Biodegradable polymer-hemp composites for cosmetics packaging

用于化妆品包装的可生物降解聚合物-大麻复合材料

• 批准号: 556416-2020
• 负责人: Gillies, Elizabeth
• 金额: $ 4.55万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=705921
• 关键词: Biodegradable; polymer; hemp; composites; cosmetics

Traditional plastics used in the packaging of consumer products require tens to hundreds of years to degrade. In Canada, only 9% of plastics are recycled, with the remainder going to landfills and incinerators. Improper management of plastic waste has led to plastic pollution being present in surface waters, soil, groundwater, on shorelines, in drinking water, food, and in wildlife and there are growing concerns about its impact on the animals, the environment, and human health. These concerns have motivated increasing interest in the development of biodegradable plastics. It is further desirable that the molecules and materials used to prepare plastics can be obtained from natural sources such as waste biomass (e.g., agriculture) as opposed to petrochemical sources. Working with CTK Bio Canada, a division of CTK Cosmetics, the aim of this project is to develop new biodegradable plastics for cosmetics packaging. The composites will be based on a polymer that can be obtained from biomass, combined with natural fibres from hemp stems. The fibres can be obtained from industrial hemp, an agricultural product, or from the stems, which are a waste product of Canada's cannabis industry. We will prepare new polymer analogues to enhance the degradability of the materials, and develop fabrication and processing methods that will allow our new materials to be readily implemented into the cosmetics packaging industry. Specifically, we are targeting materials that will degrade in landfill within 1 year. Using Canada's strength in bio-based resources, CTK Bio Canada will scale up production of the composites in Canada, then work with its major global partners (e.g., Chanel, Givenchy, Loreal) to bring degradable plastic packaging to customers. The cosmetics packaging market is large (>$63 billion CAD) and its customers are demanding more environmentally-sustainable packaging solutions, making it an ideal market for our new materials.

消费产品包装中使用的传统塑料需要数十到数百年才能降解。在加拿大，只有9％的塑料被回收，其余的将用于垃圾填埋场和焚化炉。对塑料废物的管理不当导致地表水，土壤，地下水，海岸线，饮用水，食物和野生动植物中存在塑料污染，并且人们对其对动物，环境和人类健康的影响越来越担心。这些担忧激发了人们对可生物降解塑料发展的兴趣日益增加。进一步的希望，可以从诸如废物生物量（例如农业）的自然来源（例如农业）而不是石化来源的天然来源获得用于制备塑料的分子和材料。该项目的目的是与CTK化妆品的CTK Bio Canada合作，是为化妆品包装开发新的可生物降解塑料。复合材料将基于可以从生物质中获得的聚合物，并结合来自大麻茎的天然纤维。这些纤维可以从工业大麻，农产品或茎，这是加拿大大麻行业的废品。我们将准备新的聚合物类似物，以增强材料的降解性，并开发制造和加工方法，使我们的新材料很容易地在化妆品包装行业中实施。具体而言，我们针对的是将在1年内降级垃圾填埋场的材料。加拿大CTK Bio Canada利用加拿大的实力将扩大加拿大复合材料的生产，然后与其主要的全球合作伙伴（例如Chanel，Chanel，Givenchy，Loreal）合作，将可退化的塑料包装带给客户。化妆品包装市场大型（> 630亿加元），其客户要求更环保的包装解决方案，使其成为我们新材料的理想市场。