How Can PVDC Reduce Film Thickness and Packaging Costs Without Sacrificing Shelf Life?
In the packaging industry, reducing material costs while maintaining or even improving product protection may seem like a contradiction. However, the emergence of PVDC has made it possible to reconcile these two seemingly conflicting goals.
The inherently high barrier performance of PVDC (polyvinylidene chloride) creates an opportunity to extend the shelf life of packaged food. Equally important, when extending shelf life is not the objective, PVDC can also make it possible to reduce the overall thickness of the film structure while maintaining the required shelf-life performance. This helps lower the overall cost of film packaging.
This is the core logic behind PVDC film thickness reduction for cost savings: achieving the most effective barrier protection with the least amount of material.
The global PVDC coated film market is experiencing steady growth. According to market research reports, the global PVDC coated film market was valued at approximately USD 2.12 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 3.22 billion by 2033, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.81% from 2025 to 2033.
Advanced PVDC coating technologies are making thickness reduction increasingly practical. By maintaining the required protective performance while reducing film thickness, manufacturers can not only reduce raw material consumption but also lower the overall weight of packaging, resulting in lower transportation costs and a smaller carbon footprint.
The thickness-reduction potential of PVDC comes from the high efficiency of its molecular structure.
PVDC is a highly crystalline polymer with a relatively symmetrical molecular structure. The hydrophobic nature of its chlorine-containing molecular structure makes it difficult for oxygen and water molecules to move through the polymer. This dense crystalline structure gives PVDC a unique advantage: extremely high barrier performance can be achieved even at very low thicknesses.
Take PVDC coated film as an example. With a coating thickness of only 2 μm, PVDC can provide excellent barrier properties against water vapor, gases, oils, fats, odors, and many common solvents.
Compared with conventional barrier coatings, PVDC offers a clear advantage in terms of material efficiency: a very small amount of coating can deliver a very high level of protection.
An even more intuitive comparison is that a 2–3 μm PVDC coating can provide oxygen and moisture barrier performance nearly equivalent to that of a 25 μm blown film. In other words, approximately one-tenth of the thickness can deliver a comparable barrier effect.
In high-barrier PVDC films, a PVDC layer accounting for only 5% of the total structure can extend the shelf life of meat products to six months to one year, while the shelf life of grain products can be extended by three to five years.
Compared with other plastic packaging materials, PVDC resin can provide the same protective function with dramatically less material. In some comparisons, the material efficiency of PVDC for protecting packaged products can be up to 700 times greater than BOPP.
This illustrates the high “efficiency density” of PVDC as a barrier layer: a very small material input can deliver a substantial shelf-life benefit.
In October 2023, Solvay launched Diofan® Ultra736, an ultra-high-barrier water-based PVDC coating that further expanded the potential for film thickness reduction.
While maintaining high oxygen barrier performance, this coating is designed to maximize moisture barrier properties. In practical applications, for Duplex two-layer barrier structures, it can provide the same water vapor barrier performance while reducing the number of primer layers by half.
The application of this material can reduce the total carbon emissions of finished blister film by up to 13%.
PVDC can achieve film thickness reduction and cost savings mainly through two technical routes: coating and coextrusion.
PVDC coated film is produced by applying an extremely thin PVDC layer to substrates such as BOPP, PET, and PA.
The coating thickness is typically 1.5–4.0 μm.
The key advantage of this process is that PVDC is used only as a functional barrier layer, so the amount required is very small, while the substrate provides the necessary mechanical support. This creates an optimized overall cost structure.
Multilayer coextrusion is another important route.
Multiple polymers are extruded simultaneously through multiple extruders and a common die to form a multilayer film with strong interlayer bonding, with PVDC serving as the intermediate barrier layer.
Unlike conventional lamination and coating processes that require additional downstream processing, multilayer coextrusion forms the structure in a single process. It can effectively reduce raw material costs and processing steps while also providing greater flexibility for film thickness optimization.
A coextrusion-based lamination process can achieve cost savings of 10% to 20%.
Another major advantage of multilayer coextrusion is that no adhesive is required between the layers, which helps avoid solvent residue issues. In addition, the thickness of each layer can be precisely controlled, making this technology particularly suitable for large-scale continuous production.
Coating and coextrusion are not competing technologies. Instead, they are complementary solutions suited to different applications.
