Definiton and development of functional barriers for the use of recycled materials in multilayer food packaging

Project Information

BANUS

Grant agreement ID: 606572

Closed project

Start date 1 July 2014

End date 30 June 2016

Funded under

• Specific Programme "Capacities": Research for the benefit of SMEs

Total cost € 1 492 995,70

EU contribution € 1 117 000,00

Coordinated by

AIMPLAS - ASOCIACION DE INVESTIGACION DE MATERIALES PLASTICOS Y CONEXAS
Spain

Final Report Summary - BANUS (Definiton and development of functional barriers for the use of recycled materials in multilayer food packaging)

Executive Summary:
. Final publishable summary report
1.1. Executive summary
The global expected results of BANUS project is to increase the technological knowledge about technologies and materials to develop new multilayer packages with functional barrier properties for food contact applications, in order to include recycled materials in their structures, and then to be able to increase EU industry competitiveness from the low cost labour countries.

BANUS project implies a great deal of innovation in the field of functional barriers because it proposes technical advances in each one of the three proposed cases studies:
- Case Study 1: Semi-rigid multilayer plastic packaging (PP/EVOH/PP)
In this case the recycled material will be PP, and the proposed functional barrier is EVOH/PP. The performance of the structure (EVOH/PP) as functional barrier is not so well known. It is also interesting to study the performance of these kind of structure because it is widely used in the market.
- Case Study 2: Flexible multilayer multimaterial packaging (Paper/PET met/PE)
In this case the recycled material will be paper, and the proposed functional barrier is PET met/PE. All the relevant bibliography found studies the performance of PET as a functional barrier in multilayer plastic structures, mainly with multilayer PET structures (PET/Recycled PET/PET). Paper and paperboard have different implications related to recycling than plastics, so this study is considered as an advance beyond the state-of-the-art.
- Case Study 3: Coated paperboard packaging (Paperboard/Coating)
In this case the recycled material will be paperboard, and the proposed functional barrier is coating applied to this recycled paperboard in its internal layer (in contact with foodstuffs). In case of coatings, limited information is available about the functional barrier performance when positioned in the inner part of packaging, in direct contact with foodstuffs. So it is considered as a priority to evaluate their performance as functional barrier.

The relevant impact BANUS will provide to the recycling and transformer industries (plastic & paper), can be summarised as an effective cost and a significant virgin material reduction compared to the conventional manufacturing processes of those food packages, regarding the following aspects:
✓ Each structure must incorporate a percentage of recycled material in one of its layers, substituting between 15-30 % w/w of the virgin material by recycled one.
✓ The final functionality of the package should be guaranteed. The objective is that the modification of original properties will be less than 10 % (considering as relevant functional properties: tensile properties (in case of films and sheets), compression properties (in case of trays), and permeability (OTR and WVTR in all cases).
✓ All the final structures will comply with legislative requirements (Regulation 1935/2004 ., Regulation 10/2011 and Regulation 282/2008 ).
✓ The cost of the final structures will be at least a 10-15 % lower than original structures.

Although the project’s development is aimed at specific food packages, the knowledge acquired will be able to be applied to other sectors such as other food packaging applications in trays / flexible multilayer multimaterial / coated paperboard packaging, and other packaging applications with similar requirements (children articles, cosmetics, etc.).

All the non-confidential information generated so far under the project can be found in BANUS website (https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20170625012109/http://www.banus-project.eu/) in the open area.

Contact details:
AIMPLAS (Coordinator)
Tlf. [phone]
Fax [phone]
[e-mail]
See logo in the PDF attached

