Nanotechnology Application in Packaging Industry

Nanotechnology is the most promising technology in the 21st century. Nanotechnology is used to nano-synthesize packaging materials, add nanomaterials, modify nanomaterials, or directly use nanomaterials to make product packaging meet specific functional requirements. Technology or packaging products are called nanotechnology. package. Nano packaging aims to change the traditional packaging design, packaging process and technical methods, give full play to the comprehensive characteristics of packaging materials, maximize the function of packaging, protect products, save resources, protect the environment, and create the best social and economic benefits.

Nanomaterials and Technology

Nanometers are a measure of geometric size, defined as 1 x 10-9 m, which is approximately equal to the length of 45 atoms arranged. Nanomaterials mainly refer to materials with special properties that have a geometry within 100nm. Nanomaterials include nanoparticle materials, nanocrystalline materials, and nanocomposites.

Nanotechnology refers to the study of the characteristics and interactions of substances (including the manipulation of atoms and molecules) at the nanometer scale (1 nm to 100 nm), as well as the multidisciplinary science and technology that make use of these characteristics. When a substance is partitioned into the nanoscale, quantum effects begin to affect the properties and structure of the material. Compared to common materials, the final material made of nanoparticles produces great differences in mechanical strength, light, sound, heat, and other aspects. The ultimate goal of nanotechnology is to produce products with specific functions directly based on these characteristics of atoms, molecules, and substances that appear on the nanometer scale.

After the traditional packaging material is nano-modified, the material has high strength, high hardness and high toughness, high barrier property, high degradability and high antibacterial capability, making it most conducive to achieving the packaging function while achieving green packaging materials. The requirements for environmental performance, resource performance, reduction performance, and recycling performance reflect the superior green packaging value and drive and promote revolutionary changes in the packaging industry such as packaging design, production, use, and recycling.

Nanotechnology Application in Packaging Industry

Nano fresh packaging materials

Nano-preservation packaging materials can improve the fresh-keeping effect of fresh fruits and vegetables and extend the shelf life. In the packaging, fruits and vegetables will accelerate the decay rate after the ethylene released by fruits and vegetables reaches a certain concentration. To solve this problem, ethylene absorbers should be added to the fresh-keeping packaging to reduce the ethylene content in the packaging and improve the preservation effect. However, the effect of the currently used ethylene absorbent is not satisfactory. Application of nano-technology can solve this problem. Nano-sized Ag powder has a catalytic effect on the oxidation of ethylene. Adding nano-Ag powder to the fresh-keeping packaging material can accelerate the release of ethylene from the oxidized fruits and vegetables, thereby achieving a good preservation effect.

In addition, in the manufacturing process of corrugated cardboard inner paper, nano-porous ethylene gas absorbing powder can be added to prevent ripening. This nano-sized absorbing powder is a porous powder made mainly of silica and made of silica. Since the silica silica adsorbs more efficiently than activated carbon, rare earth zirconium and zeolite, the use of nano-silica powder-added paper as the backing paper for corrugated paperboard has a better preservation effect.

Nano ink

With the continuous improvement of the packaging and printing quality requirements, the customer's requirements for packaging must not only be of good quality, but also be in line with various special needs such as environmental protection and anti-counterfeiting. Therefore, he also puts forward higher requirements for ink. The fineness and purity of the ink have a great influence on the quality of the packaged product. To print high-quality packaging products, we must have fine, high-purity ink as a guarantee. The fineness of the ink is directly related to the properties of the pigments, fillers and the size of the particles. The fineness of the ink refers to the size of the pigments (including fillers) in the ink and the distribution of pigments and fillers in the binder. Uniformity, which reflects both the quality of the packaged product and the printing rate of the plate.

The research indicates that after chemical modification of the surface of the nano-semiconductor particles, the medium around the particles can strongly influence the optical properties, which is reflected in the red-shift or blue-shift of the absorption spectrum.
Experiments show that there are obvious blue shifts in the light absorption edge of some nanoparticles, and there are some large red shifts in the absorption edge of some nanoparticles. According to this characteristic, if the nano-semiconductor particles are added to yellow and cyan inks to make nano-inks, the purity of the ink can be improved. The use of nano-inks with specific nano-particles to reproduce printed color prints will result in richer levels, brighter colors, and increased ability to represent details. As the nano inks are highly fine and have good flow and lubricity, they can achieve better dispersion, suspension and stability. Therefore, not only the amount of pigments can be reduced in printing, but also the hiding power is high, the gloss is good, and the resin granularity is fine. The film is continuous, uniform and smooth with a thin film and the printed image is clearer. Nano-particles have good surface wettability, they are adsorbed on the surface of the pigment particles in the ink, can greatly improve the ink's lipophilicity and wettability, and can ensure the stability of the entire ink dispersion, so the nano-particles added nanometer Ink printing performance has been greatly improved. At present, nano inks are widely used in high-tech fields such as packaging, ticket security, and infrared sensors.

