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[Display omitted] • The deposit-refund system enables the bottle-to-bottle high value recycling of PET. • High value recycling reduces GHG emissions and comprehensive environmental impact. • Reducing energy consumption and increasing yield are important cut-in points. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a widely used packaging material and has high value in recycling. However, under China's dominant informal recycling system, most PET bottles are downcycled into fibers. The deposit-refund system (DRS) is considered a feasible mechanism to facilitate the high-value recycling of PET bottles. To comparatively evaluate the environmental performance [reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollutant emissions] under different scenarios using life cycle assessments, including the current system based on informal recycling, an improved system with a larger contribution from the source separation of municipal solid waste, and evolving systems with DRS application, five scenarios were set up. The DRS can reduce GHG emissions and the comprehensive environmental impact by 0.538 kg CO 2 /kg PET bottles and 1.73 × 10−3 PE/kg PET bottles, respectively, compared to informal recycling. It can be concluded that the DRS-based recycling approach and the bottle-to-bottle recycling provide the substantial emission reduction potential of GHGs and pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation technology of micron spherical metal powder has become a common problem in the fields of chip, medical diagnosis, and 3D-printing. In this paper, micron spherical gold powder was prepared by hydrometallurgy process, and high-purity conductive gold ball was prepared by plasma spheroidizing method. The high-purity and highly dispersed gold powder was prepared with the self-made Au-99. 999% as raw material, hydrazine hydrate as reducing agent and PVP as diluent, and the reduction potential was controlled at 1 692 ~ 1 002 mV, 5N micron conductive gold spheres for semiconductor chips are obtained by gas flow crushing and plasma spheroidizing. At present, this method has realized industrialized production of 10 kg, preliminarily solved the problem that the conductive gold ball for domestic chip packaging was monopolized by other countries, and made an important contribution to improving China's chip R & D industry chain, especially the research and development of electronic grade gold raw materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Understanding the occurrence and distribution of parasitic nematodes is crucial – some are economic pests, and some are important predators of their insect associates. In our recent nematode inventory survey, two populations of an ektaphelechid nematode were detected in the branches of Pinus trees; later the same nematode population was detected in plant quarantine examinations of wood packaging material imported from Japan. The species was processed and identified as Ektaphelenchoides diversislocis sp. n. The new species can be characterised by having three lateral lines, stylet long and tripartite, excretory pore at the level of nerve ring, comparatively longer post-vulval uterine sac, indistinct rectum and anus. Female posterior body region conical, gradually narrowing, like a mucron or filiform. Male spicule with well-developed condylus, triangular rostrum, and cucullus absent. The species is morphologically and molecularly close to E. compsi. The new species was characterised with near full-length 18S, 28S D2-D3 regions, and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA genes and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene sequences. The species within the Ektaphelenchoides genus are considered to have predatory roles against insect associates; therefore, the discovery of E. diversislocis sp. n. from local and foreign woodlands warrants increased sampling and research attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rational application of green materials is a necessary step for the development of environment-friendly industries and a circular economy. However, the popularity and practicality of the sustainable development of office furniture companies in China still lags far behind the world’s leading companies. To gain a deeper understanding of the application of green materials in the Chinese office furniture industry, a questionnaire survey for enterprises in response to relevant issues was conducted based on an extensive review of the relevant literature. The research comprehensively analyzed the application status of green materials in Chinese and overseas office furniture companies, and the environment-friendly materials selection strategy of the main materials, and packaging materials for office desk furniture was proposed according to the current situation. The results showed that China has vigorously begun guiding and supporting the green development of furniture manufacturing enterprises, but there is imperative need of a range of upgrades in the enacting or revising of laws and regulations pertaining to green manufacturing and manufacturing technology. Furniture enterprises should seize the opportunity to promote the application of clean energy and improve the recycling mechanism of waste furniture with an aim to maximize the benefits of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss ratio of fresh fruit and vegetable has been as high as 25%-30% of the yield during circulation and sales in China. Wrapping mechanized engineering can be an effective way to reduce the fruit and vegetable loss after harvest. However, the current stretch film packaging in the manual or semi-automatic modes cannot meet the high