Infrared Heat for Corn Starch Packaging

Sweets, chocolates and other types of confectionery are packed in boxes with plastic insert trays. These trays are manufactured by deep drawing plastic foil. A relative new development is to produce the inserts in bioplastic. Infrared emitters from Heraeus Noblelight are helping the company Plantic of Schorba near Jena to deep-draw bioplastics. These emitters transfer energy without contact and generate the heat predominantly in the material itself. As a result, heating is targeted and fast. The deep draw process is optimised and reject levels are reduced.

Bioplastics are environmentally-friendly, not least because they are produced from renewable raw materials and are not petroleum-based. In addition, they are degradable and can be composted. Plantic Technologies Ltd has developed and patented a bioplastic made of vegetable starch from non-genetically engineered maize. This corn starch is used to manufacture trays, blisters and sorting inserts in chocolate packaging. To do this, the foil must be heated and then deep drawn. Usually, using conventional plastic foils, this takes place in several stages, each involving a few seconds heating, until the deformation temperature is achieved. However, properties such as strength, flexibility and stability of the corn starch foil can be detrimentally affected by long heat-up times. This is because water can leach from the foil in the heating process and this can lead to embrittlement. In collaboration with Heraeus, Plantic investigated several possibilities in an effort to optimise the heating process. Short wave emitters demonstrated that they were particularly suitable for the task, as using high power, they could bring the foil to the deformation temperature of around 140ºC in approximately two seconds. This is so fast that there is virtually no water loss. A heating module with overlapping emitter ends and several heating zones ensures a homogenous temperature distribution across the foil. Consequently, the deep drawing process for corn starch foils is optimised and it has also been shown that reject rates at process start-up can be minimised.
Infrared emitters transfer energy without contact and generate heat only in the material to be heated. Short wave infrared emitters offer response times of the order of seconds, so that control is excellent. They transfer heat rapidly and at high power. Infrared emitters need to be switched on only when heat is required and this saves energy.
Heraeus Noblelight offers the complete range of infra red heat from short wave NIR to medium wave Carbon infrared CIR. Heraeus calls on more than 40 years experience of infrared emitters. In its in-house Application Centres, it carries out practical tests and trials with customers’ own materials to identify the optimum process solution.

Heraeus Noblelight GmbH with its headquarters in Hanau and with subsidiaries in the USA, Great Britain, France, China, Australia and Puerto Rico, is one of the technology and market leaders in the production of speciality light sources. In 2008, Heraeus Noblelight had an annual turnover of 92.5 Million € and employed 735 people worldwide. The organisation develops, manufactures and markets infrared and ultraviolet emitters for applications in industrial manufacture, environmental protection, medicine and cosmetics, research, development and analytical laboratories.
Heraeus, the precious metals and technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany, is a global, private company with over 155 years of tradition. Our businesses include precious metals, sensors, dental and medical products, quartz glass, and specialty lighting sources. With product revenues approaching € 3 billion and precious metal trading revenues of € 13 billion, as well as over 13,000 employees in more than 110 companies worldwide, Heraeus holds a leading position in its global markets.

Heraeus Noblelight
Reinhard-Heraeus-Ring 7
D-63801 Kleinostheim
Germany
Press: Dr. Marie-Luise Bopp
marie-luise.bopp@heraeus.com
www.heraeus-noblelight.com/infrared

This release was published on openPR.