Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) is the measurement of the amount of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

gas that passes through a substance over a given period. It is mostly carried out on non-porous materials, where the mode of transport is

diffusion Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...

, but there are a growing number of applications where the transmission rate also depends on flow through apertures of some description. It relates to the

permeation In physics and engineering, permeation (also called imbuing) is the penetration of a permeate (a fluid such as a liquid, gas, or vapor) through a solid. It is directly related to the concentration gradient of the permeate, a material's intrinsic ...

of oxygen through

packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a co ...

to sensitive

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

s and

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

Measurement

Standard test methods are available for measuring the oxygen transmission rate of packaging materials. Completed packages, however, involve heat seals, creases, joints, and closures which often reduce the effective barrier of the package. For example, the glass of a

glass bottle A glass bottle is a bottle made from glass. Glass bottles can vary in size considerably, but are most commonly found in sizes ranging between about 200 millilitres and 1.5 litres. Common uses for glass bottles include food condiments, soda, liq ...

may have an effective total barrier but the

screw cap A screw cap or closure is a common type of closure for bottles, jars, and tubes. Usage A screw closure is a mechanical device which is screwed on and off of a "finish" on a container. Either continuous threads or lugs are used. It must be engi ...

closure and the closure liner might not.

ASTM ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, an ...

standard test methods include: * D3985 Standard Test Method for Oxygen Gas Transmission Rate Through Plastic Film and Sheeting Using a Coulometric Sensor * F1307 Standard Test Method for Oxygen Transmission Rate Through Dry Packages Using a Coulometric Sensor * F1927 Standard Test Method for Determination of Oxygen Gas Transmission Rate, Permeability and Permeance at Controlled Relative Humidity Through Barrier Materials Using a Coulometric Detector * F2622 Standard Test Method for Oxygen Gas Transmission Rate Through Plastic Film and Sheeting Using Various Sensors Other test methods include: * The ambient oxygen ingress rate method (AOIR) an alternative method for measuring the oxygen transmission rates (OTR) of whole packages

Wine

Also a factor of increasing awareness in the debate surrounding

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

closures, natural

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

s show small variation in their oxygen transmission rate, which in turn translates to a degree of

bottle variation Bottle variation is the degree to which different bottles, nominally of the same product, can have different taste, smell, etc. There are many possible causes of bottle variation: * variation in the contents prior to packaging * variation in the p ...

References

* Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, * Massey,L K, "Permeability Properties of Plastics and Elastomers", 2003, Andrew Publishing, * Sanghyun Lee "Mass Transfer" Konkuk University, 2017 * Hanne Larsen, Achim Kohlr and Ellen Merethe Magnus, "Ambient oxygen ingress rate method", John Wilew & Sons, Packaging Technology and Science, Volume 13 Issue 6, Pages 233 - 241 ;Footnotes {{chem-stub Packaging Temporal rates

Measurement

Wine

See also

References