Upcycling leftover cardboard to make a new type of foam packaging

The upcycled material was stronger and more insulating than traditional, plastic foam-based cushioning

19-Dec-2023 - With the holiday season in full swing, gifts of all shapes and sizes are being shipped around the world. But all that packaging generates lots of waste, including cardboard boxes and plastic-based foam cushioning, such as Styrofoam™. Rather than discard those boxes, researchers publishing in ACS ...

Fight against microplastics: Groundbreaking invention in the field of packaging materials

Environmentally friendly coating could replace plastic packaging

19-May-2023 - Research is being conducted on biodegradable polymers at the University of Bayreuth. Now an environmentally friendly coating has been developed that could be a full-fledged replacement for the millions of plastic packaging materials used worldwide. The Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1357 ...

LyondellBasell and LEGO holding invest in APK to develop recycling technology

14-Feb-2023 - LyondellBasell and KIRKBI A/S, the family-owned holding and investment company of the LEGO® brand, announce they have signed an agreement to make an investment in APK, which specializes in a unique solvent-based recycling technology for low density polyethylene (LDPE). APK aims to increase the ...

From the packet into your food: what harmful substances are in food packaging?

Database of previously undocumented chemicals

01-Jun-2022 - Salad boxes to go, sealed-tray lasagna and apple juice in PET bottles: we encounter packaged food and drink everywhere. A new database shows which packaging contains harmful substances that can be transferred to its contents. It also includes findings from researchers at the University of Basel, ...

Edible, biodegradable, anti-microbial plastic boasts higher tensile strength than petroleum-based plastic

The material is produced from gelatin, clay and a nanoemulsion of black pepper essential oil

11-Mar-2022 - Disposal of food packaging is a major cause of environmental pollution worldwide. More than 350 million metric tons of plastic are produced every year, and 85% of the garbage dumped in the oceans is plastic, according to estimates. Brazil is the fourth-largest producer, accounting for some 11 ...

Materials Research Says Yes to Wood

Green alternatives to fossil raw materials: Bio-based materials are expected to reduce pollution and drive the shift to a more sustainable economy

12-May-2021 - As a renewable resource, wood offers great potential in the fight against the climate crisis. First, it sequesters large amounts of carbon (1 ton per cubic meter!). Moreover, it is an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil based resources, which cause the majority of greenhouse gas ...

Clever solutions for label and packaging processes in highly regulated industries such as the chemical sector

From idea to independence: BASF incubator Chemovator spins off first employee startup

27-Apr-2021 - BOXLAB Services GmbH is the first startup to celebrate its spin-off from Chemovator in April 2021. There, promising ideas outside of the core business of BASF are developed and build into scalable business models and companies. With the right resources, the necessary freedom and respective ...

Bacteria fed on a customized diet produce biodegradable polymers for alternative packaging in the cosmetics industry

Replacing harmful solvents with pressure change technology

06-Oct-2020 - Germany generates around 38 kilograms of plastic waste per capita each year. In a joint project with the University of Stuttgart and LCS Life Cycle Simulation, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB and the Fraunhofer Institute for Process ...

Stora Enso invests in pilot plant for bio-based plastic packaging material

12-Dec-2019 - Stora Enso is investing EUR 9 million to build a pilot facility for enabling the production of bio-based plastics as barrier in transparent packaging. The pilot plant will convert plant-based sugars into the renewable building block required to make PEF, a bio-based plastic, mainly targeting the ...

Stora Enso acquires Swedish cellulose technology company

30-Oct-2018 - Stora Enso has increased its ownership up to 100% in the Sweden-based company Cellutech AB. The company specialises in the development of new materials and applications based on cellulose, micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) and other wood-based components. The acquisition of Cellutech supports ...