How to test water vapor barrier property of aluminum plastic composite film used for protein powder?

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Protein powder is one very common health care product, which has become more and more popular as a nutritional supplement. Protein powders come in various forms. The three common ones are whey, soy, and casein protein.

The common packaging materials used for protein powder include aluminum plastic composite film, aluminized composite film and metal cans. Once the water vapor in external environment enter inside the package, the protein powder may become caking and eventually get deteriorated, which may cause harm to the human health. It is necessary to test the water vapor barrier property of those packaging materials before use in order to guarantee the quality of protein powder within shelf life.

This article provides a simplified test method of water vapor barrier property of aluminum plastic composite film for your reference which may be helpful to the manufacturers of protein powder when selecting packaging materials for their products. The testing instrument we used is Labthink’s W3/031 Water Vapor Transmission Rate Tester.

Figure 1. Aluminum Plastic Composite Package for Protein Powder

Currently there are mainly two categories of test methods for water vapor transmission rate i.e. gravimetric method (also known as cup method and divided into dry cup method and wet cup method) and sensor method (including electrolytic sensor method, infrared sensor method and humidity sensor method). Labthink’s W3/031 Water Vapor Transmission Rate Tester uses gravimetric method. Under a certain test temperature, a constant humidity difference is generated between two sides of the test specimen. The water vapor permeates through the specimen and into the dry side. By measuring the weight changes of the test dish in different time, water vapor transmission rate and other parameters can be obtained.

Figure 2. W3/031 Water Vapor Transmission Rate Tester

The tests can be performed according to the following procedures.

Cut three pieces of specimens from the provided sample with sample cutter. The diameter of the specimen should be 74mm.

Clamp the specimens in three test dishes respectively and then close the glass door of the instrument.

Set specimen name, specimen thickness, test temperature, test humidity and other test parameters.

Turn on the gas supply and click Start Test to start the test.

When the tests are finished, the test results will be calculated and displayed automatically.

For more details about W3/031 Water Vapor Transmission Rate Tester, please visit www.labthink.com

About Labthink Instruments Co., Ltd:

Labthink Instruments Co., Ltd is one leading supplier of packaging testing instruments, which is headquartered in Jinan, China and operated in Boston, U.S.A.