Issue 04/2018

Coffee capsules & pods
Coffee klatch
Aldo Zanetti,
Business Unit
Manager at
Trinseo
Single-serve Coffee Capsules and
Biodegradable Material – the Perfect Match – an Interview
Trinseo, headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, USA, is a global materials
company that has acquired API (Mussolente, Italy), a producer of thermoplastic
elastomeric compounds and bioplastics. Trinseo has recently launched new grades of biodegradable
and compostable bioplastics for single-serve coffee capsules. bioplastics MAGAZINE spoke with Aldo
Zanetti, Business Unit Manager at Trinseo.
When did Trinseo enter the bioplastics market?
In 2006, Trinseo, formerly known as API, launched the
first soft biodegradable and compostable material – APINAT
BIO ® . In those early days, this was still a novel approach.
Still we felt the time had come to add sustainability as a
core competence to our already innovative conventional
compounds. We protected this biodegradable compound
technology with an international patent.
How did biodegradable products progress from
here?
Over the years, we developed biodegradable materials for
a variety of different applications. In 2011, conforming to the
new Italian regulation, we introduced a biodegradable and
compostable film solution to replace
polyethylene shopping bags. In 2014,
we launched the first biodegradable
and compostable compound
for single-serve coffee capsules.
Additionally, we have developed a unique
and wide-ranging spectrum
of biodegradable color
masterbatches compatible
with all of our bio resins.
Since the acquisition of API, Trinseo has
introduced further innovations and new materials suitable
for various applications, particularly in the packaging and
agricultural sectors.
In your opinion, why should companies use
biodegradable material when producing coffee
capsules?
Global coffee consumption is continuously progessing
towards single-serve capsule machines. Every year
around 50 billion capsules are sold worldwide. Although
single-serve capsules are extremely convenient, they
have the downside that the aluminum and plastic create
a lot of waste. Single-serve coffee capsules are not easily
recyclable and mixed materials such as exhausted coffee
powder, plastic and aluminum are sent to a landfill without
being separated. The coffee industry urgently needs a
more sustainable packaging option. Biodegradable and
compostable capsules are, in my opinion, therefore one of
the most viable solutions.
Why are single serve coffee capsules so suitable
assuming they are collected and sent to a
composting facility?
The combination of coffee powder with biodegradable
material constitutes a ‘perfect match’. Coffee powder is
organic and is itself a good fertilizer. The brewing process
adds temperature and humidity, thereby triggering the
biodegradation of the capsule into compost, CO 2
and water.
What about other material properties? Can your
material compete with conventional plastics?
Besides being biodegradable under EN 13432, our new
APINAT BIO® grades are derived from 60 to 90 % biobased
sources. Our grades fully comply with both
U.S. FDA and EU food contact regulations.
Our materials exemplify exceptional
dimensional stability and easy
processability at the manufacturer’s
site. They can be processed with
cycle times comparable to those of
conventional plastics, maintaining a
manufacturer’s hourly output at the
same levels. The material grades have
been successfully tested and approved
in all current production technologies such
as injection molding, extrusion and extrusion-compression
molding. So, yes, we can compete with conventional plastics
in the coffee capsule business.
Which material properties would you now like
to further improve?
Our first priority is to enhance the barrier towards water
vapor and oxygen, thereby extending capsule shelf-life. This
is the area where developments are most concentrated.
We are also working on improving our material’s thermal
stability for the purpose of extending its use in complex
capsules and for higher brewing temperatures and
pressures.
What about your participation in the EU LIFE-
PLA4Coffee project?
Because of our extensive knowledge and experience in
the development of biodegradable plastic compounds, ICA,
38 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/18] Vol. 13