Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.a.

Other

Pepsico, Inc.

Peter Frisk

Jacques A Laurent

Craig D Witty

Bertrand Jaccoud

Anne Roulin

Hans Johansson

A transparent multilayer structure is disclosed such as a flexible self-supporting container for a flowable food product such as fruit juice. The transparent multilayer structure possesses superior barrier properties to oxygen, water vapor and aromatic gases. The multilayer structure may include an exterior layer having a metal oxide deposition laminated to an interior layer through use of an adhesive. In one embodiment, the metal oxide is SiOx where x has a value between 1.5 and 2.2 thereby allowing for a transparent multilayer structure. The metal oxide may be deposited on the exterior layer through a number of various methods. An exemplary method is plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The exterior layer may be composed of a polymer material integrated with a clay mineral between 0.1% and 10% weight of the polymer material. The polymer material may be selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, copolymers of polyethylene terephthalate and mixtures thereof.

Transparent high barrier multilayer structure

A polymeric material integrated with a metal catalyst for promoting the degradation of a sterilants such as hydrogen peroxide and ozone. Examples of possible polymeric materials are PET, COPET and any mixture thereof. The polymer materials are usually configured into containers for aseptic processing. The metal catalyst may be selected from the group consisting of iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, palladium, osmium, iridium, platinum, copper, manganese, salts thereof, oxides thereof and mixtures thereof. The metal catalyst is less than ten percent of the total weight of the modified polymeric material. The metal catalyst may be a plurality of nanosize particles or microsize particles. The metal catalyst may also be applied as a thin film onto a polymeric resin for absorption thereby. The sterilants usually become entrapped in amorphous zones of the polymeric material which results in higher than acceptable levels of sterilants in the containers. The novel polymeric material allows for application of a sterilant in the vapor phase, and substantially reduces the residence time of the sterilant as a container undergoes aseptic processing thereby expediting the aseptic process.

Sterilant degrading polymeric material

A packaging laminate having an integrated polyolefin layer is disclosed wherein the polyolefin is integrated with a nanometer size particle of clay. The nanometer size particles may have a thickness of 0.9 to 100 nanometers, and an aspect ratio of 100 to 2000. The clay particles compose only 0.1 to 10 weight percent of the polyolefin layer. The integrated polyolefin layer provides substantial barrier properties to the packaging laminate. The packaging laminate may be used for a pouch, a PET bottle, a parallelepiped container, a gable top carton, a blow moulded bottle, and other applicable containers for flowable foods such as juice, milk and cheese.

Polyolefin material integrated with nanophase particles

A high barrier, multilayer laminate is disclosed that is suitable for forming packages that contain oxygen sensitive products. The laminate material has a coextruded multilayer material that includes from exterior to interior: i) an outside sealing and decorative layer, ii) a light barrier layer including an adhesive disposed interior to the outside sealing and decorative layer, iii) a barrier polymer layer disposed interior to the light barrier layer, iv) an oxygen scavenger layer including an adhesive disposed interior to the barrier polymer layer, and v) an inside sealing layer disposed interior to the oxygen scavenger layer. A further laminate structure suitable for forming a package containing an oxygen sensitive product is also disclosed. The further laminate includes a first layer of linear low density polyethylene, a carbon black layer including an adhesive disposed interior to the first layer of linear low density polyethylene; a layer of EVOH disposed interior to the carbon black layer, an oxygen scavenger layer including an adhesive disposed interior to the EVOH layer, and a second layer of linear low density polyethylene disposed interior to the scavenger layer.

Multilayer, high barrier laminate

A novel hybrid beverage container having a rigid body and flexible polymer film ends is disclosed herein. The hybrid container may be folded in a closed state for storage, and erected for a filling state. The top end of the container has a recloseable access for filling and sealing the container with a beverage. The container may also have a handle device. In one preferred embodiment, the rigid body is composed of a polyethylene coated fiberboard material. In another embodiment, the rigid body is composed of a mineral filled polyolefin.

Hybrid container having a rigid body and polymer film ends

The container of the present invention is composed of a polymer material integrated with a plurality of nanosize particles of a clay mineral which act to enhance the barrier properties of the container. The polymer material may be PET, COPET or any mixture thereof. The nanocomposite polymer container decreases the permeability of various gases without substantially altering the fabrication method for producing containers composed of PET or COPET material, and without altering the containers themselves. The nanocomposite polymer containers of the present invention are able to accomplish this due to the minimal amount of clay integrated with the polymer material, between 0.1% and 10% weight of the container. The small amount of clay provides a substantial barrier due to the high aspect ratios of the clay particles which will vary between 100 and 2000. The nanocomposite polymer container may be produced using in situ polymerization, solution intercalation, or melt exfoliation to integrate the clay mineral with the polymer material matrix. The clay mineral may be smectite, vermiculite, halloysite or any synthetic analog thereof, with a preference for the montmorillonite species of smectite clays.

