Material News Packaging
Material News Packaging of Fresh Produce Novamont (Novara, Italy) recently announced a fundamental breakthrough in its range of biodegradable and compostable films for food packaging 5 years after the launch of the first grade of Mater-Bi for cling film. Mater-Bi bioplastic cling film for the packaging of fresh produce can be used with most packaging machines. Thus the choice of compostable cling film will no longer mean that specific packaging machines have to be purchased. The film is suitable for food use and is intended to be used in the large-scale retail trade and large and medium-sized packaging centres. It ensures good breathability, to provide fresh food with a long shelf life, high transparency, an antifog effect and good mechanical strength. In addition to its technical properties, which are wholly competitive with traditional products on the market, Mater-Bi cling film also has unparalleled environmental performance, thanks to the biodegradability and compostability of Mater- Bi bioplastics. At the end of their life these can be recycled with the organic fraction of waste, without giving rise to microplastics that would otherwise risk accumulating in the soil. The test phase, carried out jointly with Crocco (Cornedo Vicentino, Italy), one of the leading companies in the flexible packaging sector, has been successfully completed. Novamont’s family of Mater-Bi bioplastics, which are biodegradable and compostable according to standard EN 13432, are obtained through using proprietary technologies in the field of starches, cellulose, vegetable oils and their combinations. Using Mater-Bi bioplastic solutions means that finite resources will not be wasted on products with a short life span. They will also reduce the output of undifferentiated waste and everything related to it - landfill, soil and air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions - favouring the recovery of resources which, once processed in the industrial composting process, will be converted into humus, an excellent soil conditioner for combating soil desertification, thus closing the natural cycle in which there is no waste and everything again becomes a resource. Novamont’s Mater-Bi cling film is a response totally in line with Italian thinking in terms of the environment and safeguarding the Planet, as became apparent in the survey conducted by Nielsen, presented at MARCA 2020 in Bologna last January. According to the survey, 85 % of the country’s purchasing managers say they purchase environmentally friendly brands and products, even if this means spending a little more. 75 % consider paying more for a product just because it or its packaging is environmentally sustainable (73 %), and 64 % expect the use of non-recyclable plastic in packaging to fall. MT www.novamont.com Increasing biobased ECH production capacity Biobased chemical company Advanced Biochemical (Thailand) has announced a capacity increase at its plant in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. The company is expanding its production of biobased epichlorohydrin (ECH) to 120,000 t/pa – an increase of 20,000 tonnes per year. Permission for this increase was granted by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand. The capacity increase at ABT’s plant was made possible thanks to improvements in process efficiency and process optimizations in production. Less waste is also being produced at the plant due to optimized recycling technology. ABT has produced its biobased epichlorohydrin (ECH) using an innovative and patented technology at its world-class manufacturing unit in Map Ta Phut since February 2012. Its biobased ECH is based on natural, renewable glycerine instead of propylene, a fossil fuel derivative, and it is the most sustainable ECH on the market. Certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) since 2015, ABT is wholly-owned by Vinythai Public Company Limited and both companies strongly adhere to sustainability and social responsibility commitments. ABT and Vinythai received a Green Industry Award Level 4 (Green Culture) from the Thailand Department of Industrial Works for their commitment to environmental care. AT www.vinythai.co.th 38 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/20] Vol. 15
Materials New collaboration on highperformance PLA compounds T he additives business of Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland) and Floreon-Transforming Packaging Limited (Sheffield, UK) recently announced an exciting new collaboration to further extend the performance properties and market potential of biopolymers, whilst preserving their environmental benefits. By integrating the benefits of Clariant’s additives with Floreon’s proprietary material solutions, the collaboration aims to open up additional possibilities for plastic manufacturers and brand owners to consider biopolymers as a viable, low carbon footprint alternative to fossil-based plastics for both single-use and durable applications. Markets set to benefit from the new enhanced grades include rigid and flexible Packaging, Electrical & Electronic equipment (E&E), Hygiene products, Consumer goods and Automotive. Floreon develops and markets proprietary compounds based on PLA and containing 70-90 % renewable, plantbased raw materials, They are typically mechanically tougher than traditional PLA and can deliver significant energy savings in processing. Floreon compounds are recyclable and they can also be composted via industrial composting. That makes Floreon’s materials viable for applications where, at this stage, contamination with food waste and organic matter make mechanical recycling unfeasible. Clariant’s industry-leading portfolio of sustainable additives includes a wide range of bio-based additives, which reliably deliver both high performance and sustainability to the plastics value chain. Introduced at the K 2019 Plastics Trade Fair under the Exolit ® OP Terra, Licocene ® Terra and Licocare ® RBW Vita trade names, they help to reduce fossil resource intensity and enable more sustainable material choices. Clariant’s experts will support the Floreon development team to enhance the performance possibilities and processing characteristics of bioplastics. The scope of benefits is vast. Examples include achieving less energy use and faster cycle times by increasing the processing efficiency or adding completely new properties to the material. Product manufacturers will have the possibility to tailor compounds to suit specific processing technologies and applications, including in some cases those where bioplastics have so far not been able to meet the challenges of demanding conditions or environments. Shaun Chatterton, CEO of Floreon said: “Brand owners and plastic converters are seeking more sustainable material solutions to offer their customers, driven by goals ranging from recyclable solutions and improving waste management to lowering carbon footprint and reducing resource use. Floreon can really contribute towards these goals. As a small business, our team is very excited to be able to take the benefits of biopolymers to new heights by drawing on Clariant’s extensive capabilities in developing additives focused on the performance needs of the plastics industry. Floreon has the potential to transform not just packaging but many industries, and we expect to launch our first product from this collaboration into market during the first half of 2020.” Stephan Lynen, Head of Business Unit Additives, Clariant, commented: “We are excited to be working together with Floreon using the advantages of our range of sustainable additives to close the performance gap between biopolymers and other materials. This is just another way we can contribute to giving the plastics value chain a greater choice of options for meeting sustainability targets and consumer demands, and in doing so, support the transformation to a circular economy. For society, our environment, and future generations, it is our responsibility to continuously improve sustainability performance and reduce carbon footprint and waste.” Clariant’s collaboration with Floreon constitutes together with Clariant’s EcoCircle, a corporate-wide initiative supporting the transition from a one-way plastics value chain to a circular plastics economy, another step forward to jointly develop new circular materials and technologies together with partners from the entire value chain to enable a circular economy. MT www.floreon.com | www.clariant.com Info See a video-clip at: https://youtu.be/Q- 5rcCaeyLA bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/20] Vol. 15 39