Nano PET bottles

At present, the PET polymerization intercalation composite technology invented by the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences combines organic montmorillonite and PET monomers into a polymerization tank and successfully prepares PET nanoplastics (NPET). The melt viscosity and crystallization speed of NPET are significantly increased, and the flame retardant performance is also greatly improved. The barrier property of NPET has been greatly improved compared with pure PET, and it meets the requirements for food packaging and can be directly used to manufacture beer, beverage, pesticide and cosmetic bottles.

Nano adhesives and sealants

Adhesives and sealants are important products in the packaging industry and have a wide range of applications. The addition of 50nm to 70nm rubber particles to the resin resulted in significantly improved physical and chemical properties such as seal strength, shear strength, and heat and aging resistance compared to conventional adhesives, resulting in a significant reduction in packaging. And the amount used in the product. The addition of SiO2 as an additive to the adhesive and sealant can greatly increase the adhesive effect of the adhesive and the sealing performance of the sealant. At the same time, in this kind of nano-SiO2 added adhesive and sealant, since the surface of the nano-SiO2 is covered with a layer of organic material, the adhesive and the sealant are hydrophilic, and can be hydrolyzed to avoid sticking. Contamination of the mixture and sealant to the environment.

Nano plastic film

After the nanometer modification of polyvinyl chloride, the plastic film produced by the addition of a degrading agent or a herbicide, in addition to a lower production cost, this type of film can absorb ultraviolet rays having a mid-wavelength of 290 nm to 380 nm in the sun. The rapid degradation and degradation of plastic macromolecules and their degradation into low-molecular weight materials completely degrade them into environmentally friendly products that completely eliminate "white pollution."

Nano UV Varnish

Varnish can increase the gloss of the printing, protect the surface of the printed matter, improve the abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, water resistance of the printed matter, and prevent the print from picking up or sticking. Paper packaging products, surface gloss processing technology is gradually developed to the direction of UV curing UV coating, nano-UV polishing oil to color corrugated box with wear resistance, scratch resistance, moisture, high gloss and other properties. Nano-UV coating oil consists of nano-oligomers, reactive diluents, photoinitiators and other additives.

Nano Packaging Machinery

The ink supply system of the printing press is an important component that guarantees normal printing. The role of the ink roller is to transfer ink to the surface of the printing plate. The effect of the ink roller material on the printing quality is very important. The use of nano-materials can change the elasto-plasticity, oil resistance, acid resistance, solvent resistance, anti-aging and ink affinity, transferability, and abrasion resistance of the ink roller, thereby stabilizing the printing transfer conditions. Similarly, the use of nano-materials can improve the quality of printing blankets, thereby stabilizing the imprinting conditions for printing and improving the quality of printing. Nanotechnology will also be applied to the drive. Such as tiny micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). The microelectronic system can place 1 million micromachines on a silicon wafer, each with an electronic control system. The Texas company in the US has used MEMS technology to develop chips for displaying video images. The printer is equipped with such a thin sensor-transmission device, which can regulate the pressure, speed, position, etc. with great precision. The main problem with printing equipment is the problem of mechanical accuracy. The problem of mechanical accuracy arises due to limitations in the manufacturing technology during the manufacturing process, and secondly, due to mechanical wear during the printing process. The main parts that are easily worn out in the printing equipment are: gears, cams, drum journals and sleeves (or eccentric sleeves) and other components. With the application of nanotechnology, the accuracy and wear-resistance of these key components can be greatly improved, maintenance costs can be reduced, and the printing quality of printed products can be improved.
Conclusion

Nanotechnology is a cutting-edge, comprehensive cross-disciplinary new discipline that has been gradually developed over the past decade or so. It is a combination of modern science and modern technology. Its rapid development will trigger a new industrial revolution in the 21st century. According to a report from the US Business Communications Corporation, carbon black fillers used in the production of rubber products and inks will continue to top the list of nanomaterial demand in the next five years. In the next few years, the global demand for nanomaterials will grow at a 2.7% annual rate, reaching 10.3 million tons by 2010. According to another report, in the food and beverage packaging industry alone, the global sales of nano products reached US$860 million in 2004. In 2002, the global sales of nano products were only US$150 million, and the food and beverage packaging industry had US$100 billion. Market space. Therefore, nano-packages have great potential for market development. In the past, most of the advanced equipment and advanced technologies in the packaging industry in China were imported. The emergence of nanotechnology will bring new opportunities for the development of technological innovation in China's packaging industry. It is believed that in the near future, nanotechnology will be widely used in various fields of packaging and printing, and the changes it brings to the packaging industry will be enormous.