Project Context and Objectives:
1.2 Project context and objectives
Regulation 10/2011 on plastic food contact, together with Regulation 282/2008 on recycled plastic food contact, set the stage for the use of post-consumer recycled plastic in food packaging applications. Their use is only permitted in two cases: if the recycled plastics come from an authorized recycling process, or if the recycled plastics are placed behind a functional barrier, with some limitations widely described in Section 1.2. Moreover, there is currently no harmonised EU legislation on paper and board articles and materials for food contact applications beyond the general requirements laid out in Framework Regulation 1935/2004.
Even though legislation exists, the reality is that there are still many limitations for the use of recycled plastic in food contact applications, as only authorized recyclers are allowed to provide these materials. These limitations to get authorized recycled materials from neighbouring providers could result at worst in the use of non-authorized recycled plastic, with the consequent safety risks. Moreover European packaging industry, as well as recyclers (mainly SMEs), suffer tough competition from emerging countries, with the subsequent lost in markets and thus employment. Innovative and sustainable products as the ones proposed in BANUS will open new markets for these enterprises, helping to keep the work (and jobs) in Europe.
BANUS project aims to develop new multilayer structures for food packaging applications, in order to evaluate their properties as functional barriers, using conventional polymers to achieve new functionalities and open new potential markets for the traditional recycling companies in Europe.
Taking into account that the main objective of the project is to guarantee the suitability of the developed functional barrier layers, it is necessary to check that, regardless of the quality of the recycled material used in the process, the functional barrier is able to prevent any migration of contaminants to food. The great advantage of BANUS approach is to ensure highly efficient functional barriers to guarantee food safety when using recycled materials (plastic and paper) even coming from non-authorized recycling processes in food packaging structures.
The project will consider the substitution of a percentage of virgin material by recycled material (paper or plastic) in the selected structures (thermoformed trays, laminated multilayer flexible package and coated paperboard package) in order to develop more environmental friendly food packaging structures. As the main requirement of food packages is always to guarantee food safety for consumers, this substitution will be achieved after evaluating the functional barriers positioned between recycled layers and foodstuffs.

BANUS project main innovations are focused on three different case studies, based on different materials, processed by different technologies and used for different applications, described as follows:

See Table 1. Case studies.

BANUS project implies a great deal of innovation in the field of functional barriers because it proposes technical advances in each one of the three proposed cases studies.

Detailed objectives: in order to achieve the main objective of the project, i.e. to develop new multilayer packages with functional barrier properties for food contact applications, in order to include recycled materials in their structures, several specific objectives were defined:

a) Definition of potential functional barrier structures, in order to comply with food contact legislation.
b) Selection of the right contaminants: to simulate the ones that could be present in recycled plastic and paperboard.
c) Selection of the right contamination processes, in order to contaminate virgin materials (PP, paper and paperboard) in an effective way.
d) The selection of all the variables that can influence the contamination procedure is a critical point in the project stages.
e) Production of prototypes containing contaminated materials. This stage is especially important in semi-rigid case study, in which contaminated material is incorporated to multilayer sheet by co-extrusion instead of lamination, because of high temperatures used in the transformation process.
f) Selection of right migration tests conditions in order to get final conclusions about functional barrier performance and above all, to guarantee food safety when using the tested structures in real packages. Selection of the most suitable technique for performing this verification is another task to develop.
g) Verification of migration performance for each case study. The measured migration of contaminants must be below 0.01 mg/kg, according to Regulation 10/2011.
h) To obtain at industrial-level the different structures using recycled materials, optimizing the production processes taking into account the peculiarities of the recycled materials compared to the virgin ones.
i) To check the performance of the prototypes obtained at industrial-level in terms of the requirements established.
j) To check the feasibility of the products developed both in terms of environmental and economic impact and of regulatory and safety issues.

