| HS Code | 406301 |
| Density | 1.24 g/cm³ |
| Melt Flow Rate | 10 g/10 min (210°C/2.16 kg) |
| Melting Temperature | 130°C |
| Glass Transition Temperature | 55°C |
| Tensile Strength | 50 MPa |
| Tensile Elongation At Break | 3% |
| Tensile Modulus | 3.5 GPa |
| Flexural Modulus | 3.5 GPa |
| Notched Izod Impact | 2.5 kJ/m² |
| Heat Seal Initiation Temperature | 80°C |
| Seal Strength | 10 N/15 mm |
| Haze | 2% |
| Light Transmittance | 90% |
As an accredited Ingeo™ Biopolymer 7032D Heat Seal Thermoforming PLA factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Ingeo™ Biopolymer 7032D Heat Seal Thermoforming PLA is supplied in 25 kg moisture-barrier lined paper bags, palletized for industrial handling. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL: Ingeo™ Biopolymer 7032D Heat Seal Thermoforming PLA, 25 kg bags on pallets; typically 20 pallets, 20 MT net. |
| Shipping | Shipping: Ingeo™ Biopolymer 7032D Heat Seal Thermoforming PLA is a non-hazardous thermoplastic resin, typically supplied in 25 kg moisture-barrier bags or lined boxes on pallets. It requires dry, cool storage and sealed packaging during transport to prevent moisture uptake. No special DOT/IMDG/IATA dangerous goods classification is required. |
| Storage | Store Ingeo™ Biopolymer 7032D in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area, ideally below 50°C and away from direct sunlight, heat, and ignition sources. Keep original packaging sealed to prevent moisture uptake; PLA is hygroscopic. Avoid excessive stacking or damage. For best results, dry resin before thermoforming as recommended. Shelf life may be limited under humid conditions. |
| Shelf Life | Ingeo 7032D has a recommended shelf life of at least 12 months when stored unopened below 30°C and 50% relative humidity. |
In coextruded sheet for fresh produce packaging, Ingeo™ Biopolymer 7032D functions as the low-temperature sealant skin because standard PLA homopolymer grades with higher stereoregularity undergo rapid crystallisation and require seal jaw temperatures above 140°C, at which thin lidstock exhibits dimensional distortion and microcracking. The grade is fed as a separate skin layer at 15–20 wt% of total throughput in a three-layer A/B/A structure, with the core layer comprising general-purpose PLA at 80–85 wt%. Sheet extrusion is performed on a 75 mm single-screw extruder with L/D 32:1, a barrier screw, and a melt pump controlling barrel pressure at 120–160 bar; skin zone temperatures are held at 185–200°C, core zones at 200–215°C, and the flat die at 190–205°C. A vacuum vent at 80–100 mbar absolute removes moisture because residual moisture above 250 ppm produces hydrolytic degradation and sheet brittleness. The polished three-roll stack is maintained at 30–40°C to suppress crystallinity, and thermoforming is performed on plug-assisted tooling at 30–40°C with draw ratios not exceeding 2.0:1. Heat-seal strength on production rotary sealers running 80–120 cycles/min is measured per ASTM F88/F88M-21; seal initiation occurs at 95–110°C jaw temperature and 0.35 MPa seal pressure. Food-contact compliance is based on overall migration testing per EN 1186-1:2002 and specific migration of lactic acid per EN 13130-1:2004 under EU Regulation (EC) No 10/2011; for US applications, the converter must verify the current Food Contact Notification for Ingeo 7032D within the FDA 21 CFR 174–186 framework. Terminal articles include cold-fill berry punnets, grape clamshells, fresh-cut salad bowls with lidding film, and hinged deli containers. The operational boundary is hot-fill exposure above 60°C because the heat deflection temperature of 7032D is approximately 55°C at 0.455 MPa per ASTM D648-18; pre-drying to below 250 ppm moisture at 80°C for 4–6 h is required when storage relative humidity exceeds 60%.