Nanocomposite polymer container

The present invention discloses a method and an apparatus for sterilizing a container prior to filling the container with a pumpable food product such as milk, juice, water, soup or yogurt. The present invention uses UV radiation to transform oxygen into ozone at the filling station. The ozone flows into the container thereby sterilizing the container. Subsequently, the container is filled with a desired product and sealed. A preferred source of UV radiation is an excimer lamp.

Bottle sterilization method and apparatus

A high barrier, multilayer laminate is disclosed that is suitable for forming packages that contain oxygen sensitive products. The laminate material comprises a first layer including biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate, a second layer of a high barrier oxide material disposed exterior to the first layer, and a third layer of an adhesive material disposed interior to the first layer and joining the first layer to a fourth coextruded multilayer material. The fourth coextruded multilayer material comprises from exterior to interior: i) a first layer of a polyethylene material, ii) an oxygen scavenging layer comprising a polyethylene and an oxygen scavenger material, wherein the oxygen scavenging layer is disposed interior to the first layer of the polyethylene material, and iii) a second layer of the polyethylene material disposed interior to the oxygen scavenging layer. A further laminate structure suitable for forming a package containing an oxygen sensitive product is also disclosed. The further laminate comprises a first layer comprising biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate, biaxially oriented polyamide, or biaxially oriented polypropylene, a second layer of a high barrier oxide material disposed interior to the first layer, and a third layer of an adhesive material disposed interior to the second layer and joining the second layer to a fourth layer of a polyethylene material. The third layer of adhesive material includes an oxygen scavenger material.

An article composed of a polymer material integrated with an oxygen scavenging agent is disclosed that is suitable for oxygen sensitive contents. Once affixed to the interior of a container, the novel article is capable of scavenging excess oxygen from the enclosed atmosphere of the container without substantially modifying the design of similar container. The article is composed of a polymer material integrated with an oxygen scavenging agent between 0.1 and 1.0 grams. One aspect of the article is a thin film which only surrounds the atmosphere of the container. In most container configurations, the article would be the neck portion of the container. Another aspect of the article is a thin film affixed to the bottom of a sealing cap for the container. The polymer material may be a polyolefin such as polyethylene. The oxygen scavenging agent may be selected from iron based compounds, organic compounds and biologically active compounds. More specifically, the iron based compounds may be selected from pure iron, iron containing organic compounds, FeO.sub.X, and Fe.sub.X O.sub.Z (OH).sub.T. The organic compounds used as oxygen scavenging agents may be selected from ascorbic acid, vitamin E, vitamin B and most other vitamins. The article is in direct contact with the gaseous contents of the atmosphere of the container. The present invention also discloses a method for fabricating an oxygen scavenging container.

Article for scavenging oxygen from a container

A container composed of a polymer material integrated with an oxygen scavenging agent is disclosed that is suitable for oxygen sensitive contents. The novel container is capable of scavenging excess oxygen from the enclosed atmosphere of the container without substantially modifying the design of similar container. The container includes at least one layer composed of a polymer material integrated with an oxygen scavenging agent between 0.01 and 1.0% weight of the entire container. The oxygen scavenging layer only surrounds the atmosphere of the container while the rest of the container has an unmodified layer of the same polymer material. In most container configurations, the modified layer would be the neck portion of the container. The polymer material may be selected from polyethylene terephthalate, a copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate and a mixture thereof. The oxygen scavenging agent may be selected from iron based compounds, organic compounds and biologically active compounds. More specifically, the iron based compounds may be selected from pure iron, iron containing organic compounds, FeO.sub.X, and Fe.sub.X O.sub.Z (OH).sub.T. The organic compounds used as oxygen scavenging agents may be selected from ascorbic acid, vitamin E, vitamin B and most other vitamins. The oxygen scavenging layer is in direct contact with the gaseous contents of the atmosphere of the container. The present invention also discloses a method for fabricating an oxygen scavenging container.

Oxygen scavenging container

A package possessing superior tightness properties against gases, in particular oxygen gas, for the distribution of goods. The package, which, for example, may be a plastic bottle, has a coating applied on the outer walls of the package, the coating comprising a silicon oxide compound of the general chemical formula SiO.sub.x, where x may vary from 1.8 to 2.2. The silicon oxide coating is deposited on the package walls by vacuum deposition, preferably chemical plasma vapor deposition (CPVD), by means of which the coating is deposited in the form of a very thin but nevertheless extremely tight continuous coating of a thickness of less than 2000 .ANG.. After one occasion of use, the package may be cleaned using conventional washing and rinsing solutions which efficiently remove the preceding coating, whereafter the package is provided with a new coating prior to a new product filling.

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Chicago, IL, United States of America

Peter Frisk