See FIGURE 1. CONTAMINATED PP PELLETS (CS1)
See FIGURE 2. TESTING OF GREASE RESISTANCE BY TAPPI 454 TEST (CS3

The achievement of the above mentioned objectives will result in an increase of the competitiveness of the partners which represent the different types of companies involved in the supply chain of food contact packaging:
•Transformers of plastics by extrusion or co-extrusion and lamination: The development of new packaging structures by means of recycled plastic incorporation will represent an expansion of their market since these new structures maintain the desired properties for containing foodstuffs, but incorporating new advantages, not only from the environmental point of view, but also from costs approach. Moreover, the project can contribute to the consciousness of transformers about the importance of guaranteeing food safety when using recycled materials, by means of becoming familiar with the right ways of employing recycled materials for food contact applications.
•Paper transformers will have the knowledge about the performance of different coatings related not only to functional barrier performance, but also to other important properties. The study of different solutions for mineral oils controversy will promote recycled paper and paperboard keeping used for packaging in a safe way.
•Plastic recyclers will increase their volume of business since a new wide market will be opened to incorporate recycled materials for the new packages, whereas nowadays is mainly used for low-added value applications. For plastic recyclers that are not in authorization process, this can be an opportunity, as packaging sector represents a great percentage of total plastic consumption.
•Paper recycler expert will have the knowledge regarding key aspects to make a safer use of recycled paper and paperboard in food contact applications. This fact has a special relevance in case of mineral oils controversy.
•Food and agriculture Cluster will acquire a direct knowledge about performance of several packaging structures related to food safety. This will result in a more reasoned selection of materials for packaging, including decisions about incorporating recycled materials in a safer way, being aware of real advantages and limitations.
•Association of plastic companies will acquire new knowledge on the materials and technologies related to BANUS and will find new opportunities and networking relations, and will exploit the Best Practices Guide for Training and Technology Transfer activities.

Expected final results and their potential impact and use:

Specific achievements of the project are:
✓ Development and optimization of the methods for evaluation of the functional barrier performance and the set-off effect in CS1, CS2 and CS3 structures:
• Improved and validated contamination methodology, both at maximum levels of contamination and also at levels of contamination adapted to materials manufactured from common recycling processes.
• Suitable transformation of the materials to obtain pilot-plant prototypes.
• Knowledge on the characterization methods for different coatings.
• Migration tests methods (devices adapted to achieve the correct exposure conditions of the samples, optimized chromatographic methods).
• Increased knowledge about the performance of the contaminants inside the structures (migration, set-off, diffusion).
✓ Increased knowledge to manufacture the packages containing recycled materials at industrial scale:
• Setting-up of the machinery, new devices/machine configurations to be used to have the suitable equipment for the correct multilayer barrier structures.
• Processing parameters
• Knowledge on the recycled materials to be used and potential modifications/improvements needed.
• Knowledge on the performance of the coatings currently available in the market and potential modifications/improvements on the coating composition to achieve the expected performance in CS2 and CS3 packages.
✓ Increased knowledge on economic, environmental and safety aspects related to the use of recycled materials.

See following figures in the PDF attached:
FIGURE 3. THERMOFORMED TRAY WITH RECYCLED PP AS CORE MATERIAL (CS1)
FIGURE 4. COATING / RECYCLED PAPER / METALLISED PET / PE COMPLEX PRODUCED (COATING SIDE) (CS2)
FIGURE 5. COATED PAPERBOARD(CS3)

Although final structures fulfilling all the requirements have not been achieved (due mainly to migration issues) at the end of the project, BANUS has finished providing relevant results that leave the partners in a better position to achieve the desired products in the near future.
Despite not reaching the overall project objectives, all the work developed has contributed to widen the SMEs technical knowledge portfolio that will be able to be used (at least partially) to boost their business.
In general terms, although after finishing BANUS, there are no commercial available results, it is a fact that there has been an advancement beyond the state-of-the-art, and it is partners´ objective to make use of it. The new knowledge acquired in the project can be transferred to the companies, so that they implement some improvements in their current processes and products, taking as a starting point the BANUS work.
After a recent update of the state-of-the-art (patents & technical articles) and market trends, it has been checked that the foreseen impact of the project as stated in Annex I, not only in terms of economic aspects, but also in terms of environmental and social benefits, is achievable although beyond the project duration. This overview of the trend in the packaging sector shows that, as foreseen since the proposal stage, the BANUS market goes on steadily growing over the years. If finally the searched global solution is found, for any of the Case studies included (as per what it is described as ‘further research necessary’, in PUDF results analysis), the market impact for the corresponding recyclers and manufacturers (plastic, paper, board) is very ambitious.
That is why the BANUS consortium considers that is worthy continuing working on this research line, i.e. there is an actual demand from the market and clients´ side, and there is a potential market where the solutions should be implemented due to the foreseen increase and necessity of future sustainable solutions.