demand for the mechanized packaging industry at present. In this study, a new type of clamping belt-type device was designed for the stretch film feeding and forming in the packaging machine for the fresh fruit and vegetable. The device was mainly composed of a clamping horizontal belt, a vertical and horizontal conveyor belt, as well as the longitudinal sealing mechanism. Among them, the clamping horizontal belt served as the key component to realizing the feeding of stretch film and covering the upper part of the packaging material. A mechanical and physical model of the films on the upper part of the load tray was established, according to the core components of the clamping horizontal belt. Specifically, the unilateral pressure was determined less than or equal to 5.82 N, and the inclination angle of the clamping horizontal belt was in the range of 12°≤α≤18°. The parameters were then calculated to fully meet the requirements, when the clamping distance of the horizontal belt was 250 mm. Since the clamping pressure of the upper and lower belts was depended on the adjustment distances of the ball screws, the test data was selected to fit the relationship equation between the clamping pressure and the adjustment distances. The height was calculated as 10 mm between the feeding and feeding point of the clamping horizontal belt and the bottom surface of the support, particularly meeting the demand for the feeding of the stretch film. The working parameters were set as the test factors, including the feeding speed for the clamping horizontal belt, the depression depth of the fluent strip parts, and the inclination angle of the clamping horizontal belt. The left offset and right offset were used as the test indicators of the performance of the device. The PVC stretch film with a width of 350 mm and the PP tray containing fresh carrots were selected as the test materials. The test results show that the three determinants were ranked in the descending order of the conveying speed, depression depth, and inclination angle in the test indicators. The test data was fitted to obtain the quadratic multiple regression equation of test factors and indicators. The optimal working parameters were achieved on the software Design-Expert 8.05b, where the conveying speed was 292 mm/s, the depression depth of the fluent strip parts was 10 mm, and the inclination angle of the clamping horizontal belt was 16.3°. The left offset and right offset were 10.5 and 11.4 mm, respectively, indicating the basic consistence with the prediction of the model. The working efficiency of the feeding and forming device was 23 bags/min. The packaging performance was achieved that the stretch film on the upper part of the tray was smooth, transparent, and without tearing, and the stretch film at the bottom of the tray was sealed longitudinally and neatly, which met the national requirements of packaging machines for the fresh fruits and vegetables. This article can provide a promising theoretical reference for the subsequent mechanized packaging of fresh fruits and vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent increases in organophosphate ester (OPE) application have led to their widespread presence, yet little is known about their temporal trends in food. This study collected milk samples from 13 countries across three continents during 2020–2023, finding detectable OPEs in all samples (range: 2.25–19.7; median: 7.06 ng/g ww). Although no statistical temporal differences were found for the total OPEs during the 4-year sampling campaign, it was interesting to observe significant variations in the decreasing trend for Cl-OPEs and concentration variations for aryl-OPEs and alkyl-OPEs (p < 0.05), indicating changing OPE use patterns. Packaged milk exhibited significant higher OPE levels than those found in directly collected raw unpackaged milk, and milk with longer shelf-life showed higher OPE levels, revealing packaging material as a contamination source. No significant geographical differences were observed in milk across countries (p > 0.05), but Shandong Province, a major OPE production site in China, showed relatively higher OPE concentrations. The Monte Carlo simulation of estimated daily intakes indicated no exposure risk from OPEs through milk consumption. The molecular docking method was used to assess human hormone binding affinity with OPEs, amongst which aryl-OPEs had the highest binding energies. The Toxicological-Priority-Index method which integrated chemical property, detection frequency, risk quotients, hazardous quotients and endocrine-disrupting effects was employed to prioritize OPEs. Aryl-OPEs showed the highest scores, deserving attention in the future. [Display omitted] • Four year temporal trends of OPEs were studied in global milk, revealing a decline of Cl-OPEs. • Migration from packaging material and cow excretion both contributed to OPE contents in milk. • Higher OPE levels were found in milk from the major OPEs production sites. • Molecular docking results suggested strong human hormone binding affinity with OPEs. • The ToxPi sheme with five domains was employed to prioritize OPE risks to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fresh Lycium barbarum (wolfberry) is one of the most popular medicinal and food supplements in China. The favorite taste and rich nutrients substances have drawn much more attention, with emphasis on a wide range of health benefits in recent years. Nevertheless, the postharvest fresh Lycium barbarum generally presents high respiratory climacteric intensity and very active physiological responses. Specifically, the fruit stalk is easy to fall off during ripening, which makes the juice of Lycium barbarum flow out and prone