Industrial garbage bags are an indispensable packaging material in industrial production, but their production process is accompanied by the problem of plastic microparticle emissions. Plastic microparticles not only pollute the environment, but may also enter the human body through the food chain, threatening human health. Therefore, reducing the emission of plastic microparticles in the production of industrial garbage bags has become an important issue that the industry needs to solve urgently.
Traditional plastic raw materials are prone to produce microparticles during processing. Selecting new environmentally friendly materials with low volatility and high stability is the key to reducing emissions. For example, bio-based plastics or degradable plastics are easier to control molecular chain breakage in a molten state, and the number of microparticles produced can be reduced by more than 30%. Some companies have adopted starch-based materials to replace some petroleum-based raw materials, which not only reduces microparticle emissions, but also reduces carbon footprint.
Melt extrusion is the main source of microparticle generation. By optimizing the screw speed, temperature curve and mold design, the molecular chain breakage caused by shear heat can be significantly reduced. For example, the use of low-shear screw design can reduce microparticle emissions by 25%, while improving the mechanical properties of the film. In addition, the introduction of ultrasonic assisted melting technology uses high-frequency vibration to reduce melt viscosity and further reduce microparticle generation.
Installing a multi-stage filter device on the extruder head is an effective means of intercepting particles. The interception efficiency of traditional single-stage filters is less than 60%, while the composite filter with a gradient aperture distribution (such as 100μm+50μm+20μm three-stage filtration) can increase the interception efficiency to more than 95%. Some companies have also introduced electrostatic adsorption technology to capture charged particles through the action of the electric field, so that the emission concentration is lower than the environmental protection standard of 10mg/m³.
The diffusion of particles in the workshop is an important cause of secondary pollution. The use of a fully enclosed production workshop, combined with a negative pressure exhaust system, can control the particle concentration below 5mg/m³. At the same time, local dust hoods are set around key equipment (such as extruders and bag cutters) to collect scattered particles in real time. A company has reduced the amount of particle deposition in the workshop by 70% by implementing a dust-free workshop transformation.
Establishing a scrap recovery system is a dual strategy to reduce raw material waste and particle emissions. Through crushing, cleaning and regranulation processes, production waste is reused in low-end product manufacturing. Data shows that recycling 1 ton of waste can reduce the use of 0.3 tons of new materials and reduce the corresponding proportion of particulate emissions. Some companies have also developed online recycling systems to directly transport scraps to granulators to avoid secondary pollution.
Completely replacing traditional plastics is a long-term solution. Degradable materials (such as PLA and PBAT) can be decomposed by microorganisms under certain conditions, eliminating particulate pollution from the source. The starch-based composite material launched by a certain company keeps the strength of garbage bags while making particulate emissions close to zero. In addition, the application of paper packaging bags in the industrial field is also on the rise, and the particulate emissions in its production process are only 1/5 of those of plastics.
The government should introduce stricter particulate emission standards, such as gradually reducing the current limit of 15mg/m³ to 5mg/m³. At the same time, tax incentives and R&D subsidies should be used to encourage companies to adopt clean production technologies. Industry associations can take the lead in establishing a public platform for particulate detection to promote technology sharing. A certain region has implemented a "particulate emission points system" to force companies to increase environmental protection investment, reducing regional emissions by 40%.
The reduction of particulate matter in the production of industrial garbage bags requires the coordinated promotion of material innovation, process optimization, equipment upgrades and policy guidance. With the tightening of environmental regulations and the improvement of consumer awareness, the industry is accelerating its transformation to green. In the future, through breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies such as nanomaterial modification and bio-enzyme degradation, industrial garbage bags are expected to achieve zero particulate matter emissions and contribute to the circular economy and sustainable development.
