Kuredux PGA is a polyester resin which offers high gas barrier to both CO2 and O2, controllable hydrolysis and excellent mechanical strength. This unique combination of properties makes Kuredux ideally suited for high performance packaging and industrial applications. Today, the targeted application for Kuredux is multilayer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for carbonated soft drinks and beer. Since Kuredux offers a gas barrier 100 times higher than that of PET, it is possible to reduce the amount of PET used in these bottles by more than 20 percent, while maintaining the equivalent barrier against CO2 loss.
This bottle redesign has the potential of yielding cost reduction as well as source reduction opportunities in the marketplace. Perhaps most importantly, Kuredux’s unique hydrolytic properties make it highly compatible with widely practiced industrial PET recycling processes, ensuring the material does not interfere with the purity and quality of recycled PET.
In another packaging application, Kuredux multi-layer designs have been shown to enhance the gas and moisture barrier of bio-based polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA). Through expanded use in biodegradable applications, Kuredux will further contribute to environmental conservation. In addition, Kureha is working with several development partners to commercialize industrial applications that utilize the easily controllable hydrolysis rate and excellent mechanical strength of Kuredux.
For many years there has been no high volume, cost effective manufacturing process available for Kuredux, and therefore its production has been limited to relatively small-scale operations for the manufacture of surgical sutures. Kureha is the first and only company, who succeeded in developing technology to produce large volumes of PGA, supporting this development with significant intellectual property.
Kuredux® Polyglycolic Acid (PGA) Barrier Resin
