ANÁLISE DO DESCOLAMENTO NO PROCESSO DE LAMINAÇÃO DE EMBALAGENS RETORT PARA PET FOOD EM UMA INDÚSTRIA DE EMBALAGENS PLÁSTICAS FLEXÍVEIS

Abstract

Lamination is one of the most important and costly stages in the production process of retort packaging, as it involves the bonding of flexible plastic films with secondary inputs such as aluminum films, adhesives, and organic solvents. This results in packaging with high resistance to moisture, organic compounds, and elevated temperatures, thus enabling the storage of wet pet food. Since it is an extremely sensitive process due to the large number of variables involved, lamination requires stricter quality control. In this context, a literature review was conducted to provide the necessary theoretical foundation for a deeper understanding of the process and its variables, allowing the mapping of possible causes for one of the main defects observed in the lamination stage over an 18- month period in a factory located in João Pessoa, Paraíba: delamination. Based on data collected through questionnaires applied to operators/assistants in the sector and the analysis of nonconformity reports, it was possible to identify the most critical causes of this production defect, such as adhesive dosage, curing time, film treatment, lamination temperature, system relative humidity, film alignment, and sensitivity to input changes. To address this issue, quality tools were proposed to help mitigate the recurrence of these failures and to optimize the resolution of these bottlenecks.