The Effect of Different Oils on the Oil Resistance Properties of Molded Fiber

Abstract

Molded fiber products (MFPs) made from renewable plant-based fibers have the potential to replace single-use plastic packaging. A large portion of single-use packaging is used for food packaging and often ends up in landfills or in nature after use. The pressure to reduce plastic use increases the demand for alternative ecological materials. For MFPs to effectively replace plastic, they must have packaging properties comparable to those of plastic. Currently, MFPs do not have the same resistance to grease and oil, which is essential for food packaging, as plastic does. Oil resistance is also influenced by the properties of the oil itself, such as viscosity. With vegetable oils, viscosity changes based on the composition and temperature of the oil.

In this study, the permeation times of olive oil, canola oil, palm oil, and soybean oil were examined from molded fiber samples at temperatures of 5°C, 23°C, and 60°C using an automatic computer-controlled camera system. Molded fiber samples were hand-made, and the effect of the mixing order of the chemicals on oil resistance was also investigated.

Statistical analysis concluded that the mixing order did not significantly impact results. It was also found that there were no significant differences in oil permeation times at 23°C and 60°C, or the test method employed did not provide sufficiently different test conditions.