| Property | Test method | Typical value |
|---|---|---|
| Melt mass-flow rate | ISO 1133-1:2022 | 6 g/10 min at 210°C/2.16 kg |
| Specific gravity | ASTM D792-20 | 1.24 g/cm³ |
| Tensile yield strength | ASTM D638-14 | 60 MPa |
| Flexural modulus | ASTM D790-17 | 3.6 GPa |
| Heat deflection temperature | ASTM D648-18 at 0.455 MPa | 55°C |
In pharmaceutical tray and diagnostic device packaging, 7032D is converted into sheet in which sealability to compatible lidding fibers is more critical than mechanical stiffness after loading. The formulation uses virgin 7032D pellet at 100 wt% for the sheet core, with converting-line trim reintroduction limited to 15 wt% because higher recycled content raises melt acidity and reduces seal strength at the interface. Sheet production is run on a 50–75 mm single-screw extruder with L/D 30:1, a static melt filter of 200 mesh, melt temperatures of 180–195°C, and a polished stack at 25–35°C; the die gap is set between 0.5–0.8 mm to maintain caliper tolerance below ±5%. Thermoforming is carried out with plug-assisted negative pressure on tooling at 30–40°C, producing trays that are dimensionally stable to 55°C. For terminally sterilized medical device packaging, process validation is aligned with ISO 11607-1:2019, seal strength is measured per ASTM F88/F88M-21, and cytocompatibility testing is conducted per ISO 10993-5:2009 when the tray is intended for use adjacent to skin or mucosal tissue. Radiation sterilisation dose mapping must follow ISO 11137-1:2006 for each package geometry because published data for this specific 7032D sterile-barrier configuration is limited. Terminal products include suture trays, syringe nests, pipette trays, and diagnostic strip cassettes. This material is not suitable for steam sterilisation above 121°C or for dry-heat cycles exceeding 60°C, because the amorphous PLA sheet loses dimensional tolerances above 55°C unless post-annealing is applied.
The amorphous character of 7032D, measured by differential scanning calorimetry per ASTM D3418-21 as a glass transition near 55–60°C with a suppressed crystallisation exotherm during cooling at 20°C/min, produces a broader heat-seal plateau than semicrystalline PLA. In lidding film for cold-beverage cups, 7032D is coextruded as the sealant skin at 8–15 µm within a 30–60 µm total film structure; the skin represents 20–30 wt% of total film throughput. Cast-film coextrusion is run on a 45 mm extruder with L/D 28:1, barrel zones of 175–200°C, and a flat die at 195–205°C. Melt residence time at temperature is kept below 30 min to suppress lactide reformation and viscosity drift. Rotary cup fillers operating at 120–240 cups/min achieve heat-seal initiation at 100–120°C jaw temperature with 0.4 MPa seal pressure and 0.6–1.0 s dwell; peel strength is tested according to ASTM F88/F88M-21 and remains above 2.0 N/15 mm for sealed PLA cups. Compliance for direct food contact is covered under EU Regulation (EC) No 10/2011 with overall migration per EN 1186-1:2002, and for US applications the converter must verify the current Food Contact Notification for 7032D within the FDA 21 CFR 174–186 framework. Terminal products include cold-brew coffee cups, smoothie cups, dairy dessert cups, and portion cups with PLA lidding film. Hot-fill above 60°C or microwave reheat is outside the validated window for this grade because of the 55°C heat deflection temperature and the low crystallinity of the sealant skin after fast cooling.
