Resumen

TUAREZ-PARRAGA, Miguel Alejandro et al. Oxygen Permeability in Food Packaging made of Polypropylene by Injection Molding. Rev Politéc. (Quito) [online]. 2024, vol.53, n.2, pp.27-36. ISSN 2477-8990.  https://doi.org/10.33333/rp.vol53n2.03.

The study of packaging materials has become increasingly important, especially in the packaging of oxygen-sensitive foods, for which various technologies have been implemented to improve the oxygen barrier properties, with the aim of prolonging the shelf life of the products. In this framework, during this research it was proposed to evaluate the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) in containers manufactured by injection molding, through different types of polypropylene (PP). The study was carried out by measuring the OTR in the different types of containers by means of an optical fluorescence analyzer, exposing the containers to a stream of nitrogen on one side and a stream of pure oxygen on the other side. The results revealed 44 % higher permeability in containers that used caps made of random copolymer polypropylene (RC-PP) and containers made of block copolymer polypropylene (BC-PP), compared to containers and caps using only BPCP. These findings indicate that the type of material used significantly influences the OTR, which impacts the performance of packaged products. These results provide relevant information for the development of more efficient packaging in terms of oxygen barrier, which contributes to guaranteeing the quality and shelf life of packaged products.

Palabras clave : Hot runner; rigid packaging; injection molding; polypropylene; oxygen transmission rate; shelf life.

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