Reinventing coatings for sustainable flexible packaging

迫切需要生产真正可持续、可回收和可生物降解的软包装。目前的软包装是由多层不同的化石基材料制成的，以满足优异的防潮性、密封性和机械性能等关键要求。与多层包装相关的回收和最终使用问题证明，唯一可行的解决方案是其彻底的重新设计-纳入可再生材料，可以在整个产品价值链中推动更大的经济和环境效益。虽然在用可持续聚合物（即生物基、可生物降解和/或可堆肥）制造软包装材料方面取得了成功，但这些新颖的创新仍处于研究起步阶段——性能不佳，阻碍了商业应用。可持续涂料的优化为改善这些替代品的整体包装性能提供了潜在的解决方案，有助于未来包装制造业的转型，同时推动先进材料、工程科学和技术的研发。项目新颖性和应用：-开发和优化新的可持续材料，可以帮助取代多层软包装的组件，允许更大的生物降解性和/或一次性软包装的回收利用。-新的颠覆性方法，框架，涂料，复合材料和涂层工艺的指导，将加强商业包装的可持续转型。目的：研究涂料之间的协同作用，以提高当前商业包装的可持续性。目的：1)评估表面改性对涂料在特定基材（不同等级的纸张、PHA、PLA基包装）上的均匀性、附着力、相互作用和性能的影响。2)确定商业和可生物降解和复合涂层在包装关键性能指标（kpi）上的效率，如可回收性、可生物降解性、抗微生物/抗真菌性、水和氧阻隔性、机械完整性、密封性、印刷性和美观性。3)使用复合涂层混合物优化涂层工艺，使kpi达到最优。4)评估与多功能涂料相关的经济和环境影响，包括寿命结束和原料供应链。

There is an urgent need to produce truly sustainable, recyclable, and biodegradable flexible packaging. Current flexible packaging is made of multilayers of different fossil-based materials to meet key requirements such as excellent moisture barrier, sealability and mechanical properties. The recycling and end-use problems associated with multilayer packaging proves that the only viable solution is its radical redesign-incorporating renewable materials that can drive greater economic and environmental benefits across the whole product value chain. Whilst there are successes in creating flexible packaging materials from sustainable polymers (i.e., bio-based, biodegradable and/or compostable), these novel innovations are still in their research infancy- suffering from poor performance and hampering commercial uptake. The optimisation of sustainable coatings provides potential solutions to improving the overall packaging properties of these alternatives, contributing to the transformation of future packaging manufacturing while driving R&D in advanced materials, engineering science and technology.Project Novelty and Application: - Development and optimisation of new sustainable materials that can aid in replacing components of multilayer flexible packaging, allowing for greater biodegradability and/or recycling of single use flexible packaging.-New disruptive methods, frameworks, guidance on coatings, composites and the coating process that will enhance the sustainable transition of commercial packaging.Aim: To investigate the synergies among coatings for enhanced sustainability within current commercial packaging.Objectives: 1) Evaluate the effect of surface modification on the uniformity, adhesion, interaction and performance of coatings on specific substrates (different grades of paper, PHA, PLA based packaging).2) Determine the efficiency of commercial and biodegradable and composite coatings on packaging key performance indicators (KPIs) such as recyclability, biodegradability, anti-microbial/anti-fungal resistance, water and oxygen barrier, mechanical integrity, sealability, printability and aesthetics. 3) Optimize the coating process for maximum desirability among KPIs using composite coating mixtures.4) Evaluate the economic and environmental impacts associated with multi-functional coatings, including end of life and feedstock supply chain.