Because thin-gauge sheet for bakery inserts and dry snack trays demands shrinkage control below 1.0% during demoulding, 7032D is processed in the amorphous state so that post-forming distortion remains lower than semicrystalline PLA sheet. The formulation uses virgin 7032D pellet at 100 wt% for the sheet core; converting-line regrind is reintroduced at no more than 20 wt% because higher regrind fractions raise melt acidity and reduce viscosity stability at the die lip. When tinted sheet is produced, color masterbatch addition is kept at 2–3 wt% with a PLA carrier; PE-carrier masterbatch causes interfacial delamination and must be avoided. Extrusion is performed on a 65 mm single-screw extruder with L/D 32:1, a Maddock mixing section, and a flexible-lip flat die set to 190–205°C. The three-roll stack is held at 25–35°C with a polished roll gap tuned to sheet thickness of 150–300 µm. Thermoforming uses matched-metal or plug-assisted tooling at 30–40°C and draw ratios up to 1.5:1. Moisture uptake of the sheet is approximately 0.5 wt% after 24 h at 23°C per ISO 62:2008, so dry-goods applications avoid the humidity-driven embrittlement that can occur in refrigerated high-moisture formats. Food-contact compliance is verified under EU Regulation (EC) No 10/2011 by overall migration testing per EN 1186-1:2002. Terminal products include formed cake collars, cookie trays, muffin inserts, pretzel trays, and snack bowl bases. The operational boundary is exposure to oven temperatures above 60°C or conditions combining relative humidity above 85% RH and temperature above 40°C for prolonged periods, where hydrolysis kinetics can reduce molecular weight; published data for specific product geometries in such conditions is limited.
In MAP lidding for chopped salads and fresh pasta trays, 7032D is used as the sealable skin because its low crystallinity allows peelable seals at process temperatures that do not collapse the tray flange. The lidding film is a three-layer cast coextrusion in which 7032D constitutes 15–25 wt% of the film as the inner sealant skin, while the core and outer layers are selected from PLA or compostable copolyester grades with higher modulus. Total film thickness is 25–50 µm with the 7032D skin at 6–12 µm. Coextrusion melt temperatures are held at 180–200°C for the skin and 200–210°C for the core; die temperature is 195–205°C. Post-consumer reclaim content in the skin layer is limited to 10 wt% because higher PCR fractions shift seal initiation upward by 5–10°C and increase seal-strength drift over a production shift. Seal testing on a tray lidding machine running 60–90 packs/min reports seal initiation at 95–110°C and stable burst-test results up to 0.5 MPa after sealing at 0.4 MPa for 0.8 s. Oxygen transmission of the final lidding structure is measured per ASTM D3985-17 at 23°C and 0% RH; because 7032D itself provides only moderate oxygen barrier, converters add a barrier core or vacuum-deposited coating when target OTR is below 100 cm³/(m²·day·atm). Food-contact compliance is based on EU Regulation (EC) No 10/2011 with overall migration per EN 1186-1:2002, and the package is qualified for compostability under EN 13432:2000 when all layers meet disintegration and ecotoxicity criteria. Terminal products include lidding for chopped salad bowls, fresh pasta trays, fruit bowls, and vegetable snack trays.
When 7032D is extrusion-coated or coextrusion-laminated as a sealant web on compostable tray lidding, the process window is narrower than for LDPE because PLA does not exhibit the same melt strength or low-temperature tack. The sealing layer is applied at 10–20 µm onto a paperboard or cellulose-based substrate; the 7032D layer represents 15–25 wt% of the finished lidding structure. Extrusion coating is run with a 65 mm single-screw extruder, L/D 30:1, at melt temperatures of 185–200°C and a flat die set to 195–205°C; the substrate is pretreated to a surface energy above 42 mN/m to prevent interfacial delamination, and the chill roll is held at 15–20°C to solidify the amorphous PLA layer without blocking. If adhesive lamination is used, a compostable dispersion adhesive must be selected because solventless polyurethane adhesives do not meet the compostability requirements of the final structure. Heat sealing on high-speed sandwich packaging lines requires jaw temperatures of 100–125°C, dwell times of 0.5–1.0 s, and seal pressures of 0.3–0.5 MPa; seal strength is measured per ASTM F88/F88M-21 and recorded in the range of 2.0–3.5 N/15 mm depending on substrate roughness. Compostability certification for the complete lidding is conducted under EN 13432:2000 or ASTM D6868-21; food-contact compliance is established under EU Regulation (EC) No 10/2011 and any applicable US FDA food-contact notification for 7032D. Terminal products include compostable sandwich boxes, burger wraps with film windows, salad clamshell lidding, and cold food service trays. The operational boundary is formed by the 55–60°C glass transition of 7032D; lidding exposed to hot lamps, microwave heating, or hot sandwich fillings above 60°C can lose seal integrity and must be downgauged or replaced with a higher-heat PLA grade.
