Personal care, cosmetic and biomedical industries deal with high-value and/or large volume consumption of polymer based products which are often derived from fossil sources. Although a number of alternative bio-based polymers is the subject of recent researches, more effort is still needed to increase their specific functionalities and performances in order to proceed with their actual translation into market. PolyBioSkin aims at developing skin-contact biopolymer based product parts with increased performance and functionality, such as parts of diapers, cosmetic masks and wound dressings. Indeed, PolyBioSkin focuses on two main classes of bio-based polymers relevant for next generation biobased industry: biopolyesters because fully renewable, biocompatible, biodegradable and available at an industrial scale, and natural polysaccharides derived from biomass and food waste, for their peculiar properties, such as absorbency and anti-microbial activity.
Films and textiles are produced starting from these polymers and their combinations to prove that key products and/or product parts in sanitary, cosmetic and biomedical industry can be effectively translated from a fossil-derived to bio-based polymer production.
PolyBioSkin will provide skin-contact products having a much more environmentally friendly end of life than the current accumulation in landfills or incineration, thanks to their biodegradability allowing the organic recycling.
In PolyBioSkin three different applications targeting the personal care, cosmetic and biomedical sectors, respectively are considered: (1) The production of functionalized diaper/fem-care napkin parts.(2) the preparation of an innovative beauty mask completely renewable; (3) the production of a functionalized and renewable wound dressing.
The common goals for the three applications are: (a) renewable content higher than 90%; (b) the effective compostability; (c) specific functional properties that make these products suitable for skin contact in each target application.
