Migration of Mineral Oil into Noodles from Recycled Fibres in the Paperboard Box and the Corrugated Board Transport Box as well as from Printing Inks: A Case Study

From the toxicological evaluation of mineral oils as used in offset printing inks by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), a specific migration limit of 0.6 mg/kg in food can be derived. Experimental packs for taglioline (fine noodles) were investigated, aiming at respecting this limit. This ended with four conclusions. First, during the 65 day test (shelf life of 2 years), the transport box of corrugated board contaminated the bottom packs in the box with 6.1 mg/kg mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and had the potential of contaminating all the 10 packs on average at about 10 mg/kg. Second, the migration from an improved recycled paperboard (five times less mineral oil than average) still amounted to 4.9 mg/kg, indicating that optimization of recycling is not promising to respect the 0.6 mg/kg limit. Third, a printing ink containing 3 g/kg MOSH (about 100 times less than conventional offset inks) still contaminated the taglioline with 0.6 mg/kg MOSH. Finally, the taglioline were contaminated with 2.5 mg/kg MOSH already before packing, illustrating that there are other sources of mineral oil violating the 0.6 mg/kg limit. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

纸质食品包装制品中挥发性MOSH组分SPME-HSGC-MS追踪检测

目的 对一次性纸质食品包装制品(盒、袋、桶、杯等)中挥发性饱和烃矿物油(MOSH)组分的含有情况进行检测分析，以确定纸质食品包装材料及制品中各挥发性MOSH组分向外挥发的性能以及对所包装食品(食品模拟物)的潜在危害性。方法 将样品裁切(5 mm×5 mm)后，取适量样品采用固相微萃取法进行萃取富集，然后使用顶空气相色谱-质谱进行检测，通过NIST质谱库检索、特征离子碎片检索以及标准样品比较相结合的方法进行定性。同时，为确定各样品中挥发性MOSH组分的迁移性能，在时隔6个月之后，对以上样品采用同样的方法进行取样、检测、分析。最后，根据2次检测的结果，判断市售一次性纸质食品包装材料及制品中挥发性MOSH组分的迁移性，以确定其对食品安全性的影响情况。结果 结果表明，所测的16种样品中均含有挥发性MOSH组分，并且其含量随着时间而降低;同时发现，没有印刷图文或印刷图文面积极小的纸质包装制品中挥发性MOSH组分向外迁移的速度较低。结论 SPME-HSGC-MS适用于纸质包装材料或制品中挥发性(半挥发性)MOSH组分的检测与分析。为降低由纸质食品包装材料及制品中挥发性MOSH组分对人体产生的危害性，建议纸质包装材料或制品制作完成后，在不增加仓储压力的情况下，放置一段时间，并加大其存储空间的通风，再用于食品包装。     

纸包装油墨中增塑剂向食品模拟物Tenax的迁移

通过纸张表印油墨的实验室印制方法,模拟真实纸包装油墨中四种增塑剂向食品模拟物Tenax的迁移,使用气相色谱法检测不同温度(50℃、70℃和100℃)、纸张克重(240g/m2和400g/m2)和增塑剂初始含量下的迁移量。结果表明,纸包装油墨中增塑剂的迁移行为由其扩散系数和分配系数决定,温度和纸张克重对增塑剂迁移行为影响较大,实际中要避免增塑剂的迁移对人体造成的危害。     

Determination and Prediction of the Lag Times of Hydrocarbons through a Polyethylene Terephthalate Film

Polymeric materials can be used as functional barriers to prevent contamination of food from the environment or from other packaging components, e.g. mineral oil hydrocarbons from printing inks. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is such a promising barrier material. From permeation studies found in the scientific literature lag times, diffusion coefficients or permeation rates towards organic chemicals could not derived because of the slow diffusion process of the permeants in PET. Knowledge about lag times or diffusion coefficients for different permeants, however, is essential for the evaluation of the barrier properties of PET films towards organic contaminants, e.g. mineral oil hydrocarbons. The aim of the study was to develop automated permeation testing method in order to determine the lag times of high‐barrier films. From the lag times, the diffusion coefficients as well as the partition coefficients of the alkanes were calculated. In addition, the permeated amounts were simulated by use of diffusion models. Therefore, the lag times can be predicted under different experimental conditions as used in the current study. The results of this study show that the investigated 12 µm PET film is an effective barrier towards mineral oil hydrocarbons. For example, the predicted lag time for n‐octane or n‐dodecane at 40°C is 8.8 and 210 years respectively. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