The work carried out in BANUS contributes to go further in the state-of-the-art, approaching the BANUS companies to a potential global solution. Thanks to BANUS, the consortium is aware of what there is in the market, which options can properly work and what remains now pending is to develop those potential customized solutions found out after the BANUS project, based on its acquired foreground.

Project Results:
1.3.Main scientific and technological results and foregrounds
The work in the project has been structured in eight work packages, arranged as shown in figure 5.

See FIGURE. 5. GRAPHICAL PRESENTATION OF THE WP SHOWING THEIR INTERDEPENDENCIES (PERT DIAGRAM)

The main scientific and technological results achieved are the following, presented in a WP per WP basis. See the Partners´ list in the PDF file attached-Final report.

Below an explanation about the objectives, the work performed, end result obtained and degree to which the objective was reached can be found.
The details have been provided in the corresponding Task reports of those TECHNICAL WORK PACKAGES and their deliverables (confidential information sent only to EC):

WP1. Requirements definition & selection of adequate materials for packaging case studies and Risk MGT. D1.
WP2. Development of Case Study 1: Thermoformed package composed of a multilayer structure of PP/EVOH/PP. D2.1 and D2.2.
WP3. Development of Case study 2: Flexible laminated multilayer composed of Paper/PET met/PE. D3.1 and D3.2.
WP4. Development of Case study 3: Coated paperboard. D4.1 and D4.2.
WP5. Industrial scale-up and case-studies validation. D5.1 D5.2 and D5.3.
WP6. Economic, regulatory and environmental studies. D6.1 D6.2 and D6.3.
WP7. Dissemination, Exploitation and Training. D7.1 D7.2 D7.3 D7.4 D7.5 and D7.6.
Note that D7.1 D7.2 D7.3 D7.4 D7.5 and D7.6 belong to Dissemination, Exploitation and Training (WP7) and D8.1 belongs to the Project Management (WP8), not included in this description.

WP1. Requirements definition & selection of adequate materials for packaging case studies and Risk MGT.

OBJECTIVE
Task 1.1 Selection of requirements for case studies structures.
Task 1.2 Selection of the proposed case study structures.
Task 1.3 Risk Management

Contractors involved:

▪AIMPLAS
▪INNVENTIA
▪BOBINO
▪HELIO
▪MTM
▪DELTA
▪BUMAGA
▪AGROFOOD
▪AVEP

WORK PERFORMED
The definition of the main requirements for the final product for selected case studies and the selection of structures to be evaluated (raw materials, thicknesses of the different layers, final application) have been carried out during tasks 1.1 and 1.2 respectively as the starting point for the development of the project.

To make this selection it has been taken into account:
- The products currently marketed that are of interest for the partners.
- The S&T objectives of the project:
Each structure must incorporate a percentage of recycled material in one of its layers, substituting between 15-30 % w/w of the virgin material by recycled one.
The final functionality of the package should be guaranteed. The objective is that the modification of relevant functional properties will be less than 10 %.

The risk indicators have been identified in order to monitor their progress along the project duration. Some contingency plans have been already proposed in case any deviations occur during the project that jeopardise the achievement of the success indicators.

END RESULT
The starting point for the three case studies of the project has been established.

The selected structures are based on products that are currently in the market. The only modification to be introduced initially in the project is the replacement of a percentage of virgin material with recycled material.

Set-off phenomenon has been taken into account in the selection of the structures.

Risks indicators have been assessed for each WP taking into account the technical and economical risks of the work performed and to be developed in each WP.

COMPLETION DEGREE (%)
The objective was 100% successful, from the technical point of view.

CONCLUSIONS
The starting point for the three case studies of the project has been established as can be seen in Table 1.

