FOOD SANDWICH PACKAGING WITH A RECYCLED POLYMER BETWEEN 2 FUNCTIONAL BARRIERS OF DIFFERENT THICKNESSES

The process of pollutant transfer is studied through a sandwich packag ing made of recycled polymer located between two functional barriers. These three layers are made of the same polymer but they have differen t thicknesses. The initial concentration of the pollutant in the recyc led polymer is uniform and the diffusivity is the same in the three la yers. There is no pollutant transfer through the external surfaces, so the study simulates the process of pollutant transfer through the san dwich before its use as food packaging. The results are expressed in t erms of dimensionless numbers in order to provide general results of u se in arty particular case: the profiles of concentration of pollutant developed through the thickness of the sandwich, the kinetics of poll utant transferred and the pollutant concentration-time histories on ea ch external surface. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.