, less material is needed to produce each package.

The technology provides functional advantages, as well. “The benefit of the MDO process is that it helps improve certain film properties, like optics and stiffness, by stretching in the machine direction,” says Kristin Matter, technical services and Development Lab leader at North America Pack Studios, Dow.

“MDO polyethylene can be used in a variety of applications, such as stand-up pouches, pillow bags, lidding films, flow packs, sachets, and more. Other common packages include those for processed foods and pet foods,” Matter adds. The “majority of food packaging is made using blown-film technology.”

High-density PE (HDPE), medium-density PE (MDPE), linear low-density PE (LLDPE), and plastomers can be used to make MDO films.

“MDO PE is made after the PE is extruded on the blown-film line, and the stretching process helps to elongate the polymer chain, leading to higher crystallinity, strength, and stiffness,” explains Kara Stoney, marketing manager, value chain engagement and sustainable packaging, for Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics business.

“Typical orientated film is laminated with a sealant web that is also PE. This results in a PE-rich structure that is recyclable,” Stoney adds.

Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H) designed Dow’s MDO unit. “Typically, an industrial line does not need to be built or designed for the flexibility we need in research,” Matter says. “In the case of MDO, the Dow team worked alongside W&H on installation design and seamless integration to our existing W&H nine-layer blown-film line.”

Cast-film equipment from SML.

Pack Studios’ new semi-commercial cast-film line features seven extruders, each paired with a six-component blending system. The cast products can be used to make stretch film, the material used to wrap pallet loads for safe, efficient shipping with minimal product damage.

Additional industrial and commercial applications include agriculture films, silage wrap, films used for construction, and billboard films.

Dow’s complex cast-film extrusion technology supports sustainability through film down-gauging, addition of post-consumer recycled plastic, and design for recycling (via mono-material films).

The cast-film line “was a custom design by both SML and Dow to ensure flexibility to use this commercial scale for our wide array of applications for R&D and customer support,” Matter says. “Our team worked closely with each OEM to ensure the equipment was able to support multiple applications.”

Pack Studios’ cast-film line also includes an Erema pelletizing unit that can be used as a standalone system to produce in-house recycled materials for evaluation and testing.