Repulpable And Recyclable Composite Packaging Articles And Related Methods

Abstract

Unexpectedly unique and environmentally friendly composite material structures, storage articles fabricated therefrom, and related methods. The composite structure includes at least one or more fiber-containing layers, such as fiberboard or other layers having fibers from natural and/or synthetic sources, and one or more mineral-containing layers. The mineral-containing layer(s) comprises a thermoplastic bonding agent fixing the mineral particles in place. The fiber-containing layer(s) and mineral-containing layer(s) can be shaped, sized, and manufactured such that the composite structure formed therefrom is capable of being machined to form the storage article. The composite structure can be repulped and recycled without the use of dispersions, emulsions, or aqueous solutions. Further, the composite reduces layer mass requirements for heat seal, barrier, and fiber adhesion compared to polymer layers. The composite structure further has tensile strength and other structural characteristics that allow it to be readily machined into desired storage article forms.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A method of making a packaging layer from a paper, wherein the paper comprises a mineral containing barrier layer coupled to a fiber layer, and wherein the mineral containing layer comprises a thermoplastic bonding agent, comprising:
 pulping the paper to produce released fibers and mineral containing layer fragments;   compounding the pulp to intersperse particles in the thermoplastic resin to have a density ranging from about 1.01 g/cm 3  to about 4.25 g/cm 3 ;   extrusion coating the thermoplastic resin to form a packaging layer,   collecting the packaging for recycling and depositing the collected packages into a paper recycling machine pulper;   wherein the packaging layer has a higher density than water; upon recycling, the packaging layer improving the quality of the pulp; and the packaging layer having a higher structural brittleness and crystallinity such that it improves the recycling process by forming unique particles and fragments in the pulp.   
     
     
         15 . The method of claim  1 , wherein the thermoplastic content in the pulp separates and breaks into fragments and particles containing thermoplastic and other particles having a size between 0.05 mm 2  and up to 2 mm 2 . 
     
     
         16 . The method of claim  1 , wherein the recycling process is continued until the screen yield is at least 77%, wherein the screen is a slotted and round screen with 0.01″ slot openings. 
     
     
         17 . The method of claim  1 , wherein the released fibers pass through screening plates having hole screen openings with a diameter of about 0.8 mm to about 1.5 mm. 
     
     
         18 . The method of claim  4 , wherein the screening plates comprise a hole screen, a slotted screen, and a contoured screen. 
     
     
         19 . The method of claim  1  wherein the fiber component comprises softwood fibers, hardwood fibers, or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of claim  1 , further comprising using high density, forward, and through flow cleaners to separate the mineral containing impurities from the pulp. 
     
     
         21 . The method of claim  7 , wherein the cleaners have a diameter of from about 70 mm to about 400 mm. 
     
     
         22 . The method of claim  1 , further comprising using centrifugal cleaners to separate the mineral containing impurities from the pulp. 
     
     
         23 . The method of claim  1 , wherein the minerals in the mineral containing layer have physical properties as shown in Table 2. 
     
     
         24 . The method of claim  1 , wherein the minerals in the mineral containing layer have a particle size between from 0.1 micron to 10.0 micron, or a particle size of less than 100 nanometers. 
     
     
         25 . The method of claim  1 , wherein the minerals in the mineral containing layer are nanoparticles having a size range from 0.06 microns to 0.15 microns. 
     
     
         26 . The method of claim  1 , wherein the minerals in the mineral containing layer have shapes comprising spheres, rods, cubes, blocks, flakes, platelets, and irregular shapes. 
     
     
         27 . A pulp of a paper, wherein the paper comprises a mineral containing barrier layer and a fiber containing layer, having the characteristics, comprising:
 the paper having a structural brittleness to release fibers from the barrier layer and pass through a screen having one or more hole screen openings with a diameter of about 0.8 mm to about 1.5 mm; and   the pulp having a crystallinity from 60% to 95%