JPH0212177Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) This invention uses a gas barrier layer made of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer as the intermediate layer, and a laminated layer using moisture-resistant thermoplastic resin as the inner and outer surface layers. The present invention relates to a multilayer plastic packaging container formed from a plastic body.

(Prior art) A gas barrier layer containing an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer is sandwiched between inner and outer surface layers of a low water absorption resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyester to form a laminated structure, and a bottle,
It is known to form packaging containers such as cups.

In this type of conventional container, in order to prevent the deterioration of the gas barrier properties of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer due to the influence of humidity,
In order to avoid direct contact between the copolymer and water or humidity, a moisture-resistant resin is laminated (Utility Model No. 47).
-23353 Publication), and those in which a desiccant is blended into the copolymer layer or the layer closest to it (U.S. Patent No.
4407897) etc. have been proposed.

(Problems to be Solved) In this laminated structure, although direct contact between the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and water or humidity is avoided, moisture permeating through the moisture-resistant resin layer may be prevented. For example, if the contents are filled and sealed and then heat sterilized to improve the shelf life of the contents, the gas barrier properties will be significantly reduced. There's a problem.

Furthermore, when manufacturing this type of container, there is a problem of regrind (scrap) reuse. That is,
When manufacturing packaging containers from this laminate, burrs due to pinch-off occur when forming bottles, etc., and regrind (scrap) such as punching scraps occurs when forming cups, so reusing them is a resource-saving method. necessary from this point of view.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides for a gas barrier layer containing an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and at least one of the inner and outer surface layers of a moisture-resistant thermoplastic resin.
The above-mentioned problems are solved by providing a regrind layer containing an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and a moisture-resistant thermoplastic resin, and by incorporating a moisture absorbent into the gas barrier layer.

(Function) According to the present invention, by adding a moisture absorbent to the gas barrier layer made of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer,
Even during heat sterilization and hot filling, the adverse effects of moisture on the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer are prevented, and as a result, the deterioration of the gas barrier properties of the container is significantly suppressed.

In other words, when a laminated structure of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as EVOH) is subjected to retort sterilization treatment at 120°C for 30 minutes, the EVOH layer is a moisture-resistant material such as polypropylene. It has been observed that even if the container is sand-chilled with a synthetic resin, the oxygen permeability coefficient of the packaging container after sterilization is 30 times that of the untreated container. This is because under the harsh conditions mentioned above, the water vapor permeability coefficient of the moisture-resistant resin becomes abnormally large, and the EVOH layer is exposed to high temperatures in the presence of a large amount of water vapor, causing internal chemical structure changes such as whitening and gelation. This is thought to be due to changes (eg, loss of intermolecular hydrogen bonds).

On the other hand, in this invention, as mentioned above,
Since the EVOH layer contains a moisture absorbent, permeated water vapor is effectively adsorbed even under retort sterilization conditions, effectively suppressing the deterioration of the gas barrier properties of the EVOH layer.

Further, according to the present invention, by incorporating a moisture absorbent into the EVOH layer (gas barrier layer), it becomes possible to effectively reuse regrind that is a by-product during container manufacturing.

That is, when a blend of an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and a moisture-resistant thermoplastic resin, especially regrind, is reused, its physical properties deteriorate significantly. Since the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer has water absorbing properties, regrind made of this blend is always placed in the atmosphere, so it absorbs water to some extent. Moreover, in melt extrusion of a blend of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and moisture-resistant thermoplastic resin,
Unlike the case of homoextrusion of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers, blended ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers are subjected to very specific conditions.

That is, in the molten resin flow of this blend, the copolymer takes the form of a sea-island distribution in a continuous phase of moisture-resistant resin such as polyolefin, or has a structure distributed in thin layers. Moreover, the moisture in the blend is ethylene-
It is adsorbed on the vinyl alcohol copolymer, and is surrounded by a hydrophobic resin medium. Furthermore, even though ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer can be melt-molded, it is a resin that is more susceptible to thermal deterioration than other resins such as polyethylene and polyolefin, so blends that have undergone a blending process such as pelletizing are not suitable. In particular, in regrinding that has had a history of melt molding, thermal deterioration of the resin has already progressed. When heat acts on this ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, which tends to undergo thermal deterioration, in the presence of water, the thermal deterioration of the resin progresses at an accelerated pace. In other words, it has been found that the presence of water acts as a catalyst for thermal deterioration when remelting an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer that has a history of melting. Moreover, when melting the blend, the water-containing ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer is exposed to the melting temperature in the form of fine particles or layers confined by the hydrophobic resin, so that the copolymer is Under the influence of heat under conditions such as autoclaving, resulting in whitening, gelling, rubberization, foaming, etc., resulting in a decrease in gas barrier properties; a decrease in strength, elongation and impact resistance; resins This causes troubles such as deterioration of flavor due to the gradient of decomposition products, and poor appearance due to coloring, foaming, etc.

