Freshure Coatings: Environmentally Friendly Transparent High Barrier Coating. S. Jahromi Knowfort Technologies BV

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1 Freshure Coatings: Environmentally Friendly Transparent High Barrier Coating S. Jahromi Knowfort Technologies BV

2 Content Background Introduction to Symphase technology Characteristics of base materials Safety and Regulatory issues. Basic process parameters Molecular structure of vapor deposited layer. Optical properties Update Technology status Symphase in flexible packaging: Freshure Single Coat: Coating directly on plastic web Freshure Top Coat: In-line coating on top of Al and AlOx coatings Overview of applications Conclusion

3 Background Roll-to-Roll deposition of organic compounds, such as triazines, is branded as Symphase and application of this technology in packaging industry as Freshure Coatings. Symphase is patented technology which has been developed by Royal DSM N.V. in cooperation with partners. Applied Materials is our technology partner delivering the necessary hardware for Freshure Coatings. Knowfort Technologies BV is the licensing company in charge of commercialization of Symphase technology ( Royal DSM N.V. creates solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance. Its end markets include human and animal nutrition and health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, coatings and paint, electrical and electronics, life protection and housing. DSM employs some 22,700 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations on five continents. DSM is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. About 10% of the workforce are in R&D (approximately 2500 people). The largest R&D site is in Geleen (> 1000 R&D personal), the Netherlands where Knowfort Technologies BV also situated.

4 Symphase Technology: Introduction Roll-to-roll vapor deposition of inorganic materials, such as Al and AlOx, to producing functional barrier coatings is a well established industrial process. Roll-to-roll vapor deposition of organic materials is a relatively new approach which is now finding momentum for applications in different fields such as food packaging and flexible electronics. In comparison with hard inorganic materials, vapor deposition of soft organic materials offer a series of potential advantages such as lower energy consumption and less intensive capital investment. The concept of vapor deposition of triazine based organic compounds for producing transparent barrier coatings was already introduced by us in late 90 s. In this presentation, we provide an update on various aspects of Symphase technology and its two applications in flexible packaging: 1. As single functional layer to produce high gas barrier transparent coatings (Freshure -Single Coat) 2. An in-line top coat to protect vacuum coated layers and improve performance (Freshure -Top Coat)

5 Symphase Technology: Characteristics of base material Symphase Technology is based on the vapor deposition of organic compounds such as 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine: NH 2 N N H 2 N N NH 2 Triazine is a white crystalline powder produced from Urea, a well-known fertilizer. Basic application: as an ingredient in adhesives for production of e.g. laminates, wood panels and coatings (annual WW production ~1,000 kt). Price range: around USD per kg. Physical characteristics: Sublimation> 200ºC Melting/degradation point> 350ºC. Refractive index= 1.87 Dielectric constant= 4.25 (frequency range 10 Hz to 10 khz).

6 Safety and Regulatory issues Triazine is a non-toxic chemical with a LD50 of >3000 mg/kg which is comparable with LD50 of kitchen salt. Extensive studies with various types of stimulants have shown that triazine migration in flexible packaging applications is below the detection limit of <0.1 mg/kg: Component Simulant Specific migration mean results (mg/kg) 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine Water <0.1 3% acetic acid <0.1 10% ethanol <0.1 50% ethanol <0.1 Olive Oil <1 MPPO <0.1 Migration tests results carried out according EN on a PET12µm-Freshure -PE50µm laminate. Test conditions: 10 days at 40ºC (triplicates). Based on these studies, DSM Safety and Regulatory affairs has issues non-migration declarations stating that the use of triazine coatings food packaging applications is compliant with both FDA and EU regulations.

7 Basic process parameters Technology is based on Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) of organic compounds. Functional organic compounds are deposited in vacuum at speeds higher than 10 m/s, on various polymeric substrates (BOPP, PET, BOPA, PLA etc): Scanning electron images of thin layers of vacuum deposited organic compounds resulting transparent high barrier coatings.

8 Molecular structure & crystal growth X-ray diffraction and molecular modeling experiments have revealed, that triazine molecules lay rather flat on the substrate upon vapor deposition, i.e. the vapor deposited triazine layer are anisotropic.

9 Optical properties 80, Absorption of PET %T ,0 200, ,0 nm UV Spectrum of a vapor deposited triazine layer on PET Optically transparent vapor deposited triazine layer offering some UV barrier!

10 Technology update Source: Applied Materials Our technology partner, Applied Materials produces the hardware for triazine Coatings. Several commercial lines are already in operation and other new lines will be operational soon.

11 Triazine Single Coat: Thickness range Layer thickness of various transparent barrier layers 3 2,5 Thickness (micron) 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 Oxides (SiOx or AlOx) Freshure EVOH & PVdC Triazine Coatings have a thickness range which is a factor of 10 thicker than oxides and more than 10 times thinner than EVOH & PVdC. As such Triazine Coatings combine the good barrier properties of thin oxide coatings with good robustness of thick organic based materials.

