1. Laboratory of Polymer Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographos, 157 80 Athens, Greece;2. Laboratory of Polymer Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographos, 157 80 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Polymer Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographos, 157 80 Athens, Greece. Fax: +30 210 772 3180
Abstract:
Four liquid solvents – 1,1,1‐trichloroethane, toluene, chlorobenzene and octane – are used as model contaminants in sorption experiments in polyethylene in order to study their diffusion behavior between 40 and 70 °C and assess the plausibility of utilizing recycled plastics as safe functional barriers in food packaging applications. A hybrid model that combines molecular and free volume theory elements is used to interpret the collected experimental data. This helps in evaluating microstructural characteristics pertaining to the penetrant‐polymer systems tested, correlating these characteristics with the molecular properties of the solvent, and has an eventual role in predicting sorption and diffusivity in similar untested systems.
