Green Packaging and System Design Study (1)

Green has become the goal that people in today’s society pursue and strive for. This is a kind of rational consciousness and behavior. It is the unity of mankind's self-knowledge and seeking for being with nature.

First, green packaging and green materials

With the strengthening of people's awareness of the environment and ecology, a green trend of stocks will come. Green green economy, green consumption, green food, green refrigerators, green clothing and other green titles and physical products have emerged in succession. Green has become the goal pursued by people. Green packaging, as an important part of green consumption, naturally attracts people's attention. Developing green packaging, developing green materials, and solving the pollution of packaging waste have become one of the major measures for the implementation of environmental protection in various countries.

1. Green packaging and its connotation

Green packaging, also known as ecological packaging, pollution-free packaging or environmental friend packaging. It refers to packaging that is harmless to human health and ecological environment, can be reused or recycled, and meets the requirements for sustainable development. Green packaging should fully reflect the requirements of green in the aspects of design, material selection, process methods, use and recycling of packaging, etc. It can form a balance in the natural ecosystem, specifically:

1 In the design, the packaging product must have properties that do not cause damage to the environment, and the environmental protection function is included in the packaging function design so that the packaging product is easy to handle, easy to recycle, easy to erode after being discarded, or easy to be recycled and reused. Embodies the principle of protecting the environment and the regeneration of resources.

2 Select materials should be based on natural recycled materials, strive for low volume and high functionality, and use reusable, recycled materials and degradable materials.

3 The use of green technical support, the implementation of pollution-free "clean process" production process of the production of substances, such as the use of additives, additives and adhesives meet the green requirements.

4 Green Packaging Like other green products, a certain cycle of life constitutes an ecological natural cycle, forming a green cycle chain (see figure below). The result of green packaging is to take nature back to nature, so that humans can get a good natural environment, natural resources and long-term support. Any link in the green packaging cycle chain forms its own basic form with green content and forms a green system. Especially at the end of the system, its green needs people and society's green awareness, green management, green regulations and green behavior to give support and assurance. Otherwise, the green system is difficult to form and eventually destroyed.

2. Green packaging material

Whether or not the package meets the green requirements is an important factor in whether green packaging materials are used. Green packaging materials should meet the green requirements.

(1) Characteristics of green packaging materials

Green packaging material has the following characteristics:

1Abandoned packaging products or materials can be recycled, reused, or reused, and do not cause pollution or damage to the ecological environment;

2 Packaging products or materials that are difficult to recycle should be corroded and degraded within a short period of time and returned to nature under natural conditions.

3 Under the requirements of meeting the packaging function, high quality and lightweight design can be achieved, the consumption of natural resources and energy consumption can be reduced, and the amount of packaging waste can be reduced.

4 The production cost of packaging materials is low, and there is a reasonable price/performance ratio that can be produced and used.

(2) Classification of Green Packaging Materials

(1) Packaging materials, packaging products and materials that can be recycled and used can be reused or reused. It is the most economical and effective way to protect the environment. Countries around the world are vigorously promoting it. Reusable, recycled packaging materials are as follows.

1 paper material Chemical treatment can be repeated many times until the fiber disappears.

2 Glass-ceramic materials can be reused repeatedly or reused in the form of scraps, and the glass can be lightweight, thin-walled, high-strength, and low-brittle.

3 Metal materials Metal packaging products and their materials can be recycled, recycled, reused or reused to improve utilization.

4 Plastics Thermoplastics, recycled and re-granulated to produce plastics, such as PS, PVC, PET, etc.; can also be recycled and mixed with other sundries for incineration; some plastic containers can be reused several times after recycling, such as PET. Bottles, FC bottles, etc.

(2) Degradable packaging materials Degradable materials refer to materials whose chemical structure changes in a specific time and in a specific environment that causes loss of performance. Degradable plastics can be classified into photodegradable, biodegradable, and composite degradable plastics, depending on the degradation mechanism.

1 Photodegradable plastics are degraded under the influence of light. There are two types of additive and synthetic types. Synthetic photodegradation involves the introduction of some low-energy, easily-cleavable weak chains, or some photoreactive photoreactive groups and transferred atoms in the polymer synthesis process, so that a chemical reaction occurs when exposed to light. Lead to the degradation of polymer macromolecules, the long-chain breaks are small fragments that are easily swallowed by microorganisms. The additive photodegradation is to add a certain amount of photosensitizer to the plastic ingredients. The degradation of the light is also encountered. The method is simpler and the cost is lower.

2 Biodegradable plastics are degraded by the action of various microorganisms such as bacteria and molds. Due to the internal structure or composition of the material, factors that can be decomposed by ordinary microorganisms, when the package is discarded, are decomposed into small-molecule compounds by the phagocytosis and absorption of microorganisms in the natural environment until they are finally decomposed of inorganic substances such as salt water and carbon dioxide. Biodegradation is divided into microbial synthesis, synthetic polymer and blending. The blended biodegradable plastics are plastically blended with a certain amount of biodegradable substances such as starch, natural straw, rice straw, and fruit shells, and after processing, a certain biodegradable packaging product is formed.

3 Composite degradable plastics are degraded under the joint action of light and biology. The addition of biodegradable starch, controlled degradation photosensitizers, and automatic oxidizers to plastics will reduce the performance of the plastic after use, and it will be split into pieces at regular intervals. Afterwards, the plastic will rapidly decompose after the action of microorganisms and automatic oxidants.

(3) Edible packaging materials are harmless to the human body. The human body can absorb naturally, and it can also weather the eroded material in the natural environment. The raw materials used are natural organic small molecules and macromolecules, such as amino acids, gels, proteins, plant fibers, etc. They are non-toxic, odorless, transparent, light and hygienic. Edible packaging materials can effectively solve the pollution problem and have excellent prospects for application and development.

(4) Natural packaging materials Natural plant fiber materials, including straw, straw, cotton stalks, yam, stalks, and bamboo, can be prepared directly or through pulverization and molding processes to make packaging containers. Used as an additive material. Natural materials are decomposed in the natural environment, and their packaging waste can also be incinerated to return them to nature.

(to be continued)