WP2. Development of Case Study 1: Thermoformed package composed of a multilayer structure of PP/EVOH/PP
OBJECTIVE
Task 2.1 Selection of the contaminants to be used for the challenge test.
Task 2.2 Plastic contamination, for the manufacturing of the contaminated package layer (Polluted PP).
Task 2.3 Pilot plant co-extrusion to obtain the multilayer structure (PP/Contaminated PP/EVOH/PP).
Task 2.4 Migration study for multilayer structure PP/Contaminated PP/EVOH/PP.
Task 2.5 Evaluation of results and optimization: functional barrier performance.

Contractors involved:
▪AIMPLAS
▪BOBINO
▪MTM
▪CTC
WORK PERFORMED
The principal aim of WP2 is to evaluate the activity as functional barrier of EVOH/PP used in multilayer structures. For this purpose the following work has been performed:
- Selection of the contaminants that will be used.
- Selection of the conditions of the contamination process.
- Execution of the contamination of virgin PP with the surrogate contaminants to ensure that the polymer matrix has embedded them.
- Manufacture prototypes using contaminated PP by co-extrusion & thermoforming.
- Selection of the migration test conditions.
- Migration tests to evaluate the functional barrier performance.

END RESULT
Specific compounds have been selected to cover a wide range of contaminants in a worst-case scenario for the evaluation of the EVOH/PP barrier.
Improved and validated contamination methodology has been developed.
Suitable transformation of the materials to obtain pilot-plant prototypes has been performed.
Migration tests methods have been optimized to perform a correct evaluation
High levels of contaminants in the simulants after the exposure stage have been quantified that do not permit us to prove that any of the structures tested acts as functional barrier. New working lines have been defined: Reduction of the concentration of the contaminants & Study of the diffusion of contaminants during the co-extrusion process.

COMPLETION DEGREE (%).
The objective was 100% successful from the method of evaluation of the functional barrier performance point of view. The additional work derived from the results obtained continued in WP5, task 5.1.

CONCLUSIONS
From the results obtained for the moment it cannot be proved that any of the structures tested acts as functional barrier. Table 2 shows the results obtained. Additional work in this sense will be performed under WP5. The structure initially selected for industrial trials was: Virgin PP + tie / EVOH / Recycled PP + tie / EVOH / Virgin PP + tie; 34.5% / 3% / 25% / 3% / 34.5%; Total thickness 1500 microns

See Figure 6. Example of thermoformed tray tested.
See TABLE 2. Migration results obtained employing Ethanol 95% as simulant.

WP3. Development of Case study 2: Flexible laminated multilayer composed of Paper/PET met/PE.

OBJECTIVE
Task 3.1 Selection of the contaminants to be used for the challenge test.
Task 3.2 Preparation of contaminated paper samples (Contaminated paper).
Task 3.3 Pilot plant lamination to obtain the multilayer structure (Paper/Contaminated Paper/PET met/PE).
Task 3.4 Migration study for multilayer structure Paper/ Contaminated Paper/ PET met/PE.
Task 3.5 Evaluation of results and optimization: functional barrier performance.

Contractors involved:
▪AIMPLAS
▪INNVENTIA
▪HELIO
▪BUMAGA
▪CTC
WORK PERFORMED
The principal aim of WP3 is to evaluate the activity as functional barrier of PET met/PE used in multilayer structure. For this purpose the following work has been performed:
- Selection of the contaminants that will be used.
- Selection of the conditions of the contamination process (spiking).
- Execution of the contamination of virgin paper with the surrogate contaminants.
- Manufacture prototypes by lamination.
- Selection of the migration test conditions.
- Migration tests to evaluate the functional barrier performance.

END RESULT
Specific compounds have been selected to cover a wide range of contaminants in a worst-case scenario for the evaluation of the EVOH/PP barrier.
Improved and validated contamination methodology has been developed.
Suitable transformation of the materials to obtain pilot-plant prototypes has been performed.
Migration tests methods have been optimized to perform a correct evaluation
Exaggerated worst case conditions have been applied by means of 4 different spiking procedures performed. The results show that the PET met/PE is a functional barrier for the chosen contaminants in realistic conditions.
Set-off phenomenon must be avoided by introducing an external coating in the structure. This coating will be selected according to WP4 results.