to mold pollution. As such, the preservation period of postharvest fresh fruit is only 2-3 days under normal temperature, indicating a very high occurrence of damage rate. Therefore, a great challenge still remains on the preservation of fresh Lycium barbarum fruit. Fortunately, vacuum precooling can quickly eliminate the field heat of fresh Lycium barbarum, while reducing the respiratory intensity. Since the precooling is very remarkable, only a few efforts were made on the vacuum precooling in the fresh Lycium barbarum. Furthermore, the respiration rate is relatively high in the fresh Lycium barbarum after harvest, which the air permeability of ordinary film cannot meet. It is easy to cause low oxygen concentration and high carbon dioxide concentration in the membrane, resulting in anaerobic respiration and carbon dioxide poisoning of fresh Lycium barbarum, and ultimately losing the nutritional value of fresh Lycium barbarum. Therefore, a high permeability film is highly demanding to deal with the breathing problem of fresh Lycium barbarum. Particularly, microporous film preservation is widely expected to be an ideal preservation way at present. In this study, the storage quality of fresh Lycium barbarum was investigated using vacuum precooling combined with microporous membrane packaging. The weight loss rate, wax layer, and respiration rate of fresh Lycium barbarum were also compared to determine the optimal process parameters. The fresh Lycium barbarum with vacuum precooling under the best process parameters was packaged with the microporous membrane, and then kept in cold storage at (-1 ± 0.5 ℃). The fresh Lycium barbarum with microporous membrane packaging and without any treatment was taken as the control group, and then kept in cold storage under the same storage conditions. The hardness, total soluble solids (TSS), color, respiratory intensity, and catalase (CAT) activity of fresh Lycium barbarum during storage were measured to comprehensively analyze the effects of different treatments on the storage quality of fresh fruit. The results showed that the final temperature of 6℃ and final pressure of 800-1 000 Pa posed little effect on the weight loss rate of fresh Lycium barbarum; the final temperature 6 ℃ and final pressure 1 200-1 500 Pa had little damage to the inner epidermis structure of fresh fruit; the final temperature 2 ℃ and final pressure 800-1 000 Pa presented the lowest respiratory intensity of fresh fruit. Consequently, the final temperature of 6 ℃ and the final pressure of 1 200-150 Pa were the optimal process parameters for the vacuum precooling of fresh Lycium barbarum. At the same time, the vacuum precooling combined with microporous membrane packaging during storage can effectively delay the decline of hardness and TSS, while reducing the respiratory intensity, color change, and CAT activity, compared with the control group. This finding can provide important theoretical support for the production of fresh Lycium barbarum using vacuum precooling technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two transportation modes have been used to solve the "last kilometer" delivery problem of perishable products in China. One mode involves the use of refrigerated vehicles, and the other involves transportation with nonrefrigerated vehicles but with thermal insulation packaging and phase-change refrigerants. In this paper, we studied the distribution of fresh products using nonrefrigerated vehicles under the community group purchase model. A new integrated model that can simultaneously select insulation packaging methods and vehicle paths was developed. We designed a heuristic algorithm based on genetic algorithm to solve larger-scale problems. We found that nonrefrigerated vehicle delivery was better than refrigerated vehicle delivery when neither the cost of the phase-change refrigerant nor the cost of packaging accounts for more than 50% of the total cost. There was an optimal balance between insulation packaging cost and shipping cost. The combination of thin and light packaging materials and high-efficiency cold storage materials could achieve the goals of ensuring the quality of fresh products and reducing transportation costs simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noodle originated from China but has received pervasive acceptance worldwide due to globalization, and the associated convenience, palatability and shelf stability of the product. Production of noodles basically involves mixing durum wheat with water and salt, and extruding the dough, which may be sold raw or further dried. Consequently, different raw materials and processing technologies have been used to produce diverse types including gluten-free noodles. Since noodles are classified based on origin, raw materials, processing method, shape, size, packaging materials, extent of cooking required and sometimes color, its nomenclature is cumbersome. Among the various types, yellow alkaline, white salted noodles, and most importantly instant noodles have received considerable attention. Raw material and processing techniques are responsible for the desirable quality attributes that promote instant noodle consumption. However, there are disputed perceptions on effects of instant noodles on human health. In this review, discussions regarding the evolution, various raw materials, production processes employed as well as their influence on noodle quality and public health implications as revealed by microstructure study and chemical detection analysis of dough and noodles are discussed. Exploratory research is ongoing on potentials of natural additives, composite flours and new processing technologies of noodles with acceptable textural properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) have been found to occur ubiquitously in foodstuff of both animal and plant origin. However, limited information is available on the content of CPs in green tea, one of the most commonly consumed beverages worldwide. Herein, 107 commercial green tea samples originating from 11 provinces of China, were collected to study the occurrence of short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs, respectively). The concentration of SCCPs in all green tea samples ranged from 4.99 to 717 ng/g (mean: 55.7 ng/g), while MCCPs ranged from 2.55 to 543 ng/g (mean: 33.5 ng/g). CP profiles in green tea samples from different provinces exhibited no regional differences. To identify the potential sources of CPs in green tea, 19 tea packaging samples were collected and analyzed, showing that SCCPs and MCCPs existed at much higher concentrations in the tea packaging material than in the teas. Migration tests indicated that CPs could migrate from packaging into teas during storage, with the migration velocity and efficiency of SCCPs being higher than MCCPs. [Display omitted] • 24 SCCP and 24 MCCP congener groups were detected in all tea samples. • Profiles of CPs in samples from different provinces exhibited no regional differences. • Migration tests show that CPs can migrate from packaging into tea during storage. • It's the CP contents in tea packing that matters during migration from packing to tea. • The velocity and efficiency of migration of SCCPs was higher than that of MCCPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Oligomeric proanthocyanidin nanospheres were formed by molecular self-assembly. • Hydrogen bonding improves a variety of properties of the films. • Improve the difficulty of nanometer composite film melting processing. • Excellent UV resistance is applied to agricultural film. Almost 90,000 tons of larch bark, which contains 10–16 % anthocyanins by weight, is produced as waste in China each year. Here, proanthocyanidins from the bark of Larix gmelinii were used to prepare oligomeric proanthocyanidin nanospheres (OPCM). The OPCMs were then blended with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to produce OPCM/PVA nanocomposite films. Incorporation of OPCM not only improves the performance of the film but also expands the applications of proanthocyanidins and provides a way to reduce the environmental impact of waste bark. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the OPCM were uniformly dispersed in the PVA, without macroscopic phase separation. OPCM/PVA nanocomposite film had improved mechanical and thermal properties compared with pure PVA film because of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the OPCM and PVA. The tensile strength of nanocomposite film containing 3 wt% OPCMs was 95 % higher than that of PVA film and its toughness and elongation at break were also enhanced to some extent. Compared with PVA film, the glass transition temperature (T g) and peak decomposition temperature (T max) of nanocomposite film containing 10 wt% OPCM were increased by 10.4 °C and 20.2 °C, respectively. The addition of OPCMs also overcomes a major disadvantage of PVA film, which is that the melting temperature is close to T max , and thus facilitates melt processing of PVA composite materials. The composite film also had increased resistance to oxidation and better surface wettability than PVA film. Although the composite film had enhanced UV-blocking properties compared with PVA film, even films with the highest proportion of OPCM still showed good transmittance of visible light. Because both OPCs and PVA are biodegradable, the resulting nanocomposites are also biodegradable and can be regarded as suitable candidates for agricultural film and packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of food safety, the safety of food packaging has received much attention from both the ordinary people and the government. Therefore the government has enhanced its supervision of the impact of packaging on the food safety. This paper reviews the laws, regulations and standards on safety of food packaging, and the migration investigation in China. Special focus is on the issues like the additives in food packaging and paper packaging. The advances in migration testing, migration model and molecular dynamics simulation on migration in China are enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-commerce industry is escalating at an unprecedented pace, which has led to the rapid growth of online shopping and the prosperity of express delivery service. However, there is increasing concern on the waste of the large amount of packaging materials from the express delivery sector, which has not been well documented in China, as well as many other countries. This paper employs the life cycle assessment method to quantify the implicit environmental impacts (measured by carbon dioxide equivalents, CO 2 e) of packaging materials' raw material production (embodied impact), boxes/bags manufacturing, and end-of-life stages, and then evaluates their reduction potentials. The results indicate that the waste of express delivery packaging materials has surged from 0.2 million metric tons (Mt) in 2007 to 9.2 ± 5% Mt in 2018 in China. Consequently, the total CO 2 e from packaging materials' overall life has soared from 0.3 Mt in 2007 to 13.2 ± 5% Mt in 2018. Raw materials' embodied impact, manufacturing process, and end-of-life phases account for 68.4%, 18.8%, and 12.7%, respectively. Our scenario-based analysis implies there are great opportunities to reduce packaging materials consumed and then mitigate their impact. These preliminary findings could not only help to better understand the