Experimental and theoretical study of thermodynamics and transport properties of multilayer polymeric food packaging

The specific migration of Octadecyl 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate (I-1076) from three-layer low-density polyethylene plastic films into a fatty food simulant was studied. The film samples, having a symmetrical structure with a contaminated core layer and virgin outer layers, were developed with a known amount of a selected migrant in the inner layer. A phenomenological model based on a resistances-in-series was resolved through the regula falsi algorithm according to a routine that considers the income of the structural parameters of the system and experimental conditions in which migration testing was performed. The model’s accuracy in predicting migration was demonstrated successfully by comparing simulated results to experimental data. The computer program, developed as a total solution package for migration problems, can be applied not only to multilayer structures made with the same type of plastics but also to structures with different plastics.