Kinetic characteristics and model prediction of benzene‐based pollutant migration from cardboard to pear peel under varied environmental conditions

BACKGROUND: Corrugated cardboard is commonly used for fruit packaging, and its benzene-based pollutants migrating to fruits pose significant safety risks - clarifying this migration is crucial. However, no quantitative predictive model currently exists for pollutant migration during fruit logistics transport. This study aims to systematically investigate the migration characteristics of six typical benzene-based pollutants (phenol, acetophenone, benzophenone, o-xylene, ethylbenzene, toluene) from corrugated cardboard to Korla fragrant pear peel, analyze the effects of temperature, relative humidity, and packaging openness, and develop a targeted quantitative prediction model. RESULTS: We found that temperature and relative humidity exert a synergistic effect on desorption-adsorption: increasing both enhances pollutant migration and shortens equilibrium time. Data fitting identified the optimal kinetic model for each pollutant. The developed temperature-humidity coupled kinetic prediction model showed good applicability and stability, with a prediction error ≤ 15% at 4-25 °C and 53-90% relative humidity. Additionally, packaging openness experiments revealed different migration behaviors: highly volatile pollutants had 37.3-46.7% lower adsorption in semi-open versus sealed environments, while low-volatility polar pollutants retained 50.8-62.0% of their sealed-environment adsorption. CONCLUSION: This study elucidates the short-term migration mechanisms of benzene-based pollutants in fruit packaging during logistics, providing a scientific basis for optimizing packaging material selection and storage conditions. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.