Question: Barrier food packaging is often made from multilayer composite structures where a very thin layer of an expensive high barrier polymer is sandwiched between layers

Barrier food packaging is often made from multilayer composite structures where a very thin layer of an expensive high barrier polymer is sandwiched between layers of a less expensive polymer, which provides mechanical strength to the composite structure. Derive a formula to calculate the steady state permeability of a three layer flat sheet composite film. The final result should give the composite permeability, Pcomp, in terms of the permeabilities and thicknesses of each layer. Use this result to calculate oxygen permeability at 23\deg C of a three layer composite structure consisting of an inner and outer layer of 15 mils of poly(ethylene)(PPE=110 cm3(STP) mil/(100 in2 day atm)) jacketing a 3 mil barrier layer of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol), EVOH (70%VOH),(PEVOH=0.017 cm3(STP) mil/100 in2 day atm)). Note that 1 mil =0.001 inch.

Step by Step Solution

There are 3 Steps involved in it

1 Expert Approved Answer
Step: 1 Unlock blur-text-image
Question Has Been Solved by an Expert!

Get step-by-step solutions from verified subject matter experts

Step: 2 Unlock
Step: 3 Unlock

Students Have Also Explored These Related Chemical Engineering Questions!