纸质食品包装材料上印刷油墨组分迁移的AAS和GC-MS研究

以面粉为真实食品,使其与某知名快餐食品包装袋上的油墨污染物以单面接触的方式进行迁移实验。AAS结果表明,食品包装袋上油墨污染物中的重金属污染物已经迁移到面粉的表面和内部,但迁移到食品表面和内部的重金属污染物则是微少的。GC-MS结果表明,此品牌食品包装袋上油墨污染物中的增塑剂邻苯二甲酸二丁酯,迁移到了面粉中。建立了印刷纸质食品包装材料上油墨污染物迁移的快速、准确分析表征方法。     

Mineral oil contents in paper and board recycled to paperboard for food packaging

Types of paper and board fed into the recycling process to manufacture paperboard for food packaging were analysed for saturated and aromatic mineral oil hydrocarbons. The focus was on the hydrocarbons eluted from gas chromatography before n‐C₂₄, as these are relevant for migration into dry foods via the gas phase at ambient temperature. Newspapers and leaflets printed by similar techniques were identified as the predominant sources of mineral oil, whereas office paper, books and corrugated board were the starting materials of lowest mineral oil content. Paperboard produced from the latter sources would contain about five times less mineral oil than the average observed today, but the migration into food could still exceed the limit derived from the available acceptable daily intake by a factor of up to 20. On average, European newspapers produced by offset printing contained 4.1 g/kg <C₂₄ mineral oil with 21% aromatic hydrocarbons. One out of four Japanese newspapers only contained 430 mg/kg <C₂₄ saturated and less than 15 mg/kg aromatic hydrocarbons. However, the maximum migration from paperboard exclusively produced from such newspaper would still far exceed the limit. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3D‐Printing Electrolytes for Solid‐State Batteries

Solid‐state batteries have many enticing advantages in terms of safety and stability, but the solid electrolytes upon which these batteries are based typically lead to high cell resistance. Both components of the resistance (interfacial, due to poor contact with electrolytes, and bulk, due to a thick electrolyte) are a result of the rudimentary manufacturing capabilities that exist for solid‐state electrolytes. In general, solid electrolytes are studied as flat pellets with planar interfaces, which minimizes interfacial contact area. Here, multiple ink formulations are developed that enable 3D printing of unique solid electrolyte microstructures with varying properties. These inks are used to 3D‐print a variety of patterns, which are then sintered to reveal thin, nonplanar, intricate architectures composed only of Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ solid electrolyte. Using these 3D‐printing ink formulations to further study and optimize electrolyte structure could lead to solid‐state batteries with dramatically lower full cell resistance and higher energy and power density. In addition, the reported ink compositions could be used as a model recipe for other solid electrolyte or ceramic inks, perhaps enabling 3D printing in related fields.     

Solution-Based Particle Formation of Pharmaceutical Powders by Supercritical or Compressed Fluid Co2 and Cryogenic Spray-Freezing Technologies

Micronization is an important procedure used in the pharmaceutical industry to reduce the particle size of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The spray-drying and milling techniques presently used to micronize drug substances cannot be used to process thermolabile or physically unstable drug substances. Therefore, new micronization techniques, including particle precipitation with supercritical or compressed fluid CO₂ and spray-freezing of drug solutions and suspensions into cryogenic gas to produce solid frozen microparticles, are currently being perfected for future use in the pharmaceutical industry. This review highlights the compressed gas and cryogenic liquid technologies being developed as potential solution-based particle formation technologies for drugs that cannot be processed by conventional micronization techniques.     