In the present invention, by incorporating a moisture absorbent into this EVOH layer, the above-mentioned troubles are solved, and regrinding of blends containing ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, which was difficult to use in the past, is now possible. It can be reused for forming into films or sheets.

(Embodiment) Layer structure of container In FIG. 1 showing an example of the cross-sectional structure of the multilayer plastic container for packaging of the present invention, the container wall 1 of this container has a gas barrier layer mainly composed of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer. 2, and adhesive layer 3, 3
It consists of an inner surface layer 4 and an outer surface layer 5 made of a moisture-resistant resin, which are provided so as to sandwich the gas barrier layer 2 through the layer.

According to the present invention, a regrind layer 6 containing a moisture-resistant thermoplastic resin and an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer is provided between the inner surface layer 4 and the adhesive layer 3. Of course, this regrind layer 6 may also be provided between the outer surface layers 5.

Further, a moisture absorbent is mixed and dispersed in the gas barrier layer 2.

In the present invention, since the gas barrier layer 2 itself contains a moisture absorbent, it is possible to effectively prevent the adverse effects of moisture on the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer.

Container material As the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, use an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer with an ethylene content of 20 to 60 mol%, especially 25 to 50 mol%, and a saponification degree of 96 mol or more, especially 99 mol. % or more is used. The saponified ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer should have a molecular weight sufficient to form a film, and is generally 0.01 dl measured at 30°C in a mixed melt of 85:15 phenol:water by weight. It is desirable to have a viscosity of at least 0.05 dl/g, particularly at least 0.05 dl/g.

As a moisture-resistant resin (low water absorption resin),
Water absorption measured by ASTMD570 is 0.5% or less, especially
Up to 0.1% of thermoplastic resins are used, typical examples of which are thermoplastic polyester resins, especially polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate/isophthalate, polytetramethylene terephthalate, polyethylene/tetramethylene
Examples include terephthalate, polybisphenol A terephthalate/isophthalate, and the like. In addition, low-, medium- or high-density polyethylene, isotactic polypropylene, ethylene-propylene copolymer, polybutene-1, ethylene-butene-1 copolymer, propylene-butene-1 copolymer, ethylene -propylene-butene-1 copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer,
Ionically crosslinked olefin copolymer (ionomer)
Alternatively, olefin resins such as blends thereof and polycarbonates may also be used.

The adhesive resin forming the adhesive layer provided between the gas barrier layer and the regrind layer is as follows:
Generally, at least one carbonyl group (>C=
A thermoplastic resin containing O) in the main chain or side chain in a proportion of 1 to 600 meq/100 g resin, particularly 10 to 500 meq/100 g resin is used.

Suitable examples of adhesives depend on the combination of resin layers; in the case of PET-EVOH, various copolyester adhesives, for example combinations of terephthalic acid with isophthalic acid and/or aliphatic dibasic acids as the acid component. Copolyesters containing, as diol component, a combination of ethylene glycol and/or butanediol with a diol containing long-chain alkylene groups and/or alkyleneoxyalkylene groups; amide repeating units in the polymer chain and ester repeating units, polyesteramides or polyester/polyamide blends, etc. may be mentioned. Furthermore, polyolefin-
In the case of EVOH, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer,
One type or a combination of two or more of ionically crosslinked olefin copolymers, maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene, acrylic acid grafted polyolefins, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, copolymerized polyesters, copolymerized polyamides, etc. can be mentioned.

The regrind layer is made of regrind that is a by-product during container manufacturing, that is, a blend of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and low water absorption thermoplastic resin (LMR).

