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32 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/23] Vol. 18 Biocomposites PLA food packaging project PLA-fibre biocomposite and PLA-starch blends for food packaging applications Polylactic acid (PLA) is currently the strongest bioplastic in terms of volume and global production capacity [1]. This trend is also expected to continue in the future – by 2027, the global production capacity of PLA is forecasted to be about 38 % of all bioplastics (2022 it was around 21 %) [2]. PLA also offers the best value for money and is already well understood in terms of processing properties. However, for economic and other reasons, products made from PLA are not currently recycled on industrial scale. Since PLA has no direct fossil counterpart plastic, it cannot be integrated into existing recycling processes, or only to a limited extent. Furthermore, no sorting facilities are currently established to sort PLA, as the material flow remains too low [3]. In order to promote recycling for PLA, it is necessary that sufficient material is available on the market. This is where the joint project PLA2Scale comes in, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (project management agency Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe – FNR – funding no: 2221NR033). The areas of application for food packaging made of PLA are limited, among other things, due to the gas barrier properties [4]. Should the areas of application be expanded, the material flow of PLA could be sufficiently increased and thus sorting and (mechanical and chemical) recycling could also become economically interesting. The PLA2Scale project aims to contribute to a significant increase in the PLA material stream through substituted packaging materials in order to strengthen the incentive effect for sorting/recycling companies to recycle PLA as a new material stream alongside conventional plastics. The overall goal of the project is to increase the amount of PLA-based food packaging to the market, taking ecological design into account. In this context, ecological design is understood to mean material-efficient use and optimum product protection for the packaged goods. To achieve an increase in the PLA material flow, among others, two of the main research approaches aimed for are summarized in Figure 1. On the one hand, the oxygen barrier of PLA-starch blends is to be increased in order to be suitable for more sensitive foods such as convenience products, cheese, and sliced sausage in modified atmosphere. On the other hand, the gas barrier of PLA-fibre biocomposites is to be lowered. Here, different fibres are used to create incompatibilities that are necessary for gas transfer so that highly respiratory foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables can be packaged appropriately. These two approaches are expected to expand the potential applications of PLA or PLA biocomposites for market-relevant food categories. PLA blends and fibre integration can not only adapt the function of PLA, but also also reduce the price compared to pure PLA. Since the start of the project in November 2022, the IfBB (Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites of the Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts) and the Sustainable Packaging Institute (SPI) of the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University are working in a consortium with ten industrial partners and two associations on the new food packaging, from raw material selection to up-scaling to industrial scale. Overall, three main plastic processing routes for PLA, PLA biocomposites, or PLA blends will be evaluated, namely flat film casting, thermoforming, and injection moulding. Over the past few months, the raw material selection for the blend/biocomposite partners has been made, which will be primarily from residual/side streams. For this purpose, 13 fibre products for the development of the PLA fibre biocomposites have been investigated so far (e.g. apple fibres, citrus fibres, by-products of the wood processing industry such as sawdust, pea fibres, hemp shives) and three starchcontaining side stream products for the PLA starch blends have been tested. First trials have been performed for the PLA biocomposites. Injection moulded test specimen discs were produced and characterized. The SPI team is currently doing flat film production trials on pilot scale with PLAsawdust biocomposites (Figure 2). PLA -fibre biocomposite Forrespiratory food such as •Fresh fruits •Fresh vegetables PLA Figure 1: Schematic representation of the objectives of compounding PLA in the PLA2Scale project. PLA-starch blend For sensitive food such as • Meat and cheese •Refrigeratedfood
ioplastics MAGAZINE [04/23] Vol. 18 33 In the end, the gas permeability measurements serve as the final decision criterion to decide which biocomposite material, in which concentration, and which biobased additives are suitable for flat films casting. For respiratory foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and fresh salads, a water vapour permeability >10,000 g/m²d is required to package these products adequately [4]. For PLA blends with starch-based blend partners, potato-based raw materials are currently being investigated, which are compounded into PLA in the form of thermoplastic starch. Both approaches, PLA-fibre biocomposite and PLA-starch blend will be further processed into films and thermoformed trays at pilot and industrial scale, which will be used for food packaging and storage trials towards the end of the project to demonstrate the feasibility of these systems. In addition to the technical development, the IfBB will conduct a life cycle assessment of the raw materials, the processes, and the packaging materials developed. At the end of the project, the substitution potential of the developed packaging materials will be calculated in order to be able to make statements about how much petrochemical plastic packaging can be replaced and how this affects the life cycle assessment. The innovative potential of the PLA2Scale project is high. Establishing enough PLA on the market to make sorting and recycling economically viable, would have great effects on the greenhouse gas potential as recycling as been shown to be the best end-of-life option for PLA concerning the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions [3]. References: [1] IfBB – Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites (ed.): Biopolymers – Facts and statistics 2022, Hannover 2023. [2] European Bioplastics e.V., 2023 (accessed online), Bioplastics market data, https://www.european-bioplastics.org/market/#iLightbox[gallery_image_1]/1 [3] Spierling, S., Röttger, C., Venkateshwaran, V., Mudersbach, M., Herrmann, C., Endres, H.-J. Bio-based Plastics – A Building Block for the Circular Economy?, Procedia CIRP, 69, 2018, p. 573-578. [4] Detzel A., Bodrogi, F., Kauertz, B., Bick, C., Welle, F., Schmid, M., Schmitz, K., Müller, K., Käb, H.: Biobasierte Kunststoffe als Verpackung von Lebensmitteln, BMEL, FNR. Endbericht. 2018. S. 1-122. By: Corina Reichert, Research Group Leader SPI Manuel Hogg, Deputy Laboratory and Technical Centre Manager Technican SPI Markus Schmid, Institute Director SPI Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, Sigmaringen, Germany Stephen Kroll, Deputy Institute Director IfBB Marie Tiemann, Research Scientist Andrea Siebert-Raths, Institute Director IfBB Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hannover, Germany Figure 2: PLA-sawdust extruded flat film with different concentrations of sawdust and film thickness (Source: Albstadt-Sigmaringen University)
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