01 | 2008

Foam
Mater-Bi Foams,
innovative,
functional and
compostable.
Article contributed by Stefano Facco
New Business Development Manager
Novamont S.p.A., Novara, Italy
Mater-Bi foams have been used for many years
in a number of different applications, such as
for fillers, sheets and blocks, for protective
industrial packaging and for thermoformed trays for
consumer food packaging.
Industrial packaging (e.g. sheets and blocks) is
based on a closed cell starch-based structure. It is a
robust and resilient real alternative to PS, PU and PP.
Densities range on average from 10 to 100 kg/m³, and
the dynamic cushioning properties (G factor) are comparable
to those of PE foam.
Loose fillers are based on a similar cell structure to
the one described above; they are considered a real alternative
to traditional PS loose fill packaging. Resistance
and cushioning properties comply with the needs
of packaging for products such as pharmaceuticals,
laboratory equipment, consumer goods etc. The fillers
are water soluble antistatic and resilient.
Recently Novamont, together with Sirap Gema, a
leading Italian company operating in packaging and
insulation systems, has developed a new non (water)
soluble packaging solution (Ekofoam), ideal for packaging
fresh produce (fruit, vegetables, etc).
The expanded sheets/punnets are produced on tandem
or single screw foam lines with annular dies. By
introducing expanding agents (gas) into the polymer it
is possible to obtain a cellular structure, reducing the
final density of the sheet. The characteristics of these
closed cell structure materials are as follows: Density
from 80 to 120 g/l, thickness from 1,5 mm up to
8 mm, and with mechanical properties comparable to
expanded polyolefins.
bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/08] Vol. 3