Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B15/00—Layered products comprising a layer of metal
  • B32B15/04—Layered products comprising a layer of metal comprising metal as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material
  • B32B15/08—Layered products comprising a layer of metal comprising metal as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material of synthetic resin
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B15/00—Layered products comprising a layer of metal
  • B32B15/20—Layered products comprising a layer of metal comprising aluminium or copper
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B7/00—Layered products characterised by the relation between layers; Layered products characterised by the relative orientation of features between layers, or by the relative values of a measurable parameter between layers, i.e. products comprising layers having different physical, chemical or physicochemical properties; Layered products characterised by the interconnection of layers
  • B32B7/04—Interconnection of layers
  • B32B7/12—Interconnection of layers using interposed adhesives or interposed materials with bonding properties
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B2305/00—Condition, form or state of the layers or laminate
  • B32B2305/70—Scrap or recycled material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B2311/00—Metals, their alloys or their compounds
  • B32B2311/24—Aluminium
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B32—LAYERED PRODUCTS
  • B32B—LAYERED PRODUCTS, i.e. PRODUCTS BUILT-UP OF STRATA OF FLAT OR NON-FLAT, e.g. CELLULAR OR HONEYCOMB, FORM
  • B32B2439/00—Containers; Receptacles
  • B32B2439/70—Food packaging