The main advantage of the coating route is its extremely low PVDC consumption and low material cost, making it suitable for medium-scale production and cost-sensitive applications.
The main advantage of the coextrusion route is single-step forming without additional downstream processing. It is particularly suitable for large-scale continuous production and applications requiring high interlayer bond strength.
The value of reducing film thickness goes far beyond simply “saving a little material.”
Material cost reduction is the most direct benefit.
Consider a medium-sized packaging company producing 1,000 tons of PVDC coated film per year. By optimizing the resin formulation and coating process and reducing film thickness from 25 μm to 20 μm, material consumption can be reduced by approximately 20%.
Based on the estimated average market price of PVDC emulsion, the raw material savings alone could amount to several million RMB per year.
For large-volume packaging users, every 1 μm reduction in film thickness and every 1 gram reduction in material consumption can directly translate into significant cost savings, potentially reaching millions in large-scale applications.
Reduced film thickness also means lighter overall packaging.
As packaging weight decreases, transportation and warehousing costs per unit can also decline. At the same time, reducing packaging volume can improve warehouse space utilization.
Reducing carbon footprint is becoming an increasingly important consideration.
As Solvay's global marketing manager pointed out, consumers and regulators are demanding that the packaging industry do more to reduce its carbon footprint, and one of the most effective approaches is to reduce the size and weight of packaging products.
The application of Diofan® Ultra736 can reduce the carbon footprint of the final blister film structure by 13%.
For companies with ESG targets and those exporting to the European Union, this value is rapidly shifting from an optional advantage to an increasingly important requirement.
Not necessarily.
When properly designed, PVDC's high barrier efficiency allows excellent gas and moisture barrier performance to be maintained even at lower coating weights or thinner coating thicknesses.
For PVDC coated film, for example, a 2–3 μm coating can provide barrier performance comparable to a 25 μm blown film.
The key is to precisely match the formulation and processing conditions to the specific application, including the product type, target shelf life, and storage and transportation environment.
If the target shelf life remains unchanged, a properly designed thickness-reduction solution can achieve the goal of maintaining performance while reducing costs.
It depends on the production scale and product positioning.
The main advantage of the coating route is its extremely low PVDC consumption, with the coating typically only 2–3 μm thick. This results in lower material costs and makes the technology suitable for medium-scale production and cost-sensitive applications.
The coextrusion route offers single-step film formation without additional downstream processing and can reduce overall manufacturing costs by 10% to 20%. It is suitable for large-scale continuous production and applications requiring high interlayer bond strength.
Companies should make a comprehensive assessment based on their production capacity, equipment configuration, and product positioning.
The recyclability of chlorine-containing PVDC materials has long been a major concern in the industry.
However, in March 2025, Syensqo announced a breakthrough in the mechanical recycling of PVDC multilayer food packaging. Comprehensive trials demonstrated that multilayer food packaging using Ixan® PVDC as the barrier layer could be effectively mechanically recycled in a standard PE waste stream through an open-loop recycling process without the addition of stabilizers.
The recycled material can be used to manufacture injection-molded products such as flower pots, trays, and benches.
This represents the first time PVDC-based multilayer packaging has demonstrated mechanical recyclability at this scale.
At the same time, film thickness reduction itself directly reduces material consumption and carbon footprint. The application of Diofan® Ultra736 can reduce carbon emissions from blister film by 13%.
Water-based PVDC coatings have VOC emissions approaching zero, making the production process more environmentally friendly.
With advances in recycling technology and the material savings achieved through film thickness reduction, the sustainability of PVDC solutions is gradually moving from a subject of debate toward practical validation.
PVDC film thickness reduction is not about “cutting corners” or sacrificing material quality. It is about improving material efficiency through materials science—using less material to achieve the same level of barrier protection.
A 2–3 μm PVDC coating replacing a 25 μm blown film, halving the number of primer layers while maintaining barrier performance, and using a three-layer gradient coating to replace a two-layer structure while significantly reducing costs—behind these figures is the inherent efficiency provided by the molecular structure of PVDC.
For packaging companies looking for ways to reduce costs without compromising product quality, PVDC thickness-reduction solutions are worth serious consideration.
As the global PVDC coated film market moves toward the projected USD 3.22 billion level and Syensqo continues to advance mechanical recycling technology, PVDC is demonstrating that film thickness reduction, cost savings, and sustainable packaging can move forward together.
