Farm Produced Ultrathin Lightweight Packaging

这个应用研究项目建立在班戈大学生物复合材料中心Valueform有限公司关于“当地农业纤维创新加工”的基础研究的基础上。该项目将：i)使用植物基材料生产新型生物复合食品包装；谷物/油籽秸秆/和其他农业残留物，优化工艺变量以获得超薄材料ii)确认使用创新的农场技术将这些材料转化为零售食品包装，其成本与同期不可再生产品具有竞争力。初步调查表明，这些生物复合材料比目前市场上的塑料、生物聚合物和淀粉基替代品更具资源效率。包装产品在使用后可生物降解/堆肥，提供一个非常有效的报废处理选择，也有助于减少堆填。帝国理工学院在联盟内的研究是在整个研发计划中使用生命周期评估（LCA）方法来定义开发包装材料的环境概况。这将涉及分析材料生命周期的所有阶段，从农业纤维和其他副产品的选择，辅助材料（化学品，聚合物）的选择和包含，生命周期的使用和分配阶段以及包装的最终处置（家庭堆肥，替代处置方案，回收潜力）。有各种各样的设计方案，将在该计划进行调查。LCA将从一开始就引入，并逐步发挥作用，以便为环境、技术和经济参数的潜在生产路线提供优化信息。在项目结束时，LCA信息（适当的功能单元定义、LCI数据集、LCI、敏感性分析、不确定性分析）将被组装起来，以支持新包装材料的环境影响的完整ISO 14040合规报告和财团酌情决定的适当声明

This applied research project builds on basic research by Valueform Ltd at the BioComposites Centre at Bangor University on 'Innovative processing of local agri-fibres'. This project will :-i) produce novel biocomposite food packaging using plant-based materials; cereal/oilseed straws/ and other agri-residues, optimising process variables to obtain ultrathin materials ii) confirm use of Innovative, farm-based technologies to convert these materials into retail food packages, at costs competitive with concurrent non-renewable products. Preliminary investigations indicates that these biocomposites can be more resource efficient than plastics, biopolymers and starch-based alternatives currently available on the market. The packaging products will be biodegradable /compostable post-use to deliver a very efficient end-of-life disposal option and also contribute to reductions in landfilling. The Imperial College London research within the consortium is to use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods throughout the R& D programme to define the environmental profiles of the developing packaging materials. This will involve analysis of all stages of the life cycle of the materials, from selection of agri-based fibers and other co-products, the selection and inclusion of ancilliary materials (chemicals, polymers), the use and distribution phase of the life cycle and the final disposal of the packaging (home composting, alternative disposal scenarios, recycling potential). There are a wide variety of design options that are to be investigated in the programme. LCA will be introduced at its inception and function on an incremental basis to inform optimisation of the potential production routes for environmental as well as technical and economic parameters. At the conclusion of the programme LCA information (appropriate functional unit definition(s), LCI datasets, LCIAs, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis) will have been assembled to support full ISO 14040 compliant reporting of the environmental impact of the novel packaging materials and appropriate declarations at the discretion of the consortium