Control of the Surface Morphology of Ceramic/Polymer Composite Inks for Inkjet Printing

The use of organic/inorganic composite inks in the Drop on Demand inkjet printing technology is a promising as well as demanding approach for the fabrication of composite thick films. Therefore, a versatile ceramic/polymer composite ink system for inkjet printing is developed in this study, containing Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ (BST) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). When developing such inks suitable for a one‐step fabrication, the major challenge is to fulfill the requirements of the inkjet printing technology and to obtain homogeneous surface morphologies after drying. Thus, possible influencing factors like the solvent composition, the solids content, and the ratio of ceramic to polymer are investigated to obtain a detailed knowledge for the general ink development. The fluid mechanical properties, viscosity, density, and surface tension are characterized. The main focus of this study lies on the drying behavior of the different inks, with the interactions of the ceramic particles, and the dissolved polymer molecules being highlighted. Furthermore, the drying behavior depending on the ink composition is shown. This study provides new insights into the possibility of using composite inks for the inkjet printing process and the fabrication of printed composite thick films in a single process step.

     

Additive-Free Aqueous MXene Inks for Thermal Inkjet Printing on Textiles

Direct printing of functional inks onto flexible substrates allows for scalable fabrication of wearable electronics. However, existing ink formulations for inkjet printing require toxic solvents and additives, which make device fabrication more complex, limit substrate compatibility, and hinder device performance. Even water-based carbon or metal nanoparticle inks require supplemental surfactants, binders, and cosolvents to produce jettable colloidal suspensions. Here, a general approach is demonstrated for formulating conductive inkjet printable, additive-free aqueous Ti₃C₂T_x MXene inks for direct printing on various substrates. The rheological properties of the MXene inks are tuned by controlling the Ti₃C₂T_x flake size and concentration. Ti₃C₂T_x-based electrical conduits and microsupercapacitors (MSCs) are printed on textile and paper substrates by optimizing the nozzle geometry for high-resolution inkjet printing. The chemical stability and electrical properties of the printed devices are also studied after storing the devices for six months under ambient conditions. Current collector-free, textile-based MSCs show areal capacitance values up to 294 mF cm⁻² (2 mV s⁻¹) in poly(vinyl alcohol)/sulfuric acid gel electrolyte, surpassing reported printed MXene-based MSCs and inkjet-printed MSCs using other 2D nanomaterials. This work is an important step toward increasing the functional capacity of conductive inks and simplifying the fabrication of wearable textile-based electronics.     

Water-CCUS nexus: challenges and opportunities of China’s coal chemical industry

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology has begun to transform into the boom of CO₂ utilization technology, which is of great significance to China considering its coal-based primary energy mix. CO₂ utilization technology can be divided into three categories, i.e., CO₂ geological utilization (CGU), CO₂ chemical utilization, and CO₂ biological utilization. In this paper, first, the development status of the different utilization technologies in China is introduced, and then, the situation, distribution, and water characteristics of China’s Coal Chemical Industry (CCI, i.e., an industry to convert coal to synthetic fuel and/or chemical products) are analyzed in detail. Subsequently, utilization technologies suitable for China’s CCI are proposed combining water consumption of CCS technology. The results of this research led to the following conclusions: (1) CO₂ utilization technology is undoubtedly the best choice for the CCI; (2) CGU technologies are viewed as the best choices for the coal chemical industry, with supplementary, small-scale chemical utilization of three wastes, i.e., waste gas, wastewater, and industrial residue; (3) The CO₂-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), CO₂-Enhanced Uranium Leaching (EUL), CO₂-Enhanced Coal Bed Methane recovery (ECBM), and CO₂-Enhanced (Saline) Water Recovery (EWR) technologies show great promise, and CCI preferentially uses the option with low water consumption, such as CO₂-EWR. However, as the carbon market matures, CO₂-EOR will become the first priority.     

中国古代的矿物加工技术——传承与发展

介绍了中国古代的矿物加工技术,包括早期的石器和陶瓦制作,中国先民使用矿物制作器件,古代铁矿的矿冶加工利用,古代的湿法提铜,古代重选淘洗技术的使用和记述,古代的浮选技术,古代铜、铁矿冶生产规模等;也简要阐述了近现代中国选矿工业的兴起与科技发展,总结归纳了现代矿物加工科学技术的创新成就.     

