Development of High Barrier, bio-based and compostable flexible films using nanocellulose for the food packaging market (BarBi project)

正如我们所知，塑料是生活中必不可少的一部分。然而，他们从化石原料和报废问题的采购促成了政府，工业和社会层面的审查和变革的愿望。Biome的新颖包装影响了两个问题-来自可再生生物基起源和可堆肥。自20世纪50年代以来，全球估计产生了92亿吨塑料废物（Statista，2022年），其中50%以上留在垃圾填埋场或散落在环境中。塑料生产、回收和处理产生的全球温室气体排放量是航空旅行的两倍多（《自然-气候变化》，2019年）。按照目前的需求，化石基塑料的年产量约为3.3亿吨。虽然它们有用且无处不在，但它们的开发重点是功能而不是寿命结束时的性能及其对环境的影响。单靠回收并不能完全解决“塑料问题”。这包括成本、食品污染、退化以及对土壤和海洋的环境泄漏。生物基和可生物降解塑料是解决方案的重要组成部分，为这些材料提供了低碳途径，并在适当的环境中进行生物降解。Biome Technologies plc（英国）和ANPOLY（韩国）之间的这个合作项目将加速制造过程和产品优化，并与现有的商业客户合作，扩大含有纤维素纳米纤维（CNF）的材料的规模。该项目的成果将促进一系列新的可持续和可生物降解材料的商业部署，减少垃圾填埋场和堆肥和土壤中不可生物降解塑料的环境负担，同时提高更广泛的英国（生物）经济的生产力和增长。

Plastics are an essential part of life as we know it. However, their sourcing from fossil-based raw materials and end-of-life issues have contributed to the scrutiny and desire for change at governmental, industrial and societal levels. Biome's novel packaging impacts both issues - sourced from renewable bio-based origins and compostable.An estimated 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic waste have been generated globally since the 1950s (Statista,2022) of which over 50% remains in landfill or loose in the environment. Global greenhouse gas emissions from the production, recycling and disposal of plastics is more than double that of air travel (Nature-Climate-Change,2019).In line with current demand, fossil-based plastics are produced at a rate of ~330mtpa. While useful and ubiquitous, they have been developed focusing on function over end-of-life performance and their environmental impact. Recycling alone is not the complete answer to the "plastics problem". This includes cost, food contamination, degradation and environmental leakage to soils and oceans. Bio-based and biodegradable plastics are an important part of the solution providing low-carbon routes to such materials and biodegradation in appropriate environments.This collaborative project between Biome Technologies plc (UK) and ANPOLY (S.KOREA) will accelerate the manufacturing process and product optimisation, scaling-up of cellulose nanofibre (CNF) containing materials in partnership with existing commercial customers.The project's outcome will facilitate the commercial deployment of a new range of sustainable and biodegradable materials, reducing landfill and the environmental burden of non-biodegradable plastics in composts and soils whilst increasing productivity and growth for the wider UK (bio)economy.