In this blend, EVOH and LMR can be present in any ratio, but generally speaking, EVOH:LMR is present in a weight ratio of 1:2 to 1:1000, especially 1:3 to 1:500. It is better.

In regrind produced as a by-product during molding, the amount of low water absorption resin is considerably excessive compared to EVOH, such as EVOH:LMR=1:3 to 1:2000.

The blend can contain thermoplastic resins other than EVOH and LMR. That is, since the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer and the low water absorption resin usually do not have thermal adhesive properties, an adhesive resin layer is provided between these two resin layers in a pre-filled manner. Therefore, the adhesive layer resin described above will naturally be mixed into the regrind blend. Further, when this blend is coextruded with another low water resin and/or ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, an adhesive resin may be mixed into the blend.

These carbonyl-containing thermoplastic resins are generally
It is present in an amount of 100 to 0.1 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the total amount of EVOH and LMR.

In the present invention, a moisture absorbent is mixed and dispersed in the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer resin forming the gas barrier layer.

As this moisture absorbent, chemical desiccants known per se can be used, as long as they do not adversely affect the resin and internal products.
Physical desiccants and various water absorbing agents are used; suitable examples include activated alumina (1 to 3
10 _-3 ), anhydrous calcium sulfate (4 x 10 _-3 ), silica gel (6 x 10 _-3 ), magnesium oxide (8 x 10 _-3 )
etc. In addition, the values shown in parentheses are W values,
It is the number of mg of moisture remaining in air 1 that has been dried with the desiccant.

As the water absorbing agent, it is preferable to use a super absorbent resin.

A super-absorbent resin is defined as a resin that is essentially water-insoluble and has the ability to absorb water tens to hundreds of times its weight. This super absorbent resin generally has an ionizable group that contributes to water absorption, and also has a network or crosslinked structure or gel-like structure that makes the resin water-insoluble.

As this super absorbent resin, acrylic acid (salt)
Grafted starch, agrilonitrile-grafted hydrolyzate of starch, starch- or cellulose-based graft derivatives such as acrylic acid (salt) grafted cellulose, crosslinked polyacrylic acid (salt), especially acrylic acid (salt) and divinylbenzene. Copolymers with polyfunctional monomers such as styrene and hydrophobic monomers such as acrylic esters; vinyl alcohol-acrylic acid (salt) blocks produced by saponification of copolymers of vinyl acetate and acrylic esters. Copolymers: Modified polyvinyl alcohols are known in which polyvinyl alcohol is reacted with an acid anhydride such as maleic anhydride or phthalic anhydride to simultaneously introduce a carboxyl group and a crosslinked structure into the side chain. In these resins, the starch, cellulose, or polyvinyl alcohol component has the effect of insolubilizing the polyacrylic acid component and keeping it in a gel state.

In this invention, all of these super absorbent resins can be used, but especially crosslinked polyacrylic acid (salt)
is preferred, and is commercially available from Seitetsu Kagaku Co., Ltd. under the trade names Aqua Keep 4S and Aqua Keep 10SH. Another suitable example is a vinyl alcohol acrylic acid (salt) block copolymer, which is commercially available from Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. under the trade name Sumikagel 5S.

As is clear from the above-mentioned composition and structure, this super absorbent resin itself does not have thermoformability, but according to the present invention, it can be formed into micro spherical particles or micro flake particles. Dispersion in an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer enables lamination by coextrusion, for example.

Furthermore, when used in the present invention, this superabsorbent resin exhibits significant characteristics not found in ordinary desiccants. That is, this super absorbent resin has a characteristic that its saturated moisture absorbency under high temperature or high humidity is significantly larger than that of a desiccant. For example, silica, a typical desiccant, exhibits a saturated moisture absorption rate of less than 40% at a temperature of 40°C (humidity 95%RH), whereas superabsorbent resin has a saturated moisture absorption rate of approximately 160%.
It exhibits a saturated moisture absorption rate that is approximately four times that of the previous one. This tendency becomes more pronounced as the temperature increases. Also, 95%RH
Even under high humidity conditions (temperature 20℃), the saturated moisture absorption of silica is on the order of about 30%, while that of the super absorbent resin used in this invention is on the order of about 100%.
%, which is on the order of about 3 times as much.

