Interactions between water and EVOH food packaging films / Interacciones entre el agua y películas de EVOH para el envasado de alimentos

Abstract

The transport of water in four EVOH copolymers commonly used in high barrier food packages was characterized through permeation (continuous flow) and gravimetric experiments at different rela tive humidities and 23 ± 2°C. Water sorption isotherms were fitted with the D'Arcy and Watts' equa tion. From these data, the value of the solubility coefficient (S, as defined by Henry's law) was deter mined and was found constant within a 0.2-0.75 water activity ( aw) range. Water uptake at the same aw increased as the EVOH ethylene content decreased. The permeability coefficient ( P) for water through EVOH was determined as a function of water activity. The permeability was constant within the range of 0.3-0.75 aw and decreased with EVOH ethylene content. At high relative humidities ( aw > 0.75) the value of permeability increased by up to two orders of magnitude. In this range, the higher the ethylene content the lesser the value of P.