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Ingeo™ Biopolymer 7032D Heat Seal Thermoforming PLA is a semicrystalline polylactide resin designed for the sealant layer in coextruded rigid sheet and thermoformed packaging. The product is supplied as cylindrical pellets with a nominal density of 1.24 g/cm³ when evaluated under ASTM D792-20, and its melt flow is controlled for sheet extrusion rather than injection molding. Typical melt mass-flow rate values for commercial heat seal PLA grades are reported in the range of 5 g/10 min to 15 g/10 min at 210 °C and 2.16 kg under ISO 1133-1:2022; the grade-specific certificate of analysis remains the controlling document. The material is intended for cups, trays, clamshells, and lidding-sealed dairy containers where a lower seal initiation temperature reduces dwell time on form-fill-seal equipment and broadens the operating window against polymeric or coated lidding membranes.
The principal molecular distinction between 7032D and general-purpose extrusion PLA is a controlled D-lactide content that suppresses crystallinity and shifts the seal initiation threshold downward. In PLA, increasing the D-isomer fraction decreases the equilibrium melting point and retards spherulitic crystallization, so the sealant layer can flow and coalesce at jaw temperatures lower than those required for structural PLA core layers. Differential scanning calorimetry according to ASTM D3418-21 or ISO 11357-3:2018 is used to verify glass transition, cold crystallization, and melting endotherm positions. For semicrystalline PLA heat seal grades, the glass transition is typically observed between 55 °C and 60 °C, while melting endotherms are commonly detected in the 145 °C to 165 °C interval; product-specific thermograms should be obtained from the supplier.
Because the grade is normally coextruded as a thin cap layer over a higher-stiffness PLA core or over a non-PLA structural layer, sealant layer thickness is commonly maintained between 5% and 15% of total sheet thickness. At those thicknesses, the sealant resin contributes sufficient surface amorphous content for fusion while avoiding domination of the flexural modulus of the formed part. Production-scale coextruders fitted with barrier screws having an L/D ratio of 24:1 to 30:1 are typically used, and die lip adjustments are set to maintain a uniform cap layer because layer-to-layer variation above ±10% can produce erratic heat seal strength in finished containers.
Seal initiation temperature is not a single resin property; it is a combined result of resin composition, sealant layer thickness, jaw pressure, dwell time, and lidding film coating chemistry. The most common tensile-peel evaluation is conducted under ASTM F88/F88M-21, in which a 25.4 mm or 15 mm wide specimen is peeled at a defined separation rate, commonly 200 mm/min to 300 mm/min. Heat sealability curves are generated under ASTM F2029-16 following seal dwell times of 0.5 s to 1.0 s and jaw pressures of 2 bar to 4 bar; the reported value is the temperature at which peel force crosses a defined threshold, often 0.4 N/mm to 1.0 N/mm depending on specification. For heat seal PLA grades, the target seal initiation band generally lies between 80 °C and 100 °C, whereas a general-purpose extrusion PLA may not initiate an acceptable seal until the interface reaches 110 °C or higher. Published data for 7032D in every lidding film configuration is limited; converter trials using the specific lidding structure are required.
Hot-tack evaluation under ASTM F1921/F1921M-12(2018) measures the seal’s resistance to failure while the sealant is still molten. This property is critical on vertical form-fill-seal lines where product loading occurs immediately after sealing. Heat seal PLA grades achieve a useful hot-tack plateau by balancing D-lactide content and melt viscosity. If the D-isomer content is too high, hot-tack strength collapses because the molten film lacks cohesive strength; if it is too low, seal initiation temperature rises and the seal window narrows. The 7032D grade is therefore controlled within a narrower D-lactide tolerance than standard extrusion PLA so that both seal initiation and hot-tack remain stable across batch-to-batch conversion. The controlling analytical method is typically high-performance liquid chromatography or polarimetry after alkaline depolymerization, with the D-lactic acid fraction reported on a percent basis.
