The process for making pouches filled with a flowable material, using a vertical form, fill and seal apparatus, wherein each pouch is made from a flat web of film by the following steps:
- (I) forming a tubular film therefrom with a longitudinal seal and subsequently flattening said tubular film at a first position;
- (II) transversely heat-sealing said tubular film at the flattened position;
- (III) filling said tubular film with a predetermined quantity of flowable material above said first position;
- (IV) flattening said tubular film above the predetermined quantity of flowable material at a second position;
- and
- (V) transversely heat sealing said tubular film at said second position,
- wherein said pouches are made from a flat web of film made from a multi-layer film, comprising the following layers in order of an at least one inner sealant-layer to an at least one outer sealant-layer:
- (A) said at least one inner sealant-layer comprising polyethylene that is selected from the group consisting of:
- (i) an at least one low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer,
- (ii) a blend of said at least one low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer and an at least one ethylene homopolymer, wherein said ethylene homopolymer is made in a high-pressure polymerization process;
- and
- (iii) a blend of said at least one low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer and an at least one ethylene copolymer, wherein said ethylene copolymer is made in a high-pressure polymerization process;
- (B) a first at least one interposed layer adjacent to said at least one inner sealant-layer, said first at least one interposed layer comprising:
- (i) an at least one high-density polyethylene, or a blend of said at least one high-density polyethylene and at least one ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer;
- (ii) optionally, an ethylene homopolymer made in a high-pressure polymerization process;
- (iii) optionally, an ethylene copolymer made in a high pressure polymerization process;
- and
- (iv) optionally, a second ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer that is not the same as said at least one ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer in (B)(i);
- wherein the centerline of said first at least one interposed layer is closer to the centerline of said at least one inner sealant-layer than to the centerline of said multi-layer film;
- (C) at least one core layer, adjacent to said first at least one interposed layer, said at least one core layer comprising polyethylene that is selected from the group consisting of:
- (i) at least one low-density ethylene-alpha olefin copolymer,
- (ii) a blend of said at least one low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer and an at least one ethylene homopolymer, wherein said ethylene homopolymer is made in a high-pressure polymerization process;
- and
- (iii) a blend of said at least one low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer and an at least one ethylene copolymer, wherein said ethylene copolymer is made in a high-pressure polymerization process;
- (D) a second at least one interposed layer adjacent to said at least one core layer, said second at least one interposed layer comprising:
- (i) an at least one high-density polyethylene, or a blend of said at least one high-density polyethylene and at least one ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer;
- (ii) optionally, an ethylene homopolymer made in a high-pressure polymerization process;
- (iii) optionally, an ethylene copolymer made in a high pressure polymerization process;
- and
- (iv) optionally, a second ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer that is not the same as said at least one ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer in (D)(i);
- wherein the centerline of said second at least one interposed layer is closer to the centerline of said at least one outer sealant-layer than to the centerline of said multi-layer film;
- and
- (E) said at least one outer sealant-layer, comprising polyethylene that is selected from the group consisting of:
- (i) an at least one low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer,
- (ii) a blend of said at least one low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer and an at least one ethylene homopolymer, wherein said ethylene homopolymer is made in a high-pressure polymerization process;
- and
- (iii) a blend of said at least one low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer and an at least one ethylene copolymer, wherein said ethylene copolymer is made in a high-pressure polymerization process;
- wherein said multi-layer film thickness is in the range of from about 35 microns to about 66 microns;
- wherein a combined thickness of said first at least one interposed layer and said second at least one interposed layer is in the range of from about 10% to about 27% of the total thickness of said multi-layer film;
- wherein a combined thickness of said inner sealant-layer and said outer sealant-layer is in the range of from about 10% to about 27% of the total thickness of said multi-layer film;
- and
- wherein said at least one high-density polyethylene in said first at least one interposed layer and said second at least one interposed layer has a density of at least of about 0.950 g/cm3 and a melt-index of less than 1.05 dg/min.