Extrusion International 6-2022

62 Extrusion International 6/2022 PLASMA TECHNOLOGY 100% Recycable and Fluorine- free Barrier Coatings for Bottles and Canisters Using Plasma Technology Many sensitive or hazardous products have high barrier requirements on their packaging to guarantee adequate product protection. These requirements are currently often met using multi-material or fluorinated plastic containers. Multi-material containers combine inexpensive packaging plastics with expensive barrier plastics which is a challenge for recycling. Fluorination processes create per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so called ’’forever chemicals’’, which do not degrade in the environment. A ccording to the EU plastic strat- egy & EU Circular Economy action plan, all plastic packaging must be fully recyclable in 2030. But recyclabil- ity is still the major challenge for bar- rier plastics and is preventing many companies to meet the EU and Global commitments and legislative targets. A recent study by the US Environ- mental Protection Agency (EPA) on fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers showed, that they are likely to leach per- and polyfluo - roalkyl substances (PFAS) into pesti- cides and other liquid products that are stored in them. This suggests, that PFAS from fluorinated containers in - evitably spread to the environment and the human body. In the EU, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) towards toxic-free environments under the European Green Deal dedicated special atten- tion to PFAS, considering numerous cases of environmental contamina- tion. A restriction proposal on all PFAS is being prepared by the Dutch Na- tional Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The aim is to ban all non-essential use of PFAS, as stated in the EU CSS as well as in a re- quest from the European Parliament and Council. A use-case is therefore essential, for example, if no safer al- ternative is available. IonKraft – a Spin-Off from the In- stitute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University in Ger- many  – has therefore developed a silicon-based and fluorine-free barrier coating system, which offers the same function as the multi-material and fluorination approach, but since the coating thickness is well below 100 Source: https://cen.acs.org/articles/100/web/2022/09/EPA-confirms-fluorinated-containers-leach.html#: ~:text=September%208%2C%20 2022&text=Plastic%20containers%20made%20of%20fluorinated,US%20Environmental%20Protection%20Agency%20suggest.