Thin film polymer coating applications are one of the most common functional applications in the packaging industry. Due to the low weight of these plastic layers, their high surface-to-thickness ratio and the difficulty to separate it from the other layers in multilayer structures, their recyclability is not technically feasible nor economically / environmentaly worthwile. BIOFUNPAPER project aims at developing thin film coatings made of organic recyclable biopolymers for the development of hydrophobic and high barrier paper and cardboard coating, fully biodegradable, free of toxic additives and with lower environmental impact than what is currently available. The materials developed in the project will be fully assessed to ensure the performance as barrier and hydrophobic packaging materials as well as the compostability and biodegradability of the concepts in the environment.
The consortium of the project is composed of a multidisciplinary research team of 4 partners: Bioinicia SL (a biotech company devoted to electro-hydrodynamic processing of materials), the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC), the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), and the University Jaume I (UJI). The project will begin in a very low TRL 2-3 with the development of new materials, and will finish in high TRL 5-6 with the validation of the protoypes at an industrial scale.
Funding: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Proyectos de colaboración Público-Privada): CPP2021-008973