COMPLETION DEGREE (%).
The objective was 100% successful.

CONCLUSIONS
From the results obtained for the moment is concluded that PET met/PE is a functional barrier for the chosen contaminants in realistic conditions. Table 3 shows the results obtained. The structure to be scaled-up was: Coating / Recycled Paper / tie / metallised PET / tie / PE; coating will be selected according to WP4 results.

SeeTABLE 3. Migration results.
See Figure 7. Pilot plant lamination set-up

WP4. Development of Case study 3: Coated paperboard.
OBJECTIVE
Task 4.1 Selection of the contaminants to be used for the challenge test.
Task 4.2 Preparation of contaminated paperboard samples (Contaminated paperboard).
Task 4.3 Lab coating of paper boards to verify the coating (Paperboard/Contaminated Paperboard/functional barrier coating).
Task 4.4 Migration study for multilayer structure Paperboard/ Contaminated paperboard/Coating.
Task 4.5 Evaluation of results and optimization: functional barrier performance.
Task 4.6 Evaluation of properties crytical for full scale application

Contractors involved:
▪INNVENTIA
▪DELTA
▪BUMAGA
▪CTC
WORK PERFORMED
The principal aim of WP4 is to evaluate the activity of several types of coatings as functional barrier for paperboard. For this purpose the following work has been performed:
- Selection of the contaminants that will be used.
- Selection of the conditions of the contamination process (spiking).
- Execution of the contamination of virgin paperboard with the surrogate contaminants.
- Manufacture prototypes by coating application.
- Selection of the migration test conditions.
- Migration tests to evaluate the functional barrier performance.

END RESULT
Specific compounds have been selected to cover a wide range of contaminants in a worst-case scenario for the evaluation of the functional barrier performance.
Different coating procedures have been evaluated.
A selective screening has been performed in a laboratory set up to identify candidate coatings: The screening criteria to guide the selection of candidate coatings has been the high penetration resistance to fats and oils (>1800s) according to TAPPI 454 test.
A total of 19 coatings have been subjected for verification for migration test. In the screening of the dry coat weight determination and the Tappi 454 test about 120 applications of potential candidate barrier coating have been made. From the screening test 8 double and 1 single candidate barrier coating have been approved for migration test. For these 8 double and 1 single candidate barrier coating a more precise dry coat weight has been determined.
Coating “C” has found to be functional barrier for mineral oils based.

COMPLETION DEGREE (%).
The objective was 100% successful.

CONCLUSIONS
From the results obtained for the moment is concluded that Coating “C” has found to be functional barrier for mineral oils based. Table 5 shows the results obtained for this coating. The structure to be scaled-up was: Recycled Paperboard / Coating C.

Potential Impact:
1.4 Potential impact and main dissemination activities and exploitation of results

Dissemination Activities

It is essential to highlight that a considerable number of dissemination activities have been completed during the development of the BANUS project, i.e. More than 50 communications made, almost 30 dissemination activities in different events (fairs, conferences, workshops, info-days, exhibitions), Project video available, in the front page of the project website, Project end workshop-May 2016).All the details are given in the PDF submitted attached report-RP2. Moreover, there are 1 final press release, 2 fairs and 3 conferences/seminars which are planned to be carried out before the end of 2016. The project information has been disseminated via three channels:

a) By partners, within their organizations and with their clients/contacts (e.g. companies newsletters, meetings, seminars, training courses, etc.)
b) By partners, during external events (e.g. fairs, conferences, networking events, workshops, etc.)
c) By partners, using media across Europe (e.g. press release, Internet, specialized/sectorial magazines, etc.)

The use of various channels and methods (written, face-to-face & online) assured an optimal contribution of coverage, visibility and most important- setting up the scene for better market acceptance in the near future.

The activities in the Dissemination Plan covers different audiences and channels depending on the type of information to be disseminated, in order to assure the success of the project from a strategic, environmental, technologic and economic direction based on BANUS approach.

