New high-barrier paper for sustainable food packaging

纸和纸板包装市场实际上受到消费者对生物可降解材料的偏好的强烈和不断增长的趋势，由于环境问题。事实上，对可持续的、具有成本效益的、生态兼容的高阻隔材料的需求正在迅速增长，以取代石油衍生聚合物用于食品包装和其他导致陆地和海洋污染的应用。包装的趋势实际上正在从合成的、不可回收的材料转向可持续的、可回收的、可堆肥的、可降解的天然材料。此外，非生物基选择的成本增加也是一个问题。因此，在这样的包装应用中，用生物聚合物代替化石基聚合物是有兴趣的。纸包装材料应根据最终用途提供必要的防水、水蒸气、气体/空气和油脂/油的阻隔性能。必须开发新技术，不仅要改善屏障性能，还要符合可持续性问题。该研究项目旨在开发使用生物基聚合物的包装产品。从实验室涂布机到试验涂布机，将开发并应用于纸上的涂布配方。这项研究对工业合作伙伴很重要，使他能够为快速增长的市场开发新的有竞争力的产品。这个项目应该在全球范围内；通过更好地利用加拿大最丰富的可再生资源之一——森林，为可持续发展和环境责任做出贡献；为消费者市场提供含有可回收和可重复使用的纤维和生物衍生聚合物的环保包装产品，以取代石油基塑料，最后；协助寻找与传统石油衍生包装材料有关的废物处理问题的部分解决办法。

The paper and paperboard packaging market is actually subjected to a strong and growing trend from consumerpreferences towards biodegradable materials due to environmental concerns. As a matter of fact, there is a fastgrowing need for sustainable, cost-effective, and ecologically compatible high-barrier materials as areplacement for petroleum derived polymers for food packaging and other applications that contribute to land and ocean pollution. Packaging trends are actually moving from synthetic, non-recyclable materials tosustainable, recyclable, compostable and repulpable natural materials. Moreover, increasing cost of nonbio-based options is an issue. Therefore, there is an interest to replace fossil-based polymers by biopolymers in such packaging applications. Paper packaging materials should provide the necessary barrier properties against water, water vapor, gases/air and grease/oils depending on end-use applications. New technologies must bedeveloped not only to improve barrier properties but also to comply with sustainability issues. This research project is aiming at the development of packaging products using bio-based polymers. Coating formulations will be developed and applied on paper from laboratory coater to pilot coater. This research is important for theindustrial partner allowing him to develop new competitive products for fast growing markets. This projectshould globally; contribute to sustainability and environmental accountability by a better use of one of Canada'smost abundant, renewable resources, its forests; provide the consumer markets with eco-friendly packagingproducts containing recyclable and re-usable fibers and bio-derived polymers for replacement ofpetroleum-based plastics, and finally; contribute to find partial solutions to waste-disposal problems associated with traditional petroleum-derived packaging materials.