Tetra Pak is working with MAX IV on a research project to advance fiber-based food contact packaging in search of recyclable, high-barrier “packaging of the future”.
As the first industrial R&D project to be carried out at the MAX IV ForMAX laboratory in Lund, Sweden, the project aims to meet the global demand for fully sustainable and food-safe packaging materials.
It is hoped that this research will lead to a better understanding of the nanostructure of fibrous material; the first application is aimed at optimizing the composition of the material used to make paper straws.
“Fundamental understanding of material structure and properties is critical as we work to create the packaging of the future,” said Eva Gustavsson, Tetra Pak vice president of materials and packaging. “Our goal is to create the most sustainable food packaging in the world, and the ForMAX experiment will clearly support us in this mission.
“The packaging of the future must be fully recyclable and have a minimal environmental impact. The use of renewable materials and the increased use of fibrous materials in packaging will be critical. new ideas on which future innovations will be based.
“The experiments carried out at ForMAX are a milestone for both academia and industry,” said Kim Nygaard, ForMAX Beam Line Manager for MAX IV. “The research station, the first of its kind, will stimulate fundamental and applied industrial research into how new, sustainable materials can be used in the future. We are proud to support Tetra Pak in developing sustainable packaging materials for the future.”
“Our first experiments began with paper straws, which provided additional analytical capabilities to understand how paper straw materials respond to environmental changes in real time and how straws interact with different types of liquids under harsh conditions,” added Eskil. Andreasson, Tetra Pak virtual simulation technology expert. “These new ideas and knowledge will be used to design future paper straws in our virtual simulation tool, which will help us improve their functionality.”
Last year, Tetra Pak announced plans to test a fiber-based barrier to replace the aluminum layer in the food cartons it distributes in environmental conditions.
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Tetra Pak announced plans to test a fiber-based barrier to replace the aluminum layer in environmentally distributed food cartons.
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Post time: Feb-09-2023