News
Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Fumio Ito; "Kuraray") announces the development of EVAL AP Series, a functional resin that raises the level of gas impermeability by absorbing oxygen. Having been adopted by Kewpie Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Yutaka Suzuki) for its new product, Kuraray is accelerating the development of applications and raising the market profile.
EVAL AP Series
Development Concept
- While maintaining the characteristic transparency and plasticity of plastic packaging materials, the AP Series was developed with the objective of providing oxygen-blocking capabilities on par with metallic cans.
Overview
- Blended into EVAL, a gas-impermeable functional resin, is Kuraray's proprietary oxygen absorbent
Main Characteristics
- Excellent long-term as to zero oxygen ingress (approximately two years)
- Thermal formability and transparency equivalent to EVAL resin
Kewpie Half (DISPEN PACK™) that uses EVAL AP Series
| Regular Polyethylene | Conventional EVAL | EVAL AP Series | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume of Oxygen Permeation | 900.00 | 0.09 | 0.00 |
Unit: cc/day
- *1 Figures above based on measurements of 20μm thickness, a temperature of 20°C, and humidity of 65% (Kuraray comparison)
- *2 After the oxygen absorbent effect is finished, the EVAL AP Series has the oxygen-blocking capabilities of conventional EVAL.
Kewpie's New Product
Product Name
Kewpie Half (DISPEN PACK™)
Product Development Background
- Needs existed for a container product that was thinner than regular resin bottles and even better at blocking oxygen than conventional EVAL
- When using regular ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer resin, the "best-before" period was a mere four months, making it impossible to commercialize. The EVAL AP Series, however, makes commercialization possible by extending this period to seven months.
The new Kewpie product has been available with nationwide shipments from August 20.
Product Development Overview
Realization of containers made using the EVAL AP Series has enabled the long-term prevention of container content oxidation, which, in turn, has led to the commercialization of Kewpie Half in small-sized DISPEN PACK™. Kewpie Half will be shipped nationwide from August 20.
For more information on Kewpie's "Kewpie Half in DISPEN PACK™," please access:
http://www.kewpie.co.jp/company/corp/newsrelease/2010/49.html (Japanese language only)
[Reference]
EVAL
- EVOH resin (ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer; Kuraray trademark: EVAL)
- In 1972, Kuraray became the first company in the world to develop and commercialize EVOH resin, which offers a high level of impermeability within plastics
- EVAL has become a common material for mayonnaise, ketchup and other food packaging as it protects contents from spoiling by blocking the permeation of oxygen.
- EVAL is also used as a material for plastic automobile gasoline tanks due to its ability to prevent leaks and contribute to vehicle weight reduction.
- A broadening range of applications includes wallpaper, pipes for floor heating and vacuum insulation panels.
- Three production bases-Japan (Okayama), the United States (Houston) and Belgium (Antwerp)-give Kuraray 65% of the world market share.
DISPEN PACK™
- Dispen Pak Japan Co., Inc. manufacturers and markets small-sized containers which can be easily opened without any mess.
- These DISPEN PACK™ are used in school lunches and at restaurants, convenience stores and other locations as one-portion-type sauce containers. In fiscal 2008, annual production exceeded 500 million containers.
- The packages have gained high praise as containers based on universal design that countless people find user friendly.
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