Spectroscopic Stability Studies of Pressure Sensitive Labels Facestock Made from Recycled Post-Consumer Waste and Agro-Industrial By-Products

To support circular economy and sustainability, the use of synthetic polymers should be minimized due to their excessive accumulation in the environment and low biodegradation rate which leads to a global waste problem. Thus, the quota of natural resources should be increased, as well as the use of agriculture and industrial waste or by-products as raw materials in industrial processes. Agro-industrial wastes were found to have high cellulose fiber potential which makes them an excellent resource for paper production. This study investigates the influence of artificial aging test on the stability of commercially available fiber based self-adhesive pressure sensitive labels (PSL), in which the facestock is made of 15% agro-industrial byproducts, 40% post-consumer recycled paper and 45% virgin wood pulp and compared to ones made of biobased polyethylene. The results showed that optical brighteners are present in the composition of fiber based PSL. Moreover, the fluorescence and UV-Visible spectroscopy results indicated that by the action of UV irradiation and temperature. The oxidation of cellulose was not found by FTIR spectroscopy, indicating its high stability.

Automated summary

In order to promote circular economy and sustainability, the use of synthetic polymers should be minimized, natural resources should be increased, and agricultural and industrial waste should be utilized as raw materials. Agro-industrial waste has been found to have high cellulose fiber potential, making it a suitable resource for paper production. The study showed that fiber-based self-adhesive pressure sensitive labels exhibited high stability in artificial aging tests.