Coextrusion is the Future of Blown Film - Here are 3 Reasons Why

Blown film extruders strive to make high-quality, cost-effective products in a sustainable way.

Flexible packaging’s rapid rise may be in part because of how it can fulfill these goals. 41% of all packaging is already flexible, with 57% of shipments purchased by food and beverage.¹

But this space will only continue to grow: 53% of food manufacturers are considering further expanding the amount of flexible packaging they use.

The technology enabling the rise of flexible packaging is coextrusion. Unlike monolayer extrusion, coextrusion lets converters layer multiple types of resins, allowing for more control over the properties of the final product.

The benefits of coextrusion

1. Coextrusion can combine material characteristics. With coextrusion, converters can layer different types of resins in one film to impact the structure, enabling more resistant products. Combining different types of LLDPE resin, for example, can increase heat resistance in blown film, while placing layers of polyethylene between layers of HDPE resin improves stiffness. This is why flexible packaging boasts resistance to heat, puncturing, and overall durability while remaining lightweight.
2. Coextrusion saves on costs. Less expensive, lower-grade resins can be used in the bulk layer of blown film products without compromising functionality. Monolayer materials require expensive treatments to compete effectively.
3. Coextrusion uses less plastic. Monolayer extrusion is often seen as the preferable choice for sustainability in blown film due to the end products being easier to recycle. While it is true that multilayer film is significantly more challenging to recycle, if it enables a switch to flexible packaging, converters can still realize a significant reduction in plastic waste and emissions. Compared to rigid packaging, flexible packaging takes less energy to produce, less energy to transport, and uses up to 75% less material to create a container for the same amount of goods².

Shell Polymers can help you stay up-to-date

Keeping up with the industry's evolution can be challenging, but Shell Polymers is ready to help.

• We conducted 1,000 hours of interviews with plastics converters to understand your problems and how we can solve them.
• We have a team of industry experts to offer insights on navigating these changes, including film extrusion expert Dan Falla.
• Our Application Hall has a five-layer coextrusion machine, which allows you to test potential innovations for your blown film line without having to shut down production.

Want to learn more about how we can help you keep up with the latest in blown film? Reach out to Shell Polymers and start a conversation with our team today, or sign up for our newsletter to stay updated going forward.

¹https://www.pmmi.org/report/state-industry-2020

²https://www.grandviewresearch.com/pipeline/flexible-packaging-procurement-intelligence-report