12 Triazine Single Coat: Gas barrier performance Application of a thin layer of Triazine Coatings on various polymeric substrates creates transparent high gas barrier coatings: Substrate OTR [cc/m 2 /day, 23 C, 0% RH] BOPP (20 m) 1600 BOPP/ Freshure < 20 PET (12 m) 110 PET/ Freshure < 3 PLA (20 m) 800 PLA/ Freshure < 20 OPA (12 m) 38 OPA/ Freshure < 1 Barrier performance: Comparable, and sometime even better, than other vacuum processed coatings (Al, AlO x, SiO x ) and alternative barrier technologies (PVdC, EVOH etc.). Printing & Lamination: The coatings are printable with both Rotogravure and Flexography. Both solvent based and solvent-less glues are suitable. Condition for use: Depending on the type of laminate structure, OTR values are stable at elevated RH. Suitable for hot-fill & Microwaveable applications.

13 Triazine Single Coat: A case study Typical laminate structure for MAP applications PET 12 µm Ink Glue Alternative laminate structure with Triazine PET 12 µm PE 47 µm EVOH 6µm PE 100 µm Triazine 0.2 µm PE 47 µm Advantages: Triazine Single Coat is applied at coating weights of gram per sqm. At a price of raw material of below 2 USD/kg, the total cost of coating is below 0.1 US cent per sqm. In comparison, EVOH and PVdC type coatings are applied at 2-10 gram per sqm with a much more expensive raw materials. Because of the cost advantage, Triazine is probably the only vacuum processed transparent barrier solution currently available with the potential to capture significant portion of transparent barrier market. A quote from Pira International tipped development of Triazine coatings as having the potential to bring a major breakthrough in transparent polymer barrier films for food and pharmaceutical packaging.

14 Triazine Top Coat: Main characteristics Triazine Top Coat is applied as a very thin transparent coating (<60 nm) on top of other vacuum process coatings such as and Al, AlOx etc. Therefore it does not have any negative effect on the appearance of the metalized film. Triazine Top Coat is an in-line process, i.e. it is applied in one-pumping on top of the primary coating, e.g. Al,AlOx etc. Therefore it has a very small effect on the total Cost of Ownership of metalized films. Triazine Top Coat is an organic based layer which does not age as a function of time. Therefore surface properties such as a high Dyne level of > 50 dyn/cm remain constant as a function of storage time. Triazine Top Coat improves the performance of metalized films in terms of barrier, printability and shelf life.

15 Triazine Top Coat: Raising the bar in metalized films Enhanced gas barrier using Triazine Top Coat: Low Barrier Medium Barrier High Barrier Ultra High Barrier MetPE MetCPP MetOPP MetPET Aluminum Foil MetPE-Triazine MetCPP-Triazine MetOPP-Triazine MetPET-Triazine Film metcpp (20µ) metbopp (20µ) metpet (12µ) OTR [cc/m 2 C; 0% RH] Without Triazine Top Coat >300 < <10 With Triazine Top Coat 1-2 <0.5 OTR

16 Triazine Top Coat: Better Barrier & Better Printability Better Barrier: Triazine Top Coat provides better barrier and protects the film during down stream processing Specification of process step 12µmPET-AlOx without Triazine Top Coat OTR [cc/m 2 C; 0% RH] 12µmPET-AlOx with Triazine Top Coat After Coating After printing (rotogravure) After retort *) *) Laminated against OPA/CPP. Retort condition: 30 min at 121ºC Better Printability: Triazine Top Coat provides good ink adhesion without loss of glossy appearance of metallised film

17 Triazine Top Coat: An example of application field Triazine OPP 20 µm Multi-layer To Mono-Layer OPP 20 µm OPP 20 µm metbopp// reverse printed OPP metbopp-triazine-print layer A typical laminate structures for packaging of confectionaries is metalized OPP laminated against reverse printed OPP. This structure provides the appealing appearance of printed design which is demanded by brand owners. Triazine Top Coat provides printability without loss of glossy appearance and thus offering the same appeal as multi-layer structures. Replacement of multi-layer structures with mono-web results in dramatic reduction of packaging material and thus cost.

18 Triazine: An overview of other possible applications Triazine coated BOPP as an alternative for PVdC coated BOPP for confectionary applications Ink OPP 20 µm Pressure sensitive labels as an alternative for acrylic coated BOPP OPP 20 µm Sealant Triazine Ink Triazine Pressure sensitive glue OPP 20 µm OPP 20 µm Metallized BOPP Triazine on PLA as fully biodegradable transparent high barrier film. PLA 20 µm

19 Conclusion In cooperation with partners, DSM has developed a technology based on vacuum coating of triazine based compounds for the production of transparent barrier layers for applications in flexible packaging. This technology adds value to coated film business by providing high gas barrier transparent coatings (Triazine-Single Coat) and by improving the performance of vacuum coated films (Triazine-Top Coat). This technology is now available for licensing to various members of value chain for flexible packaging. Knowfort Technologies BV is the licensing company in charge of commercialization of this technology (