Takeaway food is more popular than ever, but waste from single-use plastic containers is bad for the environment. Engineers at the University of Maine have created an oil-resistant and water-resistant container made from recycled cellulose nanocomposites that could be the next breakthrough in food delivery technology.
The demand for takeout, fast food and ready meals has created a huge plastic problem. Plastic takeaway food containers are great because they are durable, oil and water resistant and can hold a wide variety of foods without leaking. However, plastics are not biodegradable, so more and more waste is generated.
A 2021 Swedish study found that about 80% of marine litter is plastic, 70% of which is single-use plastic such as single-use plates, bottles and straws.
Cellulose and paper containers are more environmentally friendly because they break down over time, but are much less resistant to water, oils and fats. The application of plastic coatings can improve these qualities of containers, but makes them more difficult to recycle. Other methods of improving water, oil and grease repellency, such as the addition of substances such as PFAS, can cause serious health and environmental hazards.
To solve this problem, a team of researchers at the University of Maine has developed containers made from recycled wood composites with a new lignin-containing cellulose nanofiber coating that improves the quality of the container, allowing it to be recycled properly without sacrificing quality. health. Risks from plastic coatings or PFAS.
“Research in my lab focuses on two topics: the use of cellulosic nanomaterials as binders in building and automotive composites, and the production of renewable packaging materials with barrier properties against oxygen, water, oil and grease.” Associate Professor of Renewable Nanomaterials at the University of Maine. “This work essentially brings these two themes together by coating a thin nanocellulose-bonded wood flour composite with an oil-repellent layer of lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers.”
These containers are made from cellulose nanofibrils and wood flour/cellulose nanofibril composites, which manufacturers have recently expressed interest in because they are non-toxic, biodegradable, strong, tough, and resistant to oils and fats.
However, as a rule, these materials are not very waterproof, which is an important quality for takeaway containers. Researchers at the University of Maine have found that alum, a substance long used in the paper industry to increase particle retention, can improve the material’s water resistance over the expected life of food containers.
The improved container was also found to be fully recyclable. Researchers can break the sample and modify it, and the composite will retain its structure and resistance to oils and fats.
The findings could have immediate implications for Maine. In 2021, Maine will ban single-use polystyrene take-out containers. Wood nanocomposite containers could be an alternative for restaurants across the state.
A market for such containers also exists outside of Maine. According to a 2020 study by Acumen Research and Consulting, the market value of plastic-free disposable plates is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% per year to reach $5.96 billion by 2027 as consumers become more value-driven. . plastic waste.
A study detailing container development and testing will be published in the journal Cellulose in February 2022. Another co-author of the University of Maine study is Dr. Rakibool Hossain. students, Douglas Bowsfield, Director of the Paper Surface Science Program, and Douglas Gardner, Professor of Sustainable Materials and Technology at the School of Forest Resources and the Center for Advanced Structures and Composites.
“We are working with the University of Maine Process Development Center, which has a state-of-the-art fiber thermoforming machine, to evaluate whether our material system can be processed using this fully automated food container manufacturing system. a step forward in the feasibility and industrial relevance of the work done so far,” Tajvidi said.
Post time: Jul-18-2023