A waterborne moisture barrier coating developed by corrosion control group Cortec (St. Paul, Minnesota, USA) gives paper manufacturers the ability to create nontoxic, effective, environmentally friendly paper and corrugated-board alternatives to wax and polyethylene papers.
By applying the EcoShield Barrier Coating, manufacturers can produce fully recyclable and repulpable paper and boxes that resist moisture, oil, and grease. Historically, polyethylene and wax coatings have been used to seal porous paper and corrugated boxes, with sheets used to provide a moisture barrier and/or moisture-vapor barrier to these substrates.
The resulting paper products, however, cannot be recycled through normal channels. In contrast, papers or linerboard coated with the product remain fully recyclable and repulpable while achieving a very low moisture vapor transmission rate comparable to that of polycoated or waxed paper.
The barrier coating’s dual moisture and grease resistance create a packaging material that helps seal out moisture or other contaminants—which could damage packaged goods—while protecting against leakage or packaging failure for items that have greasy characteristics.
Other benefits include enhanced physical properties such as elongation; folding endurance; coefficient of friction; smoothness; and burst, tear, and tensile strength. With a drying temperature of 180 to 200 °F (82 to 93 °C), the coating can be applied by most common paper roll coaters.
Source: Cortec, www.cortecvci.com.