A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF EXTRUSION MELT TEMPERATURE ON THE HOT-TACK AND HEAT SEAL PERFORMANCE OF EXTRUSION COATED POLYETHYLENE

摘要

Polyethylene is commonly extrusion coated onto a variety of substrates for use in food packaging applications. The greatest utility comes from using polyethylene as a sealant layer. It has been determined that extrusion temperature has a significant effect on the hot-tack and heat seal performance of polyethylene. In the resins evaluated, as extrusion temperature increased, hot-tack strength decreased while plateau heat seal strength increased. Characterization of coatings applied at various extrusion temperatures has revealed that changes in molecular weight and crystalline morphology determine heat seal and hot tack performance for polyethylene coatings.