MATERIALS | BIOPLASTICS
contact. At the end of their life they can be man- aged together with the organic waste. “This film meets all the quality requirements for
packaging foods such as smoked salmon,” said Maria de Guía Blanco, R&D project engineer at SP Group. “Processing has been very simple, and oxygen permeability results are comparable to EVOH high barrier structures.” A challenge in the project was to achieve a compostable material that could be processed without difficulty on a conventional blown film extruder, while maintaining transparency and providing high oxygen barrier properties. SP targets these films at packaging applications
Above: SP has used Nurel’s Inzea biopoly- mer to develop a compostable barrier film
being validated, and an application is expected to be launched this year.
Rice compound
India-based compounding specialist Steer Engineering says that its technology is being used to develop a new type of bioplastic based on rice. It recently supplied three of its Omega 60 class
extruders to Biomass Resin Holdings of Japan. The extruders will help to speed up development and commercialisation of new compounds of inedible rice with polyolefin resins – called ‘Rice Resin’. The compounds will be used to make products such as trash bags and shopping bags. “There is a broad consensus for using alterna- tives to oil-based plastics,” said Subodh Jindal, CEO of Steer. “We have been pioneering technol- ogy that can help transform compounds for biomass-based solutions.” Omega extruders come with Steer’s ‘fractional lobe geometry’ special elements that are designed to enhance process efficiency and quality of output. They also help manufacturers to increase produc- tion capacity – by up to 25% – due to the increased volume and higher torque capacity, says Steer.
Oxygen barrier SP Group and Nurel Biopolymers have devel- oped a multi-layer film structure with a high oxygen barrier, which is also compostable. Many barrier film structures cannot be recycled because of their complexity, say the companies. The new films have been used to package
products such as salmon, and the partners are testing its effectiveness for other products such as energy bars, nuts and salt. The films, which were made using Nurel’s Inzea biopolymers, can be processed in conventional facilities, are transparent and sealable, have a high bio-based content and are suitable for food
20 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | July/August 2021
of fresh, dry or refrigerated products that require a high oxygen barrier. Nurel offers its Inzea F18C material for co-extrusion applications of films that require transparency, sealing properties, oxygen barrier and compostability.
PHA at home US-based PSI has begun commercial production of a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) packaging film that is home compostable. While the PHA materials have been certified, the film will go through biodegradation and home compostability screening prior to full certification. Made from Danimer Scientific’s Nodax PHA, the new film is designed for applications across food, beverage, grocery retail, quick service restaurant, stadium foodservice, and many other consumer packaged goods (CPG) and industrial segments. “This is the first in a line of new solutions in home compostable films we’ll launch in the next 12 to 18 months,” said George Thomas, CEO of PSI. “We are excited to add PHA to our EarthFirst biopolymer films portfolio.”
Biodegradable mulch Delegates at Agricultural Film – a virtual conference run recently by AMI – discovered that bioplastics are playing an increasing role in mulch film. Ralf Dujardin, vice president of marketing and
innovation at Imaflex, presented details of an innovation in metallised mulch film: biodegradable products that break down naturally in the soil. “Natural microorganisms can break down
natural materials and digest them for energy generation and biomass growth,” said Dujardin. The company’s Can-Eco films are made from of
PLA and PBAT – a combination of bio-based and petroleum-based products. Dujardin says this was because all-biobased mulches were too brittle to be laid quickly – and biodegraded into the soil too quickly during the crop season.
www.filmandsheet.com
IMAGE: NUREL/SP GROUP
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