BioproPack - development of new types of coatings

PPC - classic packaging material

Paper, paperboard and cardboard (PPK) are classic packaging materials. The aim of the surface functionalisation is to make the new packaging viable in other fields of use, especially food packaging. The functionalisation is achieved by using biogenic raw materials, in order to further strengthen resource-efficient development in packaging.

The objective of the project is to achieve water vapour and oxygen barrier with the PPK-based composites developed, which is comparable with conventional plastic composites. In addition, the coating made of regenerative raw materials must have sufficient water resistance to maintain the mechanical and barrier properties.

Life cycle assessment for multi-layer composites

It was bifa's tasks to compare the multi-layer composites developed by war IVV to a reference product used in the food industry as part of a life cycle assessment. The methodology used for the comparison was based on the ISO life cycle assessment standards.

At the beginning of the project a concept was drawn up for the workflow and implementation of the life cycle assessment and was agreed with the participating partners. After defining the processes to be balanced, the model structure was more specifically defined, life cycle inventory data was collected and material flow models were created using the Umberto® balancing software; these models form the basis for the ecological assessment.

The life cycle assessment comparison shows that the new multi-layer composites with carbohydrate, protein and solvent-based varnish layers developed in this project achieve lower overall environmental results than the reference product with a PVdC coating used for the comparison.

Aggregated over the impact categories: greenhouse gas effect, photochemical oxidant formation, acidification, cumulative energy demand, terrestrial and aquatic eutrophication and relevant individual parameters with regard to human and ecotoxicity, the ecology index of the new multi-layer composites developed is between 24 and 33 % lower than the ecology index of the reference product.

A comparison of the new multi-layer composites developed produced the following ranking:

• Substrate with protein layer (additive: glycerine) and solvent-based varnish layer
• Substrate with carbohydrate layer (additive: sorbitol) and solvent-based varnish layer
• Substrate with carbohydrate layer (additive: glycerine) and solvent-based varnish layer
• Substrate with carbohydrate layer (additive: sorbitol), protein layer (additive: glycerine) and solvent-based varnish layer