Today, fresh food as well as convenience food is sold in packages. Hygienic conditions, long shelf life and easy availability of these packed products account for our standard of living. However, this convenience contributes to environmental pollution in a significant way, as packaging is mainly achieved by plastic materials in this case.
A European consortium of 12 entities have partnered in the frame of the HyperBioCoat project, composed by different R&D entities and companies. This project will investigate and develop a new bio-based and biodegradable coating for rigid and flexible plastic packaging.
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Flexible packaging |
Rigid packaging |
This coating, applied to bio-based packaging, will improve the barrier properties of bio-based packaging, which actually are not as strong as it is needed.
This new bio-based coating will increase the product’s shelf life and contribute to a reduction of CO2 emissions, as all the precursors needed for lacquer synthesis will be based on renewable materials.
The project, coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute ISC, has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 720736.
In the photo, HyperBioCoat partners meet all together for the kick off in Alzenau (Germany) November 14th – 15th, 2016.
According to Dr. Stefan Hanstein, coordinator of the project, “the challenge of this project is to impart superior barrier properties to biodegradable packaging materials. This innovation will be carried out by combining the high-performance ORMOCER® concept with oligomeric hemicellulose feedstock. The result will have an impact on the demand of the packaging industry for biodegradable and bio-based packaging materials”.
More information:
Project coordinator: Dr. Stefan Hanstein, Food and Bio-Based Materials, Fraunhofer Project Group IWK. Phone +49 6023 32039-829 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dissemination manager: Berta Gonzalvo, Research Manager, Aitiip Technology Centre. +34 976 46 45 44 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.