Dow has launched a microfoaming technology for the packaging industry in Latin America. The company is the “Official Chemistry Company of the Olympic Games and the Official Carbon Partner of Rio 2016”. The microfoaming technology project is part of a comprehensive Dow program focused on mitigating the carbon footprint of the Olympic Games.

Packaging plays an important role in helping minimize food waste. Microfoaming is a licensed technology developed to reduce weight and add a more sustainable profile to plastic films and packages. It allows density reduction (lightweighting) in coextruded films through physical foaming. This ensures more packaging material is produced using the same amount of resin. In addition, these improvements in the extrusion process and the higher productivity enable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The project is being implemented in partnership with manufacturers located in Brazil (Valfilm), Argentina (Petropack), Mexico (Folmex), Colombia, and Guatemala (Plastilene) as well as MuCell Extrusion LLC, an equipment manufacturer for extrusion solutions and Dow’s exclusive collaborator for the foamed film technology.

Dow is working with external partners to quantify the expected reductions in carbon emissions from this process. After verification by independent auditors, the results along with those from the other projects being implemented in Brazil and Latin America, will be applied toward the mitigation of Rio 2016’s carbon footprint.

• The DOW Chemical Company, Midland, MI, USA