Recyclable-by-Design Polyolefin-Based Flexible Packaging for Whole Milk Powder and Infant Formula

Recyclable-by-Design Polyolefin-Based Flexible Packaging for Whole Milk Powder and Infant Formula | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Recyclable-by-Design Polyolefin-Based Flexible Packaging for Whole Milk Powder and Infant Formula Suman Kumari, Rajendrakumar Anayath, Sandeep Boora This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6611407/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Whole milk powder and infant formula have traditionally been packaged in tinplate cans or multilayer foil-based laminates of PET/Foil/PE or PET/PE/Foil/PE structures. This study explores a recyclable, sustainable polyolefin-based alternative packaging material, BOPP/PE/MetBOPP/PE, designed to maintain high barrier performance. Two multilayer structures: (i) 10µ PET / 7µ Aluminum Foil / 10µ PET / 62µ PE and (ii) 18µ BOPP / 15µ PE / 18µ MetBOPP / 60µ PE were evaluated for key barrier properties, including Water Vapor Transmission Rate (WVTR) and Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR). The first structure is based on 7µ foil, which is an absolute barrier, while the second structure is based on 18µ metallized BOPP having an EVOH layer. The final WVTR and OTR test results for the MetBOPP-based structure are 0.039–0.047 g/m²/24h and 0.042–0.048 cc/m²/24h, respectively successfully meeting the WVTR ≤ 0.31 g/m²/24h (38°C Temp, 90% Relative Humidity) and OTR ≤ 0.33 cc/m²/24h (23°C Temp, 0% Relative Humidity) requirements for whole milk or infant formula products demonstrating its suitability as a high-barrier alternative. While aluminum foil-based laminates are susceptible to flex cracking and are also non-recyclable, the MetBOPP-based structure offers better mechanical integrity, material compatibility, and recyclability due to better miscibility and identification. The amount of metallization as a percentage of total weight also aligns with CEFLEX recycling guidelines of below 5%. Recyclable Sustainable Packaging Redesign WVTR OTR Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6611407","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":580747736,"identity":"c2867f3f-2627-4973-970a-58a52cbe33ec","order_by":0,"name":"Suman Kumari","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNCCAyCCsfEBlAUlidDSbECqFgY2CaIUy8/ITvxccOZwNP/sw20VP9vuMPC3H2A8XIBHi8GN3M3SM24czp1xLrHtZm/bMwaJMwkMh2fg0yKRu0Ga58Ph3IYzjG23GdsOMzDcYGA4zIPXYbmbf4O0zAdqKQZpkSekheFG7jZpHqDDNgC1MIO0GBDSYnDm7TZrnjPpuRvPMDZL9pw7zGN4JrEBv8Paczff5jlmnTvvDPvDDz/KDsvJHT98+DNeh6EDoGLGBlI0jIJRMApGwSjAAgCls1ce0uqO8wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Central University of Harayana","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Suman","middleName":"","lastName":"Kumari","suffix":""},{"id":580747737,"identity":"d963bf4b-8861-4df5-9e41-8b7c86f2600c","order_by":1,"name":"Rajendrakumar Anayath","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rajendrakumar","middleName":"","lastName":"Anayath","suffix":""},{"id":580747738,"identity":"7d2e7b6d-7d9a-4e5c-9d78-b718133a2f0e","order_by":2,"name":"Sandeep Boora","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Central University of Harayana","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sandeep","middleName":"","lastName":"Boora","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-07 11:08:33","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6611407/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6611407/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101398440,"identity":"6fa89e6d-e670-4549-930c-1f07033c0f45","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-29 09:41:30","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":743851,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"RecyclablebyDesignPolyolefinBasedFlexiblePackagingforWholeMilkPowderandInfantFormula.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6611407/v1_covered_a68bdff5-7b3f-4efe-9915-77ab3e5203b9.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Recyclable-by-Design Polyolefin-Based Flexible Packaging for Whole Milk Powder and Infant Formula","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Recyclable, Sustainable, Packaging, Redesign, WVTR, OTR","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6611407/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6611407/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWhole milk powder and infant formula have traditionally been packaged in tinplate cans or multilayer foil-based laminates of PET/Foil/PE or PET/PE/Foil/PE structures. This study explores a recyclable, sustainable polyolefin-based alternative packaging material, BOPP/PE/MetBOPP/PE, designed to maintain high barrier performance. Two multilayer structures: (i) 10\u0026micro; PET / 7\u0026micro; Aluminum Foil / 10\u0026micro; PET / 62\u0026micro; PE and (ii) 18\u0026micro; BOPP / 15\u0026micro; PE / 18\u0026micro; MetBOPP / 60\u0026micro; PE were evaluated for key barrier properties, including Water Vapor Transmission Rate (WVTR) and Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR). The first structure is based on 7\u0026micro; foil, which is an absolute barrier, while the second structure is based on 18\u0026micro; metallized BOPP having an EVOH layer. The final WVTR and OTR test results for the MetBOPP-based structure are 0.039\u0026ndash;0.047 g/m\u0026sup2;/24h and 0.042\u0026ndash;0.048 cc/m\u0026sup2;/24h, respectively successfully meeting the WVTR\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.31 g/m\u0026sup2;/24h (38\u0026deg;C Temp, 90% Relative Humidity) and OTR\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.33 cc/m\u0026sup2;/24h (23\u0026deg;C Temp, 0% Relative Humidity) requirements for whole milk or infant formula products demonstrating its suitability as a high-barrier alternative. While aluminum foil-based laminates are susceptible to flex cracking and are also non-recyclable, the MetBOPP-based structure offers better mechanical integrity, material compatibility, and recyclability due to better miscibility and identification. The amount of metallization as a percentage of total weight also aligns with CEFLEX recycling guidelines of below 5%.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Recyclable-by-Design Polyolefin-Based Flexible Packaging for Whole Milk Powder and Infant Formula","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-28 16:01:49","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6611407/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"26bb3bb6-1598-4599-a416-f014016d9dee","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 28th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"55515561811087923730510760101212792351","date":"2026-05-15T07:21:26+00:00","index":19,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"86370964645811931725279035623937831894","date":"2026-05-11T01:02:06+00:00","index":17,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"175387990225868712169954799009225337030","date":"2026-05-10T12:41:26+00:00","index":16,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-28T16:01:49+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-28 16:01:49","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6611407","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6611407","identity":"rs-6611407","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}