A packaged product has a product surrounded by a vacuum skin package. The vacuum skin package has a support member and an implosion-resistant thermoplastic top web. The top web conforms with both the upper surface of the product, and an uncovered portion of the upper surface of the support member. The thermoplastic top web comprises an ethylene/α-olefin copolymer in an amount of from 55 wt % to 85 wt %, based on total weight of top web, and/or a blend of ethylene/α-olefin copolymer and cyclic olefin copolymer. Also disclosed is a vacuum skin package containing the implosion-resistant top web.

A packaged product has a product surrounded by a vacuum skin package. The vacuum skin package has a support member and an implosion-resistant thermoplastic top web. The top web conforms with both the upper surface of the product, and an uncovered portion of the upper surface of the support member. The thermoplastic top web comprises an ethylene/α-olefin copolymer in an amount of from 55 wt % to 85 wt %, based on total weight of top web, and/or a blend of ethylene/α-olefin copolymer and cyclic olefin copolymer. Also disclosed is a vacuum skin package containing the implosion-resistant top web.

A spinneret and system are provided for microfilm blowing of hollow polymer fibers. The spinneret includes a gaseous fluid passageway and a polymer dope passageway wherein the gaseous fluid passageway is inside the polymer dope passageway. Gaseous fluid is expelled from the gaseous fluid passageway within an annulus of polymer dope extruded from an extrusion opening of the spinneret. The extruded polymer dope is blown up and expanded by the gaseous fluid to form a hollow fiber with unique characteristics.

A spinneret and system are provided for microfilm blowing of hollow polymer fibers. The spinneret includes a gaseous fluid passageway and a polymer dope passageway wherein the gaseous fluid passageway is inside the polymer dope passageway. Gaseous fluid is expelled from the gaseous fluid passageway within an annulus of polymer dope extruded from an extrusion opening of the spinneret. The extruded polymer dope is blown up and expanded by the gaseous fluid to form a hollow fiber with unique characteristics.

A blowing head, a method for producing a blown film, and a blown film installation include the use of plate spiral distributors in blown film installations for distributing melt steams arriving from extruders and for combining the melt streams to form an annular gap stream in several layers in an annular gap leading to a tubular die. The melt streams in a plate spiral distributor are initially bundled and then forwarded in a bundled manner to a common co-extrusion flow. The distributer has a plurality of spirals in superimposed layers, and the spirals of two layers have a junction for pre-combining the melt streams of two layers, and in that starting from the junction, a common guide leading to the annular gap is provided for combining there the pre-combined melt streams with the annular gap stream.

Methods for extrusion of polyolefins (112 ) that control specific energy input to the extruder (102 ) for gel reduction. Disclosed herein is an example method for forming plastic products (120, 208 ) with reduced gels, comprising: melting a polyolefin resin (112 ) in extruder (102 ) to form a melt; adjusting specific energy input in the extruder (102 ) to reduce gels in the melt; and forming the melt into a polyolefin product (120, 208 ). Disclosed herein is also an example method for forming plastic products (120, 20 ) with reduced gels, comprising: melting a polyolefin resin in extruder (102 ) to form a melt; selecting a throttle valve (104 ) position for gel reduction; setting the throttle valve (104 ) at the selected throttle valve (104 ) position to restrict flow of the melt out of the extruder (102 ); and forming the melt into a polyolefin product (120, 208 ).

Methods for extrusion of polyolefins (110) that utilize melt temperature to control molecular weight and also reduce gels. Disclosed herein is an example method for controlling polymer chain scission in an extrusion system (100), comprising: melting a polyolefin resin (110) in extruder (102) at a first melt temperature to form a first melt (112); passing the first melt (112) through a screen pack (106); forming the first melt 112) into a first polyolefin product (116, 118); melting additional polyolefin resin (110) of the same grade in the extruder (102) at a second melt temperature to form a second melt (112), wherein the second melt temperature differs from the first melt temperature by 5° C. or more to control chain scission in the extruder (102); passing the second melt (112) through the screen pack (106); and forming the second melt (112) into a second polyolefin product (116, 118).

This disclosure presents a streamer filler material that is a low density gel formed from a two-part, mix-curable polymer, and methods of making streamers using such materials. One embodiment of the filler material features a two-part silicone gel mixed with a paraffinic oil. The two-part silicone gel can make up 15% to 25%, by weight or volume, of the mixture. Methods of making such materials include forming a first unreactive mixture having a first reactant, promoter, and/or catalyst and a second unreactive mixture having a second reactant, promoter, and/or catalyst and mixing the first and second mixtures in a paraffinic oil system to make a gel. The streamer can be loaded with the filler by pumping or extruding the mixture.

A method of manufacturing a biodegradable dry cleaning bag is disclosed, the method including loading an environmentally friendly slurry into a hopper, extruding the environmentally friendly slurry, passing the environmentally friendly slurry through a die, inflating the environmentally friendly slurry into a cylindrical shape, thereby creating a cylindrical member, passing the cylindrical member over a first roller, and rolling the cylindrical member onto a roll.

Disclosed herein are methods of making active, food-grade packaging resins using a reactive extrusion step that involves reacting a polymeric material with a ligand and one of a cross-linking agent and a radical initiator in an extruder, under temperature and pressure conditions effective to cause covalent binding of the ligand to the polymeric material by a linker that is the reaction product of the cross-linking agent or by direct bond formation between the ligand and the polymeric material, and then extruding the active, food-grade packaging resin. Also disclosed are the active packaging resins obtained from such methods, methods of forming food packaging materials from the active packaging resins, the food packaging materials that contain the active packaging resins, and methods of packaging perishable food in those food packaging materials.