BOPE material from LG Chem, recipient of the 2025 Korea Technology Grand Prize President's Award. Photo by LG Chem
LG Chem's technology for eco-friendly plastic packaging won the highest award, the Presidential Award, at the '2024 Korea Industrial Technology R&D Exhibition Technology Awards' on the 27th.
The Korea Technology Awards is the most prestigious technology award ceremony in Korea, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It recognizes companies, research institutes, and universities that have developed new technologies and products with outstanding technical achievements and significant impact on related industries.
LG Chem's developed 'Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene (BOPE)' is newly designed from the polymer's crystalline structure, providing high strength and transparency despite being a single material. When used in packaging, it also allows for easy recycling.
Generally, film packaging materials have been made by mixing various plastics such as polyethylene and nylon to ensure strength for protecting contents. This has made physical recycling difficult, and even when separated for collection, most are incinerated or landfilled.
The BOPE developed by LG Chem can be applied as eco-friendly packaging for refill detergents and pet food pouches where the contents are visible. With environmental regulations on packaging materials tightening mainly in developed countries, its applications are expected to expand gradually.
Choi Iyung, a research fellow at LG Chem who developed this technology, said, "The customers' demand for packaging materials that are transparent, tough, and environmentally friendly was the starting point of this research," adding, "We will continue research on eco-friendly and recyclable materials to contribute to a better future."
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