MATERIALS | BIOPLASTICS


and recovery protocol will be created. Spain is responsible for manufacturing 14% of


Above: The Dafia project aims to convert waste into bioplastics, for use in barrier film


replace artificial antioxidants in packaging material,” she said.


Waste into bioplastics Spanish plastics research organisation Aimplas is currently involved in two bioplastics projects – linked with the fishing and agriculture sectors. The Dafia project, coordinated by Aimplas, aims


to convert waste – including that from the fishing industry – into bioplastics for a variety of applications, including barrier packaging and edible coatings. The 15 project partners have worked for four


years on waste that appears to have no added value, including municipal solid waste (household rubbish) and by-products of the fishing industry. Fishing industry waste has been used to obtain


alternatives to petroleum-based ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVA) that have oxygen barrier properties. The formula, based on fish gelatin, can be incorpo- rated into food packaging film. Alternatively, it can be used to coat food in the form of an edible coating that extends shelf life. “This is a perfect example of circularity,” said


Aimplas. “Fish waste is reincorporated into the production chain to package food, preventing the generation of waste by using it as a new resource.” In the case of municipal solid waste, innovative


fermentation processes have made it possible to extract building blocks from sugars, which can be used to synthesise biopolymers such as bio-based polyamides. In addition, Dafia has developed flame retard-


ants from fishing industry waste. A separate project, called Agro+, aims to develop compostable mulch film to help manage waste in the agricultural sector – while providing quality compost. The results will be validated on farms in Valencia


using artichokes, organic tomatoes and citrus plants. At the same time, a new waste management


18 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | July/August 2021


Europe’s agricultural plastics, says Aimplas. It also consumes more than 674,000 tonnes of mulch film per year. The film is difficult to recycle because it is highly contaminated – with soil, stones and crop residues. Compostable plastic would remove the need to collect and recycle it. This project is developing a pilot methodology for using compostable films, and a waste manage- ment protocol to convert them into compost – which can be reused by farmers for their own agricultural production. The project will help determine the impact of using this compost on different crops. In the project, compostable mulch films are being developed and optimised by improving degradation rates to ensure the quality of the compost produced.


Industrial drive French bioplastics developer Lactips has teamed up with film extruder Plastiques Venthenat to develop a range of new product applications. The companies have developed a number of new uses for Lactips’ water soluble polymers, including a film that is marketed as Biocyter – as a replacement for polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films. Plastiques Venthenat is addressing the single- dose monolayer packaging and detergent markets and laundry services, particularly in the medical sector thanks to applications for water-soluble ties and bags. “Our partnership with Lactips enables us to combine our areas of know-how to master the extrusion of our Biocyter film,” said Michel Rautu- rier, CEO of Plastiques Venthenat. In one application, Oopya – an ecological disinfectant manufacturer – is replacing conven- tional plastic from the packaging for its single-dose salt sticks. The company has developed a cleaning solution that uses water, salt – contained in water- soluble plastic packaging – and electricity. This aims to reduce the use of chemical products and plastic packaging. The ‘salt sticks’ now replace the previous generation of packaging. “The partnership with Plastiques Venthenat will enable Lactips to position itself in the film sector with a model that will be duplicated across other technical platforms,” said Pascal Chabance, head of business development and sales at Lactips. Because it is printable, Lactips material – trans- formed into a film – can also be used to create soluble temporary labels. Configurations for manufacturers – and environmental tests – are still


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IMAGE: AIMPLAS


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