【Green Packaging】Elements of Green Packaging Green Packaging Design Green Packaging Materials

Green packaging design is a packaging design process with the core concepts of environment and resources. Specifically, it refers to the selection of appropriate green packaging materials and the use of green process methods to carry out structural modeling and beautifying decoration design for packaged goods.

Elements of Green Packaging

1. Material elements

Material elements include basic materials (paper materials, plastic materials, glass materials, metal materials, ceramic materials, bamboo and wood materials and other composite materials, etc.) and auxiliary materials (adhesives, coatings and inks, etc.) The material basis for the realization of major functions (protection, convenience and sales) is directly related to the overall function and economic cost of packaging, production and processing methods, and the recycling and disposal of packaging waste.

The material selection in green packaging design should follow the following principles:

(1) Lightweight, thin, easy-to-separate, high-performance packaging materials.

(2) Recyclable and renewable packaging materials.

(3) Edible packaging materials.

(4) Degradable packaging materials.

(5) Packaging materials for natural ecological energy developed by utilizing natural resources.

(6) Try to use paper packaging.

2. Shape Elements

The shape of the package is a major aspect of packaging design, and the shape elements include the size and shape of the display surface of the package. If the shape design is reasonable, packaging materials can be saved, packaging costs can be reduced, and the pressure of environmental protection can be alleviated. When considering the form factor of packaging design, those geometries that save raw material should be preferred. Among various geometric bodies, if the volume is the same, the spherical body has the smallest surface area; for the prism, the surface area of the cube is smaller than the surface area of the cuboid; for the cylinder, when the height of the cylinder is equal to the diameter of the bottom surface, It has the smallest surface area.

Excellent packaging shape design should follow the following principles:

(1) Combined with the characteristics of the product itself, make full use of the formal beauty rules of the external elements of the product.

(2) Adapt to market demand, carry out accurate market positioning, and create brand personality.

(3) "Light, thin, short and small" should be used to prevent excessive packaging, exaggerated packaging and uselessness.

(4) Draw inspiration from nature, and use simulation methods to innovate the design of packaging shapes.

(5) Fully consider the elements of environment and ergonomics.

(6) Actively use new technology and new materials for modern packaging shape design.

(7) Vigorously develop serialized packaging shape design.

3. Technical elements

In order to truly meet the standard of green packaging, relying only on the above four points is not perfect, and green packaging technology is needed as a supplement. The technical elements mentioned here include the equipment in the packaging design. craft. Energy and technology used. The so-called green technology refers to a technical system that can reduce pollution, reduce consumption, control pollution or improve ecology. The technical elements of green packaging design include the following:

(1) The processing equipment and the energy used should be beneficial to environmental protection, and do not produce gas, liquid, light, heat, smell, etc. that are detrimental to the environment. Polluting the production process and the production process do not use low-energy-consuming equipment for the environment. The processing process does not produce toxic and harmful substances.

(2) Strengthen the research on the design of detachable packaging, so that consumers can easily remove the packaging according to environmental protection requirements.

(3) Strengthen the research and development of green additives and green inks.

green packaging design

1. "Harmless materials" for green packaging design

The harmless material of green packaging means that the content of harmful heavy metals such as lead, mercury, chromium and other elements harmful to the human body should be strictly limited in the materials used, and the materials that are non-toxic to the human body and the environment should be selected. Exhaustive, non-scarce resources. When designing green packaging, try to use a single type of packaging material, and use less dissimilar or composite materials. This is due to the consideration that the packaging enters the waste recycling stage. Different packaging materials are mixed together, and the separation requires a lot of work. Improper separation will also reduce the purity of the recycled material.

2. "Production energy saving" of green packaging design

Refers to the cost and energy savings of choosing simple printing and manufacturing methods. Improved design and production methods result in less waste in production, such as using less material than a similar product made of the same material, or cutting waste. Eliminate pre-contamination and air pollution in production by choosing environmentally friendly materials and improving production methods.

3. Circular design of packaging structure

The circular design of the packaging structure refers to the need to simplify the packaging structure. Concise structure with bright graphic design, is a simple modern style packaging. Try to create packaging methods that save on materials and process steps. Use a single material for ingenious internal separation and buffer design to replace the buffer that is harmful to the environment, and form a unified design style inside and outside. Promote sustainable consumption habits of consumers and use design to help them build sustainable lifestyles. Glue-free construction can be used when packaging lighter products to avoid adhesive contamination and facilitate recycling and sorting. Avoiding waste in everyday life by giving used products another function can make recycling a habit rather than a responsibility.

green packaging material

1. Reuse and Recycled Packaging Materials

1. Reuse packaging

Such as beer, beverages, soy sauce, vinegar and other packaging use glass bottles repeatedly. Sweden and other countries implement the repeated reuse of polyester PET beverage bottles and PC milk bottles for more than 20 times. Wellman in the Netherlands and Johnson in the United States recycle 100% of PET containers.

