Ready Meal Lids Turn Out to Be "From Japan"

Development of Korean Material Surpassing Japanese High-Seal Food Packaging Materials

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] The lids of instant rice packages that we commonly enjoy have various functions. They protect the rice from water or external air, must not melt or burn even when microwaved, and also block ultraviolet rays such as sunlight. Unfortunately, to achieve these functions, materials made in Japan must be used.

The name of this material is 'Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH)'. It has been produced exclusively in Japan for over 40 years since its development in Japan in the 1970s. Most instant rice packaging, as well as the majority of packaged food products requiring external barrier properties, use this material. Additionally, it is an essential material used in packaging for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, as well as automotive fuel tanks. The global market size is approximately 800 billion to 1 trillion KRW annually, with Japan monopolizing the entire market.

In this situation, a new Korean material has recently been developed. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), in joint research with the domestic company Hyosung Chemical, has developed a new material that surpasses EVOH, attracting significant industry interest.

Development of Lid Material for Convenience Foods

KIST and Hyosung Chemical Co., Ltd. are jointly developing a new high-barrier packaging film material based on polyketone polymer.

The new material developed by domestic researchers is a material that elevates the performance of Hyosung Chemical's engineering plastic 'Polyketone' to a new level. Polyketone is an eco-friendly thermoplastic polymer with excellent durability, chemical resistance, and gas barrier properties. However, its gas barrier property was inferior to EVOH, so it was not used for packaging materials.

The researchers developed a new material called 'Polyketone Polymer-Based High Barrier Packaging Film' by mixing polyketone and EVOH in a 7 to 3 ratio and inducing chemical changes through a method called Blend & Alloy. This new material blocks external gases at a level comparable to EVOH while being more resistant to moisture (moisture resistance) and having about 10 times greater elongation (stretchability) than EVOH.

Notably, the cost of this new material is expected to be lower than EVOH. Since the new material reduces the EVOH content to 30% and mixes in 70% inexpensive polyketone, it can secure price competitiveness. EVOH is generally known to be about 9 to 10 times more expensive than typical packaging materials. Hyosung Chemical has not yet finalized the price of the new material.

Packaging Market Expands from Domestic to Overseas

Polyketone Products

The market expects the EVOH market to grow further with the development of the Korean new material. Since it improves performance beyond EVOH, it is anticipated that its applications will diversify. Even if Japan’s export restrictions, which emerged last year, impact the food packaging market, it is evaluated that Korea has secured the technological capability to respond.

Dr. Gwak Soonjong, Principal Researcher at KIST’s Optoelectronic Hybrid Research Center, stated, "With the development of a new material that can safely preserve food for a long time at low cost, we will be able to effectively address global food issues," adding, "It can be used not only for convenience food packaging but also in various fields such as lightweight automotive fuel tanks and pipes, packaging films to prevent leachate, and oil pipelines."

Seongmin Cho, Head of Polyketone Business Unit at Hyosung Chemical Co., Ltd., explained, "Pilot-stage experimental verification of this technology has already been completed, and currently, we are undergoing the final verification stages such as food storage evaluation and mass production process testing, so commercialization is very close."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.