However, the fact that this super absorbent resin exhibits extremely high saturated moisture absorption under high temperature and high humidity conditions is due to the fact that
This means that the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer is effectively protected from deterioration of its gas barrier properties during heat sterilization and hot filling. In other words, in heat sterilization of sealed packages, a temperature of 100 to 150°C is used in relation to the type of contents and sterilization time, and a temperature of 70 to 99°C is used in hot filling, and the temperature inside the container is The humidity can be considered to be 100% RH, so ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer is sensitive to the effects of high temperature and the humidity that is reached by passing through the moisture-resistant resin layer (moisture permeability increases at high temperatures). This results in a decrease in gas barrier properties. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the high water absorption resin dispersed in the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer layer exhibits a significantly large saturated moisture absorption rate under high temperature and high humidity conditions. Most of the moisture that passes through is captured by the high water absorption resin, and the deterioration of the gas barrier properties of the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer is significantly suppressed.

Another advantage of using this highly water-absorbing resin is that it has a large water-retaining property, and the dependence of this water-retaining property on pressure is also very small. That is, even if the super absorbent resin particles are dispersed in the gas barrier layer, the hygroscopicity or water retention is high.
Moreover, it has the advantage that moisture is gradually released even when a large amount of moisture is retained.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned moisture absorbent is blended and dispersed in an amount of 2 to 40% by weight, particularly 5 to 35% by weight, based on the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer.

If the blending amount is less than the above range, the property of trapping moisture permeating through the vessel wall will be inferior, while if it exceeds the above range, the moldability in extrusion, injection, etc. will be degraded.

Container In the bulk container of the present invention, the thickness of each layer can vary widely depending on the use, etc., but generally the thickness ratio between the moisture-resistant resin layer forming the inner and outer surface layers and the gas barrier layer is 2. :1 to 1000:1, especially 3:1 to 500:1, and the regrind layer and the moisture-resistant resin layer have a ratio of 10:90 to 90:10, especially 20:80 to 80. : Ideally within the range of 20.

Furthermore, the adhesive layer interposed between the gas barrier layer (EVOH layer) and the regrind layer is at least
Preferably it has a thickness of 3 μm, especially 5 to 30 μm.

The container of the present invention can be manufactured by a method known per se, except for the layered structure described above.

In multilayer simultaneous extrusion, each resin layer is melt-kneaded using an extruder corresponding to the resin layer, and then extruded into a predetermined shape through a multilayer die such as a T-die or a circular die. Furthermore, lamination methods such as dry lamination, sandwich lamination, and extrusion coating may also be employed. The molded article may take the form of a film, a sheet, a parison or pipe for forming a bottle or tube, a preform for forming a bottle or tube, and the like. Formation of bottles from parisons, pipes or preforms is easily accomplished by pinching off the extrudate between a pair of split dies and blowing fluid into the interior. Further, after the pipe or preform is cooled, it is heated to a stretching temperature, stretched in the axial direction, and blow-stretched in the circumferential direction using fluid pressure, thereby obtaining a stretched blow bottle or the like. Furthermore, by subjecting the film or sheet to vacuum forming, pressure forming, stretch forming, plug assist forming, or the like, packaging containers in the form of cups, trays, etc. can be obtained.

(Effects) The above-mentioned container of the present invention prevents the adverse effects of moisture on the ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, and always provides a good gas barrier, not only during container storage but also during heat sterilization and hot filling. retains gender.

Therefore, it is particularly useful as a container for retort food.

In addition, scraps such as burrs generated during container manufacturing can be effectively reused, which is extremely useful from the standpoint of resource conservation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the laminated structure of the container wall of the present invention. 1... Instrument wall, 2... Gas barrier layer, 3... Adhesive layer, 4... Inner surface layer, 5... Outer surface layer, 6...
...Regrind layer.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A gas barrier layer mainly composed of an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, and inner and outer surfaces of a moisture-resistant thermoplastic resin provided so as to sandwich the gas barrier layer through an adhesive layer. In a multilayer plastic container for packaging formed of a laminate of layers, a moisture-resistant thermoplastic resin and an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer are disposed between the adhesive layer and the inner surface layer and/or the outer surface layer. 1. A plastic container characterized by being provided with a regrind layer containing a gas barrier layer containing a moisture absorbent.