Dissemination tools and activities could be divided in two main groups:
a) Industrial level: For the SMEs, the principal objectives are to obtain results that will increase their competitiveness and market opportunities and to show these results to any potential client, in order to have a wider commercial activity and increase the company benefits. Activities such as participation in fairs, seminars, press releases...are aiming these results.
b) Non-commercial level: The RTD participants of the project are more focussed in non-commercial promotion and scientific aspects of the work. Only non-confidential project results are susceptible of publication or dissemination in journals, web-sites, congresses, workshops, fairs and seminars.

Therefore, it is clear that the dissemination actions for the BANUS project is continuing after the end of the project, focused on both the commercial and scientific audience, aiming at the continuation of the work, to work on a possible future exploitation of the project knowledge in some way. Different Dissemination tools have been prepared, such as:

-Maintenance of the Online portal – Website: https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20170625012109/http://www.banus-project.eu/
-BANUS Logo
-Leaflet
-General presentation of the project
-Press releases
-Videoclip of the project results
-“Guide to design and manufacture multilayer multimaterial packages containing recycled materials, with functional barrier properties, for food packaging applications”

All these resources are available at the Public part of the website and will be displayed in fairs and meetings.

Potential Impact and Exploitation
The new multilayer structures for food packaging applications developed in the BANUS project, may have a significant impact in the food packaging industry providing environmentally friendly alternatives to the current packages, made of virgin polymers.
In general terms, although after finishing BANUS, there are no commercial available results, it is a fact that there has been an advancement beyond the state-of-the-art, and it is partners´ objective to make use of it. The new knowledge acquired in the project can be transferred to the companies, so that they implement some improvements in their current processes and products, taking as a starting point the BANUS work.
Therefore, once their properties are totally guarantee as functional barriers, those new packaging using conventional polymers, will open new potential markets for the traditional recycling companies in Europe.

True industrial impact will require further investment, mainly aimed to optimize the actual 3 structures at scale-up level, making them suitable for fulfilling the current legislation, and also profitable for the SMEs involved in the production chain.
Although the project’s development is aimed at specific food packaging (according to the end-user business field and what was agreed under Annex I of the project), the structures developed (protected by an Exploitation Agreement under signature process among the whole consortium) will be able to be applied to other type of packaging sectors (such as other food packaging applications in trays, or other packaging applications with similar requirements (children articles, cosmetics, etc.), provided that the specific requirements of each final product can be fulfilled/adjusted from the starting characteristics of the new structure developed.

All the abovementioned sectors could be additional business for the SMEs involved in the value chain (recyclers, plastic manufacturers, end-users/distributors). The owners of the different results defined in the final version of the Exploitation Agreement will take into account these new niche market sectors.

Therefore, the protection plan of the project results is already initiated with the request for the official signature of the BANUS Exploitation Agreement-final version.

Finally, it is important to highlight that the BANUS partners keep as an option the possibility to go on working together in this field (with related developments). For example, MTM & BOBiINO showed their interest in collaborating together in the potential new uses of their recycled PP, out of the food packaging scope of BANUS, with AIMPLAS´ support if necessary. DELTA, BUMAGA and INNVENTIA will also may collaborate in the future to improve what now has been identified in the coatings field.

List of Websites:
1.5 Website and contact details
The BANUS website, https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20170625012109/http://www.banus-project.eu/ was established at the beginning of the project. Deliverable 7.4 “Project website” gives an overview of the main functionalities and structure of the website. The intended audience is double: the public at large (industry stakeholders, academia, EU and national officials, etc.) and/or the beneficiaries involved in the project, the consortium.

Technical, economic and social objectives, the expected results, and non-confidential intermediate were included. This area included a Technology Watch Service provided by AIMPLAS using the proprietary software SoftVT, which provided an update of the available patents, market information, publications, etc, issued in relation to the BANUS activities and that might be of interest for the BANUS project. After the end of BANUS the web-site will be used as a useful dissemination tool for the project results.

Contact details:
AIMPLAS (Coordinator)
Tlf. [phone]
Fax [phone]
[e-mail]

Please see BANUS logo in the PDF attached

Related documents

• final1-banus-final-report-publishable-final.pdf