New Nova Chemicals resin offers increased moisture barrier technology

Nova Chemicals Corp. has introduced a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resin that it says offers significantly improved moisture barrier for multilayer flexible packaging and enables development of more recyclable polyethylene (PE) films.

Nova’s next-generation Surpass HPs267-AB resin offers stiffness and heat resistance that enable the acceleration of the plastics circular economy by allowing packaging engineers to design more recyclable PE film structures.

Designed for blown-film applications using Nova’s Advanced Sclairtech technology, HPs267-AB delivers up to a 20 per cent increase in water-vapor transmission performance in multilayer coextruded film structures compared to the company’s best-in-class Surpass HPs167-AB resin, officials with Calgary-based Nova said.

Benefits for film producers and converters include increased shelf life of packaged foods such as meats, cheeses, cereals, crackers, baking staples, high-fat content foods and more; the development of more recyclable food packaging; reduced material cost by downgauging multilayer film structures without sacrificing barrier performance; and an expanded range of design options for packaging designers.

“HPs267 is a significant breakthrough for sustainability-focused brand owners,” said Anna Rajkovic, Nova’s circular economy market manager. “This product will not only help protect products better, longer and more effectively, it has the potential for creating more recyclable film structures and can help brands reach their packaging sustainability goals.”