Four Fraunhofer Institutes are working on an ongoing project to develop a new type of recyclable mono-material film that has all the properties required for product protection and can save material compared to existing solutions.
Plastics are materials with many positive properties that are used for packaging, for example. Good packaging can have a major Contribution to saving resources and reduce food waste.
In order to further increase the recyclability of packaging, four organisations are working Fraunhofer-Institute in an ongoing project to develop a Mono-material film with all the properties required for product protection to develop.
The recycling of plastic packaging, also in the sense of the circular economy and the associated equivalent use of the original product, is therefore also a priority. is the focus of a current Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft project. The consortium consists of the Fraunhofer Institutes for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP in Dresden, for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg, for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Freising and for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen.
Mono-material film for the packaging industry
The four Fraunhofer Institutes conduct research under the coordination of the Fraunhofer IVV to develop a completely recyclable mono-material film that can be fulfils all the requirements of the packaging industry. In addition to mechanical properties, e.g. to ensure the stability of stand-up pouches, this also includes requirements for the barrier effect with regard to gases, vapours and flavourings.
The central idea of the project is to separate the property profile of the polymer granulate to be extruded from the subsequent product properties of the film, by subsequently changing the film material in a targeted manner. Compared to the solutions already available, it is possible to increase the rigidity as required and thus save material. For this purpose, technologies are used that can be used in-line for film extrusion and therefore do not reduce productivity. This enables the production of recyclable films while maintaining previous production costs made possible.
Source: Fraunhofer IVV
