Development directions of packaging made from polymer materials

• Published in: Hemijska industrija Vol. 65; no. 6; pp. 621 - 635
• Main Authors: Jovanović Slobodan, Džunuzović Jasna V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Association of Chemical Engineers of Serbia 2011
• Subjects: active and intelligent packaging; biopolymers; modified atmosphere packaging; Packaging made from polymer materials; recycled polymers
• ISSN: 0367-598X
• DOI: 10.2298/HEMIND111018087J

World packaging market achieves turnover of about $620 billion per year with one third of this amount being associated to packaging made from polymer materials. It is expected that this kind of packaging consumption will hold at least 3% of world packaging market share in the next five years and that it will surpass the consumption of all other materials used in the packaging production. This can be contributed to product quality, low production costs as well as significant investments made in the development of polymer materials, packaging technology and packaging. This paper presents some development directions for packaging made from polymer materials, such as: packaging in the protective atmosphere, the use of active and intelligent packaging, and the use of biopolymers and recycled polymers for packaging production that come into direct contact with the packed product.