BIODEGRADABLE POLYPROPYLENE (PP) FILM WITH ECM PROOXIDANT ADDITIVES FOR FOOD PACKAGING APPLICATION: A CASE STUDY

Prooxidant additives represent a promising solution to the problem of environmental polymer waste. Its accelerate the photo- and thermo-oxidation of the materials and consequently, going throw a polymer chain cleavage, make the materials more susceptible to biodegradation (1, 2). The aim of this work was to test the ECM prooxidant additive into a Polypropylene polymer film, usually used in the food packaging field, in order to understand the performance of the resulting material. Multilayer type films (Polymer/Al film/paper) used for biscuit packaging and other film samples by comparison were analysed. Thermal (DTA/TG, DSC), mechanical (stress/strain curves evaluation) and barrier properties to O2 and CO2 gas of film samples where evaluated. Spectroscopic FTIR/ATR analysis was also performed. In comparison a Polylactic acid (PLA) biodegradable polymer was used. Tests were performed before and after food contact.