Study of the influence of ultrasonic processing of polyethylene compositions containing betulin on the formation of operational properties of packaging materials

In the food industry, one of the main problems is to ensure the quality and safety of food products. Losses of unpackaged food products associated with their spoilage can reach up to 50%. In order to avoid such losses, the current trend is to create packaging materials with antimicrobial properties to extend the shelf life of food products. Therefore, the aim of the work was to study the effect of ultrasonic treatment of melts of polymer compositions in order to create packaging materials with antimicrobial properties that provide a long shelf life of packaged food products. The following tasks were set: to conduct a comprehensive study of the obtained polymer materials based on polyethylene modified with birch bark extract (ECB); to investigate the effect of ultrasonic treatment on the melts of the obtained polymer compositions; to investigate the effect of ultrasonic treatment on the acquired properties of polymer mixtures modified with ECB; to recommend polymer compositions that allow extending the shelf life of food products. The materials chosen for the study were polyethylene and betulin. The samples were obtained on a single-screw laboratory extruder with an ultrasonic vibrating attachment. As a result of the obtained studies, the following conclusions can be drawn: ultrasonic treatment increases the fluidity of melts of polymer compositions; ultrasonic melt processing polymer compositions contributes to obtaining materials with a uniform distribution of the components of the composition; the melt processing of samples increases the physico-mechanical properties of materials, which is noticeable when comparing the relative elongation at break with control samples; the content of electronic components from 1.0% above the polyethylene composition provides obtaining packaging materials with antimicrobial properties.

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