New Plastic Packaging Materials Break Ground Across Biodegradable, Sterilizing and Microwaveable Formats

As plastic packaging waste places growing pressure on the environment, cleaning up the living environment and improving quality of life have become key priorities. In recent years, several types of easily degradable new plastic packaging materials have reached the market and quickly attracted attention.

In sterilizing, water-absorbing food bags, Russia’s Institute of Applied Biotechnology has developed packaging that absorbs water, kills bacteria and can be reused, helping perishable foods such as cheese and sausages last longer. Russian experts added dehydrated mineral salts, enzymes and other substances to the food packaging polymer, enabling the inner surface to absorb excess moisture and kill bacteria, thereby improving the internal environment.

The enzymes in these additives can also regulate food odors and create space for nutrients. To improve reuse, researchers designed a process in which the bags can be used nine times, cutting packaging consumption and reducing production costs.

Corn-based plastic packaging is entering households. American scientists developed a plastic packaging by blending corn starch with polyethylene, giving it a back-to-nature feel. It suits integrated food packaging, dissolves quickly in water, makes washing and cooking convenient, and helps avoid pollution sources and bacterial toxins, so it is widely used.

Rapeseed plastic packaging is also gaining attention. British scientists extracted three plastic-producing genes from biopolymer-producing bacteria and transferred them into rapeseed plants. After a period, a plastic polymer liquid is produced; further refining and processing yields rapeseed plastic. Packaging materials or baby diapers made from it decompose after use and are highly popular with consumers.

Bacterial plastic packaging is emerging as a new favorite. British scientists cultivated a bacterial plastic from sugar and processed it into a material similar to polypropylene. It is readily biodegradable and ideal for surgical sutures and food packaging bags, with increasingly positive market prospects.

Wood-flour plastic packaging is showing its appeal. Japanese scientists extracted polyols from pine wood flour and reacted them with isocyanate to form polyurethane. This wood-flour plastic offers strong heat resistance and biodegradability, making it suitable for heat-resistant packaging bags and other products with broad, large-scale market demand.

HutamaKi has successfully developed a new plastic packaging with both passive and active barrier functions. It effectively inhibits oxygen ingress, and its barrier effect does not weaken significantly even after food bag packaging is retorted.

This new plastic packaging not only extends product storage life but can also be heated directly in a microwave, making it especially suitable for convenience food packaging. It addresses the tendency of ordinary plastic film packaging to allow oxygen permeation, causing flavor loss and color changes after storage. The material is laminated from different layers: the first and last layers are polypropylene, the second and fourth layers are adhesive, and between them is an oxygen-barrier polymer, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, known as the passive barrier. It can block incoming oxygen molecules and also absorb oxygen inside the package. The oxygen scavenger remains active even when moisture is present, thus extending shelf life.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-369960.html