PE-ionomer as seal through contamination layer for packaging

The strong ionic network and polarity induced by the ionic moieties in ionomers based on IPC (Ion Pair Comonomer) concept, makes these material very well suited for application in sealing films in general, and particularly when sealing through contamination is required. A good balance between a low sealing initiation temperature (SIT) and a high plateau seal strength and low dependency of temperature vs seal strength near the sealing temperature can be achieved. Such parameters can be tuned by adding a certain % of plastomer to the ionomer. The plastomer / ionomer blends were shown to perform particularly well in presence of contaminants. Good seal through contamination performance was obtained with specific blends, especially for dairy products, ketchup and olive oil, positioning these ionomers as interest candidates as a sealing layer in packaging.