Before sheet extrusion, the resin must be dried in a desiccant dryer with a supply-air dew point of -40 °C or lower and an air volume sufficient to maintain pellet bed temperature at 70 °C to 80 °C for 3 h to 4 h. Target final moisture content is below 250 ppm (0.025%) by Karl Fischer titration. Hydrolytic degradation during melt processing is the dominant failure mode when drying is skipped. At typical melt temperatures, residual moisture above 0.05% reduces molecular weight, lowers melt viscosity, and produces edge tear or pinhole defects in formed parts. On a single-screw extruder with a 30:1 L/D barrier screw, the melt temperature measured at the die should be maintained between 190 °C and 210 °C for this grade unless the supplier’s grade-specific processing guide provides a different upper limit. Melt temperatures exceeding 220 °C increase lactide formation and may cause yellowing or seal strength loss.
When process air humidity exceeds 60% RH, pellet storage after drying should be in sealed moisture-barrier packaging, because PLA re-absorbs moisture quickly and can exceed 0.05% within 30 min in uncontrolled ambient conditions. Hydrolytic degradation is autocatalytic because carboxylic acid end groups generated by chain scission accelerate further hydrolysis. Extruders running 7032D should be purged with a viscosity-matched PLA purge before introducing the heat seal grade, and barrel residence time should be kept below 5 min at melt temperature above 200 °C. Screw speed should be selected to limit specific energy below approximately 0.25 kWh/kg, because excessive shear heating can raise melt temperature beyond the set barrel profile and produce lactide fuming. The hydrolysis kinetics of PLA are measurable by parallel-plate rheometry in the linear viscoelastic region, with complex viscosity followed at 210 °C for 30 min under nitrogen; a drop in complex viscosity exceeding 20% indicates moisture-induced degradation or excessive thermal history.
The resin is not intended as the primary layer in cast film or biaxially oriented film operations; its melt rheology is optimized for sheet extrusion, polishing roll contact, and downstream thermoforming. When coextruding 7032D as a cap layer, die temperatures should be profiled to avoid stagnant melt at the edge of the manifold. Polished roll temperatures in the range of 40 °C to 60 °C are typical for PLA sheet. Higher roll temperatures can accelerate cold crystallization and increase sheet haze, while lower roll temperatures can create residual stress that later manifests as corner cracking during plug-assist thermoforming.
In dairy packaging lines, cups formed from 7032D-capped sheet are sealed against coated paperboard, PET/aluminum foil, or PLA-based lidding films. The sealant layer is intended to reduce dependence on lacquer or extrusion-coated lidding sealants because the cup flange itself participates in fusion. Actual seal strength depends on flange flatness, seal bar temperature profile, and anvil pressure. Production lines often operate with seal bar temperatures between 90 °C and 130 °C and dwell times from 0.6 s to 1.8 s. For films with low-temperature heat-seal coatings, the lower end of this range may be used; for aluminum foil lidding without a low-melt coating, the upper end may be needed. Dwell time and pressure should be mapped against peel force per ASTM F88 to avoid a false seal where surface tack is present but cohesive bond depth is insufficient.
A key operational boundary is the thermoforming sheet surface temperature. For plug-assist pressure forming, sheet surface temperatures between 85 °C and 110 °C are typical, with aluminum tooling maintained at 25 °C to 45 °C. Above the upper temperature, PLA sheet can sag and thin unpredictably; below the lower temperature, stress whitening and microcracking can occur. Tool design must account for PLA’s relatively low elongation at break and notch sensitivity. Unlike amorphous PETG, semicrystalline PLA exhibits a sharper transition from rigid to extensible; therefore, plug speed and plug temperature must be tuned to avoid contact-webbing in square or rectangular cavities with draw ratios above 2:1.
