Analysis of odour and taste problems in high-density polyethene

Abstract The compounds that cause off-flavours in plastics, have been recognized mainly as carbonyl compounds (aldehydes, ketones and esters). They occur in low concentrations, and due to their low-threshold odour concentrations, their typical odours were identified. Most of these off-flavour compounds are volatile. Chemical analysis of smelling compounds requires a very sensitive method with a high-resolution capability. The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in high density polyethene (HD-PE) granules and waters in which the granules have been shaken for 4 h, were carried out by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry–sniffing system (GC–MS–SNIFF) and by gas chromatography–fourier…