BIONÆR-Bionæringsprogram

Fossil-based plastics are used in various applications in our daily life, such as shopping bags, packaging materials, toys, and medicine -just to name a few examples. Fossil-based plastics are often used owing to flexibility, ductility, and low permeability for water. Despite their outstanding properties, they also have significant shortcomings. They are not bio-degradable, and additional only a small fraction gets recycled, which results in major littering and environmental pollution. The NewHyPe-project targets to develop cellulose-based products, that can replace certain single-used fossil-based plastics. Two products are the main target of the NewHyPe-project: (1) Biodegradable, cellulose-based mulch films for use in agriculture, to replace non-degradable plastic mulch films and (2) a biodegradable alternative for fossil-based plastic films in food packaging, based on degradable nanocellulose films. Cellulose has a huge potential, as it is the most abundant biopolymer on earth, it is biodegradable and non-toxic. However, pure cellulose-based materials have a lack of ductility and water resistance, which limits their applications. The project aims to combine a cellulose-based material with inorganic-organic hybrid polymers (ORMOCER®) to fabricate a composite material with tailor-made properties, such as improved water resistance and ductility, and adjustable biodegradation rates. The hybrid polymer can either be chemical connected to the cellulose fibers or can be used as a surface coating for cellulose-based materials. Ongoing tests are probing mechanical and tensile properties, water resistance, and surface properties of the ORMOCER® coated cellulosed-based films.

The NewHyPe project addresses the thematic priority area "Lignocellulosic biomass conversion" described in the call. The project will contribute to development of new products by valorization of forest-based biomass in Northern Europe. A new international multidisciplinary collaboration and complete European value chain has been established between research groups from Fraunhofer (inorganic-organic hybrid materials), VTT ((nano)composite fabrication and material property characterization) and RISE PFI (fibre and nanofibre production and (nano)composite characterization), and the industry partners SurA Chemicals (special chemicals and coatings), Walki (packaging and mulching products) and Norske Skog Skogn (producer of printing paper).