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Three different plastic films of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) and low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) were perforated using Nd‐YAG laser. Effects of laser pulse energy were examined by varying energies from 50 to 250 mJ where the pulse duration and pulse repetition were kept constant at 10 ns and 1 Hz, respectively. It was found that perforation diameters of all films increased with increasing pulse energies. Observed perforations were different among the three film types. Explanation was contributed to material inherent property and its interaction with laser. Incorporation of an inorganic filler (i.e. silica based anti‐blocking agent used in packaging film) of 0.5 wt% into the LDPE films (0.5Si‐LDPE) could improve perforation performance for LDPE. This was attributed to an increased thermal diffusivity of the 0.5Si‐LDPE film. Commercial BOPET and BOPP films containing 97 microholes/m2 (hole diameter of ~100 µm) showed an improvement in oxygen transmission rates (OTR) of 18 and 5 times that of the neat films without perforation. In the case of perforated 0.5Si‐LDPE films having similar perforations of 97 microholes/m2 and perforation diameter of 100 µm, a two‐fold increase of OTR was obtained. Gas transmission rates of the microperforated films were measured based on the static method. Measured OTR and CO2TR values of the three films with varying perforation diameters in a range of ~40–300 µm were compared and discussed. Overall results clearly indicate that perforation by laser is an effective process in developing breathable films with tailored oxygen transmission property for fresh produce packaging. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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This study demonstrates a practical means to overcome inherent brittleness problem of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and make PLA feasible as packaging material. PLA with suitable processability is utterly required for package manufacturers, where flexible, tough PLA film is essential for packers and end users. Highly flexible PLA films with 60-fold increase in elongation at break (Eb) over that of the neat PLA were successfully produced by integrating effective reactive blending and economical film blowing process. The 'two-step' blending was used to prepare PLA compound; poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT -another biodegradable polymer) was first blended with 0.5-1% chain extender (epoxy-functionalized styrene acrylic copolymer) (ESA), followed by subsequent blending with PLA in twin-screw extruder. Blown films of reactive blend of PLA/PBAT/ESA (80/20/1) showed impressively high Eb of 250% versus a very low Eb of 4% for the neat PLA. Resulting blown films still possessed high modulus of 2 GPa, yield stress of 50-60 MPa and good toughness of~100 MPa. Significant enhancement in the film's ductility was attributed to homogeneous blend with developed fine strand-like structure as a result of effective in situ compatibilization and good interfacial adhesion between the PLA and PBAT. PLA/PBAT/ESA blend also offered improved processability. Resulting films had acceptable haze of~10% for common packaging, and clearer film close to PLA (≤2%) could be obtained by designing PLA skin layers in multilayer structure. Films of PLA/PBAT/1%ESA exhibit potential as packaging material; their mechanical and optical properties are comparable with or even exceed some existing films used in the market.

Abstract. The goal of this study was to develop antifungal poly(lactic acid) films for food packaging applications. The antifungal compounds, thymol and R-(-)-carvone were incorporated into poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based polymer at 10, 15 and 20% by weight. Film converting process consists of three steps including melt blending, sheet extrusion and biaxial stretching. The incorporation of antifungal compounds into the polymer matrix resulted in decreased T g and T m , increased gas permeabilility, reduced tensile strength and increased elongation at break of the antifungal PLA films.