2. Recycled packaging

For example, after the PET bottle is recycled, it can be regenerated by two methods. The physical method refers to direct and thorough purification and crushing, without any residual pollutants, and the treated plastic is directly used to regenerate the packaging container. The chemical method means that after the recycled PET is pulverized and washed, all PET is depolymerized into monomers or partially depolymerized into oligomers with depolymerization agents such as methanol water, ethylene glycol or diethylene glycol under the action of alkaline catalysts, and then purified. Repolymerization of monomers or oligomers into recycled PET resin packaging materials.

3. Reuse and regeneration of packaging materials

It only prolongs the service life of polymer materials such as plastics as packaging materials, and when it reaches its service life, it still faces the problem of waste disposal and environmental pollution.

2. Edible packaging materials

1. Edible packaging film

For decades, the familiar glutinous rice paper used on candy packaging and the corn bake packaging cup for ice cream are typical edible packaging.

The more mature synthetic edible packaging film is the industrially produced pullulan resin in the 1970s. It is an odorless, odorless, non-crystalline, amorphous white powder. It is a non-ionic, non-reducing property. Stable polysaccharide, because it is a polydextrose composed of α-glucoside, is easily soluble in water, and can be used as a viscous, neutral, non-separable, non-gelling aqueous solution. Its 5%-10% aqueous solution can be dried or hot-pressed into a film with a thickness of 0.01mm. This film is transparent, colorless, odorless, non-toxic, tough, high oil resistance, edible, and can be made. Instrument packaging. Its gloss, strength and folding resistance are better than those made of high chain starch.

2. Edible plastic wrap

As early as the 12th and 13th centuries in my country, wax was used to coat oranges and lemons to delay their dehydration and weight loss. Extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

The edible plastic wrap that is generally used now has developed into a multi-component edible film with various functional properties and made of various biological macromolecules (proteins and polysaccharides) and lipids. This composite membrane is mainly a porous, transparent or translucent three-dimensional network structure film formed by the interaction between different molecules, forming a stable emulsion, and then drying to volatilize the solvent. The film has obvious water resistance and certain optional air permeability, so it has broad application prospects in the food industry, especially in the preservation of fruits and vegetables.

3. Degradable materials

A degradable material is a plastic whose chemical structure changes under a specific environment that causes performance loss over a specific period of time. Degradable plastic packaging materials not only have the functions and characteristics of traditional plastics, but also can be split, degraded and reduced in the natural environment through the action of ultraviolet light in sunlight or the action of microorganisms in soil and water after the service life is completed, and finally become non-toxic. The form re-enters the ecological environment and returns to nature.

Degradable plastics are mainly divided into synthetic photodegradable plastics, photodegradable plastics with added photosensitizers and biodegradable plastics, and multifunctional degradable plastics compounded by a variety of degradable plastics. According to the environmental conditions of degradable plastics, there are also photodegradable plastics, biodegradable plastics (completely biodegradable plastics, partially biodegradable plastics), chemically degradable plastics (oxidatively degradable plastics, water-degradable plastics), and the combination of the above three kinds of degradable plastics. Composite degradable material.

Among the synthetic photodegradable plastics, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) are the most produced, and the annual output of Zeneca Company in the UK has reached 1000t. Their performance is similar to that of polyethylene and polypropylene, and the price is about 10 times that of polyethylene. The degradation principle is that the polymer absorbs ultraviolet light to initiate the action, the bond energy is weakened, the long chain is split into fragments of lower molecular weight, and the physical properties are reduced. The lower molecular weight fragments are further oxidized in air, generate free radical chain scission, and further degrade into carbon dioxide and water.

Adding a small amount of photosensitizer during plastic processing can make general plastics into photodegradable plastics. Due to the photoinitiated action and photochemical reaction of the photosensitizer, a free radical initiating source is generated, so the photodegradation process of the polymer can be accelerated. This method is simpler and lower in cost than the copolymerization method. Photodegradable plastics are mainly used in foreign countries as beverage bottles, shopping bags, garbage bags, mulch films, etc. In China Fast food box. Since photodegradable plastics can only be degraded under the condition of sunlight irradiation, it is greatly restricted by geographical environment and climatic conditions, it is difficult to achieve accurate time control, and the buried part cannot be degraded. limits.

Polymers synthesized from petroleum as basic raw materials are difficult to be decomposed by ordinary microorganisms under natural conditions. The polymers and natural polymers synthesized with genes that are prone to hydrolysis have high biodegradability. Most of the research in our country is based on the incomplete biodegradation of starch and polyolefin plastics. The degradation mechanism of this type of plastic is that starch granules are first attacked and consumed by fungi and bacteria, thereby weakening the strength of the plastic. The molecular chain of the polymer is broken, and they promote each other and complement each other. Repeatedly, the polymer chain is gradually broken and shortened, reducing the strength of the plastic, until the molecular weight of the polymer is reduced to the extent that it can be metabolized by microorganisms.