Effect of additive gases on synthesis of organic compounds from carbon dioxide using non-thermal plasma produced by atmospheric surface discharges

Reduction and recycling of carbon dioxide (CO₂) were performed using a non-thermal plasma produced by a surface discharge at atmospheric pressure. Useful hydrocarbons (CHs) such as dimethyl ether and methane were produced at the discharge voltage of 11 kV, when hydrogen (H₂) gas was mixed with CO₂ and the mixture ratio was 50%. The conversion of CO₂ to the CHs mixing with water vapor of 50% requires a higher discharge voltage of 12 kV. The conversion ratios to the hydrocarbons were several percentage in both H₂ mixture and water vapor mixture cases.     

Commercial refrigeration – An overview of current status

Commercial refrigeration comprises food freezing and conservation in retail stores and supermarkets, so, it is one of the most relevant energy consumption sectors, and its relevance is increasing. This paper reviews the most recent developments in commercial refrigeration available in literature and presents a good amount of results provided these systems, covering some advantages and disadvantages in systems and working fluids. Latest researches are focused on energy savings to reduce CO₂ indirect emissions due to the burning of fossil fuels. They are focused on system modifications (as dedicated subcooling or the implementation of ejectors), trigeneration technologies (electrical, heating and cooling demand) and better evaporation conditions control. Motivated by latest GWP regulations that are intended to reduce high GWP HFC emissions; R404A and R507 are going to phase out. Besides hydrocarbons and HFO, CO₂ appears as one of the most promising HFC replacements because its low contribution to global warming and high efficiencies when used in transcritical and low-stage of cascade systems.     

Screening for Chemicals in Paper and Board Packaging for Food Use: Chemometric Approach and Estimation of Migration

An analytical survey of 20 paper and board (P&B) materials intended for food use was carried out with the aim to identify chemicals with a potential to migrate into foods. Representative materials covering a range of uses (primary and secondary packaging and article for take away foods) were obtained from distributors. A screening approach was applied by means of solvent extraction with subsequent analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A large number of analytes were detected, and a chemometric approach was used to explore the data. Principal component analysis was used to identify and select some compounds as markers for sample classification. In the corrugated and printed packaging, it is worth emphasizing the presence of residual solvents, probably coming from printing inks, as well as hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds, mainly toluene and plasticizers linked also to the recycled pulp content such as diisobutyl phthalate or diisopropylnaphthalenes, whereas in the plastic‐laminated samples, triacetin was identified as the prevailing compound. A literature search for safety data or legislative restrictions of the identified substances was performed. Additionally, the semi‐quantification of the compounds in the packaging allowed a worst case estimation of food contamination by means of the infinite total migration model; occasionally, migration estimations overcame the specific migration limits. The chosen analytical methods coupled with a chemometric approach proved to be an effective way to describe the data; it may be concluded that only the simultaneous consideration of several chemicals with a multivariate approach allowed the investigated packaging materials to be distinguished. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

导电油墨及其印刷技术的研究进展

目的 综述导电油墨及其印刷方式的研究进展,为开发价格低廉、性能稳定、导电性优良的导电油墨提供参考。方法 通过查阅文献归纳各类导电油墨的制备方式、印刷方式和应用领域,对导电油墨进行系统分类,比较各类导电油墨的性能和优缺点,并对其印刷技术进行分析,展望了导电油墨的发展前景。结果 目前关于导电油墨的研究集中在纳米银、纳米铜、石墨烯等导电填料的低温烧结油墨,主要采用丝网印刷、喷墨印刷等印刷方式,多用于制备传感器、柔性可穿戴设备等。未来的研究仍需关注如何低成本、低能耗、简单大量地制造导电油墨。结论 导电油墨的制备将与环境友好型的印刷方式相结合,向高导电性、高印刷适性发展,成为印刷电子领域的关键技术。     

