The Changing Landscape of Emissions Control

As global commerce continues to evolve, the science of emissions control has to keep pace. A case in point is flexographic printing, which produces eye-catching, colorful artwork on flexible plastic consumer packaging — from potting soil to snack foods and everything in between. But flexographic printing can release volatile organic compounds into the air that can have negative impacts on environmental and human health, unless emissions control systems are in place.

The volatile organic compound problem

The lavish use of color in consumer packaging today is a far cry from the 1970s, when some manufacturers in the United States turned to simple black-and-white, generic motifs in an effort to accommodate budget-conscious consumers during an economic downturn.

Some brands continue to deploy muted graphics as a signal to shoppers on a budget. For the most part, though, the Great Recession of 2008 and the economic downturn touched off by the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak failed to motivate a revival of the 1970s generic movement, indicating that the preference for printing packages with colorful artwork will continue to supersede other economic concerns into the future. As a result, the challenge of developing efficient systems to avoid the harmful health effects from volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions will continue to rise.

VOCs are chemicals commonly found in printing inks as well as thousands of other products, including many used around the house. Some industry innovators responded to the need for less harmful alternatives by introducing bio-based, low- or no-VOC coatings and inks.

In the U.S., the 1990 amendments to the 1970 Clean Air Act also stepped up regulation of VOC emissions, leading to air quality improvements. Yet they continue to be a problem, especially in hotspots such as China, where researchers have identified the printing industry as a leading cause of ozone pollution.

The need for more efficient solutions 

The U.S. engineering firm Ship & Shore Environmental is among the innovators developing new technology to address various sources of VOC emissions, with flexible plastic packaging as one area of focus. Anoosheh Oskouian, the company’s CEO and president, explained the focus on flexographic printing in a recent conversation with TriplePundit.

Oskouian cited the recent manufacturing boom, the focus on sanitary packaging motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the use of flexible packaging in e-commerce and delivery service as factors contributing to a potential increase in VOC pollution.

“Imagine when you go to any grocery store anywhere, everything you see, bags, wrapping on flowers, anything that has a plastic film involved,” Oskouian said, explaining that printing on paper has decreased, only to be replaced by printing on plastic. Flexible plastic also replaced other types of printed packaging, like using flexible plastic pouches for coffee instead of cans, she said.

“Plus, the more artwork printed on the film, the more VOCs and solvents are used to prepare them,” she said. “We’re just living in a bag world,” 

VOC emissions control regulations are not going away

Despite a recent, abrupt shift in federal environmental policy in the U.S., the motivation to keep improving VOC control continues among some states. Notably, California set emissions standards followed by New York, New Jersey and Texas. The European Union is also a leader in global VOC regulation, Oskouian said.

She anticipates that U.S. manufacturers will continue to take advantage of new emissions control technologies, regardless of current federal policy. The Environmental Protection Agency can choose not to enforce regulations, but the regulations themselves cannot easily be rescinded.

With the 2028 Presidential election cycle less than four years away, manufacturers planning for the long term can invest in new emissions control technology today, under the assumption that federal environmental policy will resume its protective stance on emissions. 

Technology solutions and post-consumer recycling

Among a number of technology solutions for VOC emissions introduced by Ship & Shore are Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers, a new type of energy-efficient incinerator equipped with ceramic heat exchangers. The oxidizers can eliminate up to 99 percent of VOCs and other hazardous air pollutants.

The initial start-up requires natural gas to reach the required temperature of around 1500 degrees Fahrenheit, but after that, it can recycle the incoming VOCs as fuel, reducing the need for fossil energy inputs.

The oxidizers also enable waste heat from the system to be reused, further reducing utility bills for the manufacturer. Heat from an oxidizer can be deployed for space heating at a facility, for example, or transferred to provide heat for other industrial processes. 

Researchers are exploring the impact of VOCs and flexographic printing on the already-difficult task of recycling and repurposing plastic film. In 2021, for example, researchers in Spain noted that mechanical recycling does not address the VOC content in printed plastic films. They advised steam stripping as an efficient means of removing VOCs from the recycling stream. 

In 2023, a multinational research team in Europe indicated that implementing a VOC-based sorting system for post-consumer flexible packaging would be helpful. They found 203 VOCs on food packaging and 142 VOCs on non-food products in bales of post-consumer flexible packaging.

“Potential scenarios showed that sorting the categories with the lowest VOC load, which corresponds to half of the total mass of flexible packaging, could result in a VOC reduction of 56 percent,” according to the study.

Last July, researchers in Denmark also released a study exploring how flexographic printing can alter the mechanical properties of plastic, potentially degrading the recycling process. Their findings suggest that manufacturers, designers and printers can work with recycling stakeholders to continue making progress on VOC reduction throughout the plastic film lifecycle.

Over the long run, rising consumer awareness of the link between VOC pollution and lavishly-printed artwork on packaging may help motivate manufacturers to do more with less and develop creative ways to attract shoppers while reducing reliance on harmful chemicals. For now, though, the minimalist trend is far overshadowed by the rush to color. Policymakers are responding with tighter regulations, and the engineering community will continue to respond with new solutions.