Definitions

• the present invention is directed to an aluminum foil laminate, and in particular, an aluminum foil laminate used as an intimate wrap or a pouch for food or non-food use which can be recycled into an aluminum can recycling stream.
• confection wrap laminates or layered materials comprising foil-glue-tissue or foil-wax-tissue are employed to wrap chocolate bars, chewing gum, bouillion cubes or other food items.
• pouches for non-food use include a foil layer in conjunction with multiple layers of polyethylene or foil-polyethylene in combination with other organic materials such as glues or the like.
• pouches for non-food items include transdermal devices or condom overwraps .
• pouches for food items includes snack bags and packages for powder dressings, seasonings and chewing tobacco.
• foil layers are used in combination with polyester and either polyethylene or tissue.
• a product enclosure comprising an aluminum foil laminate having a layer of aluminum foil, a film layer and an adhesive disposed between the aluminum foil and film.
• the adhesive and film layer comprise organic compounds and have a weight percentage of the total weight of the product enclosure which is less than a maximum organic compound weight percentage allowed when recycling aluminum containing beverage containers in an aluminum recycling stream.
• the product enclosure contains less than 20% by weight of organic components or at least 80% by weight of aluminum foil. More preferably, the maximum organic content ranges between 5 and 15%.
• the product enclosure may also include on one or both surfaces thereof a printed layer of ink for advertisement purposes or the like or a sealant layer for pouch manufacture.
• the film layer of the aluminum foil laminate can include polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester and vinyl, alone or in combination in multiple layers.
• the film layer may be clear or pigmented.
• the adhesive should be of sufficient weight to bond the film to the foil and can include vinyl, polyester, polyethylene or wax-based adhesives, either overall applied or pattern-applied.
• the foil component may be of any known aluminum alloy capable of being made into a foil material and can include any temper or any foil gauge.
• the inventive aluminum foil laminate can be used in a method of recycling aluminum beverage wherein beverage containers are melted down to recover aluminum therein.
• a product enclosure comprising an aluminum foil laminate including a layer of aluminum foil, a film layer and an adhesive disposed therebetween.
• the film layer and adhesive comprise organic compounds having a weight percentage of the total weight of the aluminum foil laminate being equal to less than the organic content of aluminum containing beverage containers during recycling.
• the organic content is limited to -20% by weight and more preferably, less than 10% by weight.
• the product enclosure can be readily recycled in an aluminum beverage container recycling stream for aluminum recovery after a product has been removed from the product enclosure.
• Figure 1 is a sectional view illustrating a first embodiment of the inventive aluminum foil laminate
• Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of a second embodiment of the aluminum foil laminate
• Figure 3 is a flow diagram depicting the use of the inventive aluminum foil laminate in an aluminum beverage can recycling stream.
• the present invention provides an aluminum foil laminate capable of being recycled in aluminum beverage container recycling streams.
• the inventive aluminum foil laminate provides unique characteristics not attributable to prior art unsupported foil or film structure.
• using the inventive aluminum foil laminate provides improved machine performance during wrapping and/or sealing processes.
• the aluminum foil laminate according to the present invention provides increased barrier protection from moisture and/or oxygen and improved external appearance over unsupported foil structures .
• prior art two piece intimate wrap/sleeve packages utilizing a film/film combination lack dead fold and are not recyclable.
• the inventive aluminum foil laminate has excellent dead fold, i.e., will fold flat, and requires minimum sealing, especially for cold seal applications.
• the foil surface of the inventive laminate can be used to enhance packaging of the particular article or food item, e.g., embossed lettering or the like.
• the organic content is limited, in the broadest embodiment, to a maximum of 20% of the total weight of the laminate, either as a unit value or in a particular product shape such as pouch or the like. It should be understood that the organic content of the non-aluminum foil components of the inventive laminate include any non- metallic substance or compound that contains the element carbon with the exception of carbon dioxide and various carbonates . It is important to limit the organic content of the aluminum foil laminate to avoid the drawbacks described above during aluminum beverage container recycling.
• a first embodiment of the inventive aluminum foil laminate is generally designated by the reference numeral 10 and is seen to include a foil layer 1, an adhesive 3 and a film layer 5.
• the foil material may be any aluminum alloy having any known temper and gauge.
• an AA1100 alloy having an H19 temper with a gauge thickness of between 0.006 and 0.0004 inches can be selected.
• the adhesive film 3 should be of sufficient weight to bond the film layer 5 to the foil layer 1.
• Typical adhesives include vinyl, polyester, polyurethane or wax-based types.
• the film layer 5 can be a variety of chemistries ranging from polypropylene to polyethylene to polyester and vinyl.
• the film layers 5 can be clear or pigmented.
• the gauge of the film layer can vary dependent on the laminate end use. For example, pouches requiring good OTR and MVTR may require a heavier gauge film layer.
• an aluminum foil laminate is generally designated by the reference numeral 20 and is seen to include the foil, adhesive, and film layer depicted in Figure 1 with additional layers 7 and 9.
• Layer 7 disposed on the exposed surface of the foil 1 can be a coating or printed pattern.
• the printing can include flexo, litho or gravure applications of typical ink and coating systems include water-based types, solvent, nitrocellulose, vinyl, polyester or acrylic.
• a coating layer can be applied as layer 7 as a sealable layer to facilitate enclosure manufacture. These coating systems include pressure-sensitive types, cold or heat sealed types, polyamids and vinyl.
• the aluminum foil laminate 20 can also have a layer
• the layer 9 can be any one of the type described above for layer 7. Furthermore, and although each layer of the organic containing layers has been described above as a single layer, multiple layer applications may also be utilized.
• the disclosed layers 3, 5, 7 and 9 as well as the additional layers constitute the organic component of the inventive aluminum foil laminate. That is, the total weight percentage of the layers comprising an organic compound or material should not exceed 20% by weight of the overall laminate structure or unit value.
• Table 1 hereinbelow lists unit weights of the aluminum foil and other components for a given foil gauge.
• the unit weights of the foil and other organic components are based on a pound per ream unit value wherein a ream is equivalent to 3,000 square feet of laminate.
• the organic component weight percentage is less than about 20% of the total unit weight.
• Table 1 also exemplifies a range of preferred foil gauges for the inventive aluminum foil laminate. It should be understood that the thicknesses of the organic component layers such as 3, 5, 7 and 9 may vary providing the total organic weight percentage is kept at below 20% of the total weight.
• 18 or 23 gauge polyester may be utilized therewith.
• 18, 23 or 32 gauge polyester can be used.
• the inventive aluminum foil laminate can be used as intimate wrap for food items such as chocolate bars, confections, chewing gum or bullion cubes.
• a foil gauge can range between .0004 and .0015 inches which may include printing on the foil side.
• a sealing coating on either side of the laminate may also be used.
• the weight percentage of the organic content is preferably limited to a 15% maximum with a preferred range of 5 to 15%.
• This type of intimate wrap can be used to substitute for prior art foil-glue-tissue or foil-wax-tissue wrappings.
• the aluminum foil laminate can also be used as an enclosure or pouch for non-food items.
• the foil gauge for these pouches ranges between .0008 inches and .0015 inches, has an H19 temper and printing thereon.
• a foil gauge between .001 and .002 inches having an 0-temper with printing thereon can be utilized.
• a sealant coating layer can be added to either the foil or film side.
• a preferred range of maximum organic content is 5 to 15%.
• Exemplary uses include condom overwrap or packaging for transdermal or surgical devices such as blades.
• the inventive aluminum foil laminate can be utilized as a pouch for food items.
• the foil gauge ranges between .0015 to .002 inches for this application.
• the film layer 5 is preferably a one half mil sealable film which is thermally mounted to the aluminum foil.
• the preferred range of maximum organic content is 15 to 20%.
• the inventive aluminum foil laminate can be used as a substitute for current po lye s te r / po lyethyl ene / f o i l pou che s or polyester/tissue/foil/tissue films.
• Exemplary uses include snack bags and packages for powder dressings, seasonings and chewing tobacco.
• the inventive aluminum foil laminate is also advantageous in that it can be run on most existing machine setups for sheeting, folding, or printing or form/seal/fill machines with little or no modifications.
• the recyclable aluminum foil laminate can be readily produced with little or no capital expenditures on existing processing lines.
• a method of using the inventive aluminum foil laminate in an aluminum beverage can recycling stream is generally designated by the reference numeral 40.
• the aluminum foil laminate is used to wrap or enclose a given product. Once the aluminum product is covered by the aluminum foil laminate, the product may be distributed through normal channels of distribution for its ultimate use. Once a user of the product obtains the aluminum foil laminate covered product, the aluminum foil laminate is removed so that the product can be used or consumed. The removed aluminum foil laminate is then recycled to the aluminum beverage can recycling stream along with aluminum beverage cans to produce aluminum and by-products of the recycling stream.
• the aluminum foil laminate can be used as intimate wrap where the product is eaten by the consumer.
• the laminate may be used in pouch form to enclose a product, e.g., surgical blades, which can be later used after which the packaging can be recycled.

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• Wrappers (AREA)
• Laminated Bodies (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=22070006

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (1)

Cited By (4)

Citations (6)

• 1994
  • 1994-05-24 WO PCT/US1994/005838 patent/WO1994027818A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (6)

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