Creating biodegradable and recyclable lignocellulose-based materials for flexible packaging solutions

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Background:Many soft plastic materials often used for commercial packaging solutions are non-recyclable, non-biodegradable and cause long term damage to the environment. The purpose of this project is to investigate a biodegradable and recyclable lignocellulose-derived alternative to fossil-derived flexible packaging solutions.Key objectives:- Develop flexible paper with high gas barrier properties that is suitable for integration onto existing high-speed processing operations where currently plastics are used- Produce a life cycle analysis (LCA) of the derived flexible paper product to assess the environmental impact of the solution in comparison to existing soft-plastic packaging- Produce a techno-economic analysis (TEA) for the developed material to assess the economic feasibility of implementation to existing processes and commercial markets- Identify commercial relevance and value-added productsMethodology:- Nanocellulose (cellulose fibres of nano-scale size) and other potential surface additives will be used to create flexible low gsm (gram per square meter) paper with improved O2/N2 barrier properties- To achieve "pore-filling" effect nanocellulose will be introduced using either layer-by-layer spraying onto prefabricated low gsm paper, or by direct dispersion into aqueous pulp suspension within the creation of the low gsm paper- Aspen HYSYS will be used to produce material and energy balances as well as a process flow diagram for a conceptual pilot plant for manufacture of the developed lignocellulosic material. - The mass and energy balance data will be used to produce a LCA, with goal of answering the question "Can lignocellulosic-based flexible packaging replace fossil-derived competitors in an environmentally meaningful and sustainable manner?"- The LCA results will identify hot-spots in the manufacturing chain and will allow for optimisation of the proposed manufacturing process and minimisation of the environmental impact.- The TEA will be produced using data obtained via the Aspen HYSYS simulation to investigate economic feasibility of the proposed process