Rewriting Tape with Inorganic Mineral Powder: Shanlian’s Cai Jianyong and a Decade of Degradable Film Tape R&D

Cai Jianyong, Chairman of Shanlian (Changxing) New Materials Co., Ltd.

A long-buried seed takes root after an unexpected encounter

Since the Second Industrial Revolution, plastics have moved from industrial engineering and daily necessities into nearly every part of production and life, delivering unmatched convenience. Yet the overuse of plastics—especially single-use plastics—has also imposed irreversible environmental costs on the planet and people.

Scientists note that 68 plastic substances are major sources of human cancer. The ocean has become a graveyard for plastic waste, killing large numbers of marine organisms; discarded plastics can remain in landfill for 100 years without rotting or degrading, while incineration releases substantial toxic and harmful gases. These realities deeply concern Cai Jianyong, a veteran of the plastic packaging industry.

Cai says he has spent years in packaging and holds a strong attachment to the field. He also feels a clear responsibility to reduce environmental impact by improving packaging materials and formats.

The idea of easing the tension between packaging convenience and environmental pollution quietly took root in his mind. In 2008, he came across paper made from inorganic mineral powder by chance. The discovery sparked an idea—and he and his team set out to develop new inorganic degradable packaging materials.

After lengthy exploration, the innovation finally reaches the ground

There was little precedent for inorganic degradable materials; reference materials and scientific papers were almost impossible to find, so the team had to start from zero and learn by doing. Cai says the biggest hurdle was that no equipment worldwide matched inorganic degradable material processes, forcing the company to build its own production equipment and break through process bottlenecks.

The R&D road was long, marked by countless failures that generated tens of thousands of parameters. The team repeatedly screened, summarized and restarted, and after ten years it successfully refined the new inorganic degradable material. The scientific challenge that countries such as Europe, the US, Japan and South Korea had long struggled to solve was finally overcome by Cai’s technical team.

Shanlian holds full independent intellectual property rights and original technology for the material. It has filed more than 60 invention patent applications with the National Patent Office, while also pursuing international patents, and has applied for invention patents covering four major categories of equipment.

As a core product of the material, inorganic degradable film tape has passed testing by domestic and international organizations and obtained reports, including an SGS degradation report and a degradation test report from the Chemical Research Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry of China. The company has established and published an enterprise standard for “inorganic degradable sealing tape,” submitted an application for the Zhejiang Made standard, is preparing to apply for a national green product standard, and plans to initiate a national standard, with the ultimate aim of reaching international standards. A new inorganic degradable film tape industry is about to emerge.

Strong environmental benefits, with performance beyond ordinary tape

According to the company, 70% of the raw material for Shanlian’s inorganic degradable film tape is inorganic mineral powder, while the remaining 30% comprises more than ten types of degradable additives. This gives the tape clear green, environmentally friendly and degradable advantages.

In production, it achieves the “three noes”:

no water is required, no chemical halogens are added, and no toxic or harmful gases are generated;

after use, it can be recycled and remade, landfilled and degraded, and incinerated without producing toxic or harmful gases.

Traditional plastic products can remain in soil for 100 years without rotting and can pollute groundwater and soil. By contrast, this inorganic degradable film tape can degrade naturally within 10 months under sunlight.

When compared with ordinary BOPP plastic film tape on price,

inorganic degradable film tape costs 10%–20% more, but its functional performance already exceeds that of ordinary tape.

When compared with kraft paper tape,

inorganic degradable film tape is 1.5 to 3 times lower in price.

(Countries such as those in Europe, the US, Japan and South Korea already use kraft paper tape in large volumes.)

Positive market response, with international markets opening steadily

Shanlian’s inorganic degradable film tape is now being used in volume by major express networks such as “four Tong and one Da” (STO, YTO, ZTO, Best and Yunda), SF Express and related e-commerce companies, and has received unanimous praise.

A manager at a partner express company said candidly: “Compared with traditional express packaging, inorganic degradable film tape costs slightly more, but its no-pollution, degradable, recyclable and high-performance features will greatly reduce the environmental burden of express delivery waste. As a company, we should actively shoulder social responsibility and increase investment in promoting green packaging.”

Beyond logistics, express delivery and e-commerce, Shanlian plans to promote its products next in food and beverage, hygiene materials, pharmaceuticals, tobacco and alcohol, retail and other industries.

Cai notes that Shanlian has so far signed sales agency agreements with 38 countries, and representatives from nearly 100 more countries and regions will quickly advance signing with the company.

To meet rapidly growing customer demand for inorganic degradable film tape, Shanlian is accelerating construction of its production base. The project involves total investment of 1.007 billion yuan and covers 200 mu.

The first phase, covering 110 mu, has been completed and put into production, with annual capacity of 1 billion rolls of inorganic degradable film tape.

Once the phase II plant is fully operational, annual output of inorganic mineral powder film tape is projected to reach 3.2 billion rolls, with estimated annual sales revenue of 10 billion yuan.

A small product with a big market, turning the green packaging vision into reality

Tape may be small, but its market is large. Carton sealing tape in particular is used across industries and in nearly every household. All tape products—including carton sealing tape, masking tape, electrical tape and medical tape—represent a global market of more than 1 trillion yuan each year. From 2015 to 2016, China’s tape exports reached 100 billion yuan, while domestic sales reached 80 billion yuan.

There is currently no competing production of the same new material anywhere in the world. Compared with traditional kraft paper tape, the product has a clear competitive price advantage. According to incomplete statistics, more than 30 countries have begun legislative procedures to ban plastic tape before the end of 2020. China is also advancing top-level design, setting national standards and legislating to prohibit single-use plastic products. This lays a solid foundation for rapid market-share growth for inorganic degradable film tape.

Shanlian’s inorganic degradable foundational new material has been applied in five major product categories:

The first category is inorganic degradable film tape, which has entered production and sales;

The second category is inorganic degradable film flexible packaging, mainly for food and hygiene material outer packaging, replacing traditional plastic flexible packaging. It has already been supplied to flexible packaging companies for testing of parameters and process flows, and after the process is perfected, it will gradually replace plastic film;

The third category is inorganic degradable corrugated packaging boxes; the fourth category covers food fast-food boxes, cups and containers—known as food packaging containers—which have met the process requirements of various food safety tests and are currently in volume production at relevant injection molding plants; the fifth category is single-use fast-moving consumer goods such as knives, forks, spoons, combs, toothbrush handles and straws.

Next, Shanlian will continue to push forward, rapidly bringing its inorganic degradable packaging products to the world, striving to become an international brand in inorganic degradable products, continuously advancing the replacement and renewal of traditional plastic and tape products, and working to make the green packaging concept a reality.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-353069.html