AlgiPack: Alginate-based films for packaging

The annual global production of fossil plastic is over 360 million tons. Around 50% stems from packaging material, and <20 % is currently recycled. Recycling is especially difficult for flexible and small packaging films such as food wraps. For these applications, there is definitely a need for more sustainable alternatives. The goal of AlgiPack is to develop home-compostable and 100% biobased flexible films using Norwegian cultivated brown algae, offering a sustainable alternative to fossil-based plastic for packaging applications. Despite their great potential as conventional plastic replacement, algae-based bioplastics still present some technological limitations such as a low gas and water barrier and weak mechanical properties, that are hindering their large-scale utilization in the packaging sector. AlgiPack will address these shortcomings by implementing graphene and cellulose fibers in seaweed based polymeric films. Two specific packaging applications will be developed: 1) Multilayer barrier coatings for paper/cardboard food packaging applications such as food wraps and trays. 2) Translucent composite films for non-food contact packaging applications such as protective bags for the cosmetic, fashion and electronic industries. The project owner, B'ZEOS, is a Norwegian company developing sustainable packaging based on seaweed with strong expertise in materials R&D and manufacturing processes and will contribute to the project with product development, process scale up and market validation. Project partner Tor Group AS is an environmental tech company with expertise in graphene enhanced products, and will contribute with expertise and methodology on graphene modification and dispersion in biopolymer matrices. Project partner Seaweed Solutions cultivates sugar and winged kelp, which will be used as raw materials. Research partners SINTEF and RISE PFI will contribute leading expertise on seaweed biorefinery and fibre-based materials.

The annual global production of fossil plastic is over 360 million tons. Around 50% stems from packaging material, and <20 % is currently recycled. There is thus a strong need for biodegradable alternatives that can replace fossil-based plastics. The goal of AlgiPack is to develop flexible home-compostable biobased plastic films and coatings based on Norwegian cultivated brown algae as an alternative to fossil-based plastic used for packaging. Despite their great potential as conventional plastic replacement, algae-based bioplastics still present some technological limitations such as a low water vapor barrier and weak mechanical properties, that are hindering their large-scale utilization in the packaging sector. AlgiPack will address these shortcomings by implementing graphene and cellulose fibers in seaweed based polymeric films. Two specific packaging applications will be developed: 1) Multilayer barrier coatings for paper/cardboard food packaging applications such as food wraps and trays. The laminated structure will include a graphene layer to enhance the gas and water barrier properties and an outer compostable alginate layer serving as a grease barrier. 2) Translucent composite films using an innovative dispersion method of functionalized graphene in combination with cellulose fibrils into alginate for non-food contact packaging applications such as protective bags for the cosmetic, fashion and electronic industries. The project owner, B'ZEOS, is a Norwegian company developing sustainable packaging based on seaweed. Project partner Tor Group AS is an environmental tech company with expertise in graphene and biopolymers. Project partner Seaweed Solutions cultivates sugar and winged kelp, which will be used as raw materials. Research partners SINTEF and RISE PFI will contribute leading expertise on seaweed processing and fibre-based materials. Together, the consortium will meet the increasing demand for more sustainable packaging materials.