Compared with a higher-crystallinity biaxially oriented PLA film grade, 7032D is not supplied for high-orientation processes where strain-hardening and low D-lactide crystallinity are required for blown film or tenter-frame film. Compared with a general-purpose extrusion grade, 7032D provides a lower seal initiation temperature, but its lower crystallinity in the formed part may reduce the upper-use temperature of the sealant side. The material’s flexural modulus and heat deflection temperature are not the primary selection criteria for a cap layer; the structural design should rely on a higher-stiffness core layer, with 7032D limited to the sealing surface. Published comparative data for all mechanical properties in the same tool geometry is limited; selections should be based on application-specific coextrusion pilot trials.
| Property | Test method | Heat seal grade target | General-purpose extrusion grade target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seal initiation temperature | ASTM F2029-16 | 80 °C to 100 °C | 110 °C to 130 °C |
| Hot-tack peak force | ASTM F1921/F1921M-12(2018) | stable plateau above 0.2 N/mm at optimum jaw temperature | narrow or shifted upward |
| D-lactide control | supplier QC | controlled within narrow tolerance to depress seal initiation | lower D-isomer for higher crystallinity |
| Melt flow rate | ISO 1133-1:2022 | 5–15 g/10 min at 210 °C | 3–10 g/10 min depending on grade |
| Thermoforming sheet temperature | supplier data | 85–110 °C | 90–120 °C |
Regulatory compliance is application-dependent and must be confirmed against current supplier documentation. The following standard designations are used in qualifying PLA for food-contact thermoformed packaging.
| Regulatory framework | Relevant standard or clause | Typical data requirement for 7032D |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. food contact | FDA 21 CFR 177.1630 | Monomer/oligomer migration limits under intended conditions of use |
| EU food contact | Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 | Overall migration ≤ 10 mg/dm²; lactide-specific SML if applicable |
| Biobased carbon content | ASTM D6866-22 | Reported pMC or biobased carbon fraction from supplier certificate |
| Heavy metals | RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU Annex II | Pb, Cd, Hg, Cr(VI), PBB, PBDE thresholds |
Heat sealing is a molecular diffusion process across the interface. The sealant surface must reach a temperature above its melting onset but below its degradation threshold. Under jaw pressure, polymer chains at the interface interdiffuse, and on cooling they either crystallize partially or vitrify. For PLA, seal strength depends on whether the lidding film coating and 7032D layer form a miscible or compatible interface. Seal strength measured after 24 h aging can differ from immediate seal strength because secondary crystallization in PLA can embrittle the seal. Testing should therefore include both immediate and aged peel force measurements, especially for refrigerated distribution. Package integrity can be checked by bubble leak testing under ASTM F2096; however, that method is not specific to the sealant resin formulation.
The sealant layer should not be blended with PVC, PVDC, or recycled PLA from unknown sources. Chlorinated polymer contamination can release hydrogen chloride during melt processing, which autocatalyzes PLA hydrolysis and produces surface defects. High-pH cleaning agents should not be applied to formed cups before seal integrity testing, because alkaline hydrolysis can reduce seal peel force and confound data. D-lactic acid assay should be monitored per batch because shifts in D-isomer content can move seal initiation temperature by several degrees Celsius. Incorporation of in-house regrind is possible up to 20 wt% to 30 wt% when the regrind is dry and generated from identical coextruded sheet, but higher regrind levels raise crystallinity due to repeated heat history and may narrow the thermoforming window. Regrind must be ground to a uniform granule size and passed through a metal separator to protect screw and die. The melt flow rate of reclaimed material should be checked under ISO 1133-1:2022 at 210 °C; a shift of more than 2 g/10 min relative to virgin resin suggests hydrolysis and warrants troubleshooting of drying or screw temperature.
Film lidding incompatibility appears when the coating chemistry requires seal temperatures above 150 °C; such films can damage the PLA flange before an adequate seal is formed. Sealing 7032D caps to uncoated aluminum foil typically requires surface temperatures at the upper end of the forming window, which can cause flange softening, thinning, and false seal failure. Converter trials should include peel-force mapping across seal bar temperature gradients, flange thickness, and dwell time. Shelf-life studies under refrigerated distribution at 2 °C to 8 °C are generally used to confirm seal integrity and caustic-stress-cracking performance; published data for this specific configuration is limited and must be generated for each package.
