Estudo e análise de uma embalagem desenhada para ser reciclada ao mercado de café

Abstract

Packaging developed to be recycled is essential for a responsible consumption and production model, since sustainable production goals are increasingly these days. However, the main attributes of a package must be maintained, such as mechanical protection and the preservation of the physical and chemical characteristics of the product. This work aims to study and analyze a structure for alternative packaging for the stand pack coffee market that can be recycled, without the use of polyesters. The proposed structure consists of two films: transparent bioriented polypropylene and polyethylene with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer, while the conventional structure features in its composition polyethylene terephthalate, metallized terephthalate polyethylene and polyethylene. Mechanical and barrier tests were performed following the conditions of ASTM in order to ascertain whether the proposed packaging would meet all the necessary requirements to be suitable for roasted and ground coffee powder, comparing it with the conventional structure. From the tests performed, it was found that the proposed structure is able to meet the necessary attributes for adequate storage with values of 0.50 cm3/(cm2.day) and 1.81 g/(m2.day) for permeability to oxygen and water vapor respectively, having only a few mechanical parameters slightly different from the conventional structure. An analysis of variance in the mechanical tests was performed by applying the F test at a 5% significance level in order to verify the existence of a difference between the values found and, when there was a significant difference, the Tukey test was applied to find out in which of the averages, this difference was statistically significant. In addition, an environmental impact analysis of both structures was carried out, using the ReCiPe methodology, in which the proposed structure proved to be more sustainable, even if the material was not yet recycled. Thus, the structure proposed in this work is apt to be implemented on a pilot scale and later on an industrial scale.