impact of packaging materials for the express delivery sector but also inform evidence-based policymaking of green development in China's express delivery industry and beyond. • There is great concern on the scrap packaging materials from express delivery sector. • The GWP impact of express delivery packaging materials has been evaluated using LCA. • The GWP impact has kept fast growth with an annual growth rate by 43% in past decade. • A reduction of 35% by 2030 can be achieved if properly decreasing packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Natural enemies play a fundamental role in the control of invasive insects and may be particularly important in controlling Xylopagous beetle, which are difficult to contain with traditional chemicals as they are usually concealed within wood. Among the natural enemies that have proven effective against these beetles are parasitoid species in the genus Sclerodermus. The present article furthers knowledge of Sclerodermus brevicornis performance, focusing on the survival capability under different thermal conditions and the longer-term influences of these conditions. Many species of long-horned beetles are invasive pests causing significant economic damage in agro-forestry systems. They spend the majority of their life-cycle concealed inside natural wood or wooden packaging materials and are largely protected from adverse environmental conditions and pesticide sprays. Biological control via parasitoid natural enemies including members of the bethylid genus Sclerodermus, has proven effective against some long-horned beetles that are invasive in China. In Europe, the biocontrol potential of native Sclerodermus species is being evaluated with a view to developing efficient mass-rearing techniques and then actively deploying them against invasive Asian beetles. Here, we continue evaluations of S. brevicornis by establishing that groups of females that have already reared offspring to emergence are capable of reproducing subsequent hosts and by evaluating the lifetime reproductive capacity of individual females provided with successive hosts. Additionally, we assess the laboratory shelf-life of adult females stored for different times at different temperatures including cold storage, and then assess the post-storage reproductive performance of groups of females provided with a single host. We found that adult female longevity declines with increasing storage temperature and that most aspects of subsequent performance are negatively affected by high temperatures. The adaptability to low temperature storage enhances the suitability of S. brevicornis to mass-rearing programs and thus biocontrol deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li, H.F., 2020. Research on processing technology and design optimization of indoor soft packaging materials based on creation of artistic situation and influence of coastal climate. In: Bai, X. and Zhou, H. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 115, pp. 274-276. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Interior design pursues the combination of emotion and artistic conception. The creation of artistic situation is the highest aesthetic realm of interior design and the main factor that determines the quality of design. It satisfies people's beautiful imagination of interior space environment. Soft-fitting design is an essential link in interior space design and is also the key to optimize interior design. Based on the creation of artistic situations and the influence of coastal climate, a systematic study has been carried out on the processing technology and design optimization of soft materials in interior design. The general principles of material selection in interior design have been explored. The research results can guide the application of interior design in reality and have certain theoretical and practical significance, providing certain theoretical reference for the systematic research of interior design in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li, H.F., 2020. Research on processing technology and design optimization of indoor soft packaging materials based on creation of artistic situation and influence of coastal climate. In: Bai, X. and Zhou, H. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 115, pp. 274-276. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Interior design pursues the combination of emotion and artistic conception. The creation of artistic situation is the highest aesthetic realm of interior design and the main factor that determines the quality of design. It satisfies people's beautiful imagination of interior space environment. Soft-fitting design is an essential link in interior space design and is also the key to optimize interior design. Based on the creation of artistic situations and the influence of coastal climate, a systematic study has been carried out on the processing technology and design optimization of soft materials in interior design. The general principles of material selection in interior design have been explored. The research results can guide the application of interior design in reality and have certain theoretical and practical significance, providing certain theoretical reference for the systematic research of interior design in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the top 10 Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facilities in China. It says that packaging and assembly are main sections in the growth China's semiconductor supply chain. It states that suppliers of domestic packaging materials start to serve the leading packaging houses worldwide. It also presents a chart which shows the packaging material market of China from 2003-2014.