Migration Processes of Metal Elements from Carbon Steel Cylinders to Food Gases

This study is aimed to provide a protocol for sampling and analysis of metal elements migrating from carbon steel cylinders, used for gas storage and distribution, to food gases, i.e. those gases, such as CO₂, N₂ and O₂, employed by food and beverage industries. The concentrations of 23 selected elements, analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, in the three food gases collected from steel cylinders after a storage period of 50 days, were re‐calculated considering (a) the initial concentrations (i.e. the concentrations of these elements in food gases before being packaged in carbon steel cylinders) and (b) a migration process of 5 years that proceeds in time following a linear trend. Computed data were compared with the limit concentrations for mineral waters (CEE/CEEA/CE no. 83, 03‐11‐1998; D.Lgs no. 3, 2001; D.M. 29‐12‐2003), considering that the quantity of CO₂ commonly added to 1 L of mineral water is 5 g. Although no reference values indicating the concentration limits of metal contaminants in food gases are currently promulgated, the results of this comparison have evidenced that the highest concentrations of the most abundant elements among those selected for the test, i.e. Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Pb, are up to 4 orders of magnitude lower that the previously cited limits. This suggests that the effects of migration of contaminants from carbon steel cylinders do not have a significant influence on the quality of food gases, independently on the type of food gas and carbon steel composition. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

VOC emission reduction and energy efficiency in the flexible packaging printing processes: analysis and implementation

Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions into the atmosphere are among the primary environmental problems caused by flexible packaging printing plants. Since 1999, VOC emissions from the use of solvents in various technological processes have been limited by the volatile organic compounds solvents emissions directive, and by directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions since 2010. Thus, flexible packaging plants require processing technologies or other solutions to ensure compliance with these requirements. In this paper, combined VOC pollution prevention and treatment alternatives were suggested and were evaluated for their technical, environmental, and economic feasibility. A flexible plastic packaging company that produces over 1920 t/year of plastic packaging for the food industry was selected for detailed analysis. The material and energy flow analysis shows that VOC emissions from the main technological processes reached 112.2 kg/t of production, and a considerable amount of energy (up to 771.6 kWh/t of production) was used. Three integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) alternatives of the five analysed in this study were selected and implemented within the company to reduce its VOC emissions and energy consumption. The results indicate that after the implementation of the three suggested economically reasonable IPPC alternatives (replacement of solvent-based with water-based inks; modernisation of the ventilation and lighting system), the VOC emissions decreased to 8.4 kg/t (92.5%) and the total energy consumption for the production of 1 t of flexible packaging decreased to 605.6 kWh/t (21.5%). This study shows that IPPC methods not only significantly reduces VOC emissions from flexible packaging printing processes, but also saves energy and raw materials, and reduces costs.     

3D Printing of Freestanding MXene Architectures for Current‐Collector‐Free Supercapacitors

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies appear as a paradigm for scalable manufacture of electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices, where complex 3D architectures are typically required but are hard to achieve using conventional techniques. The combination of these technologies and innovative material formulations that maximize surface area accessibility and ion transport within electrodes while minimizing space are of growing interest. Herein, aqueous inks composed of atomically thin (1–3 nm) 2D Ti₃C₂T_x with large lateral size of about 8 µm possessing ideal viscoelastic properties are formulated for extrusion‐based 3D printing of freestanding, high specific surface area architectures to determine the viability of manufacturing energy storage devices. The 3D‐printed device achieves a high areal capacitance of 2.1 F cm^?2 at 1.7 mA cm^?2 and a gravimetric capacitance of 242.5 F g^?1 at 0.2 A g^?1 with a retention of above 90% capacitance for 10 000 cycles. It also exhibits a high energy density of 0.0244 mWh cm^?2 and a power density of 0.64 mW cm^?2 at 4.3 mA cm^?2. It is anticipated that the sustainable printing and design approach developed in this work can be applied to fabricate high‐performance bespoke multiscale and multidimensional architectures of functional and structural materials for integrated devices in various applications.