Objective
Food packaging coatings (on paper wraps, cartons and cardboard) are essential to providing a physical barrier to protect food products in the packaging container during storage and transportation. Current packaging coatings are based on petrochemical derived waxes and polymers. However, with increasing petroleum costs and recent instability and volatility in some oil producing countries, the food packaging sector is searching for an alternative reliable and sustainable coating product. This would also promote the recycling characteristics of spent paper food packaging (currently this is difficult, as petroleum based coatings commonly used for this purpose reduce the compostability of paper. Our proposed research project, PlantPack, will aim to develop a sustainable, eco-friendly food packaging coating product made from seaweed extracts and starch, which will be applied to paper and cardboard in the form of a spray. This new coating will replace the current petroleum derived coating products, and thus improve the sustainability and biodegradability characteristics of both coatings and the final food packaging developed.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste managementwaste treatment processesrecycling
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfossil energypetroleum
- natural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciences
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and films
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesfood technologyfood packaging
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
FP7-SME-2012
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
BSG-SME - Research for SMEsCoordinator
TW12 2NP HAMPTON
United Kingdom