CircuPack - Recyclable materials for food packaging with a low ecological footprint

Running time

01.01.2023 – 31.12.2025

Starting point / motivation

The increasing awareness of society and pressure from commercial companies are leading food packaging manufacturers to increasingly search for more environmentally friendly alternatives. This pressure results from the desire to reduce the environmental impact of packaging, particularly through the reduction of plastic waste.

Contents and goals

The goal of this project is to develop manufacturing processes for food packaging materials that differ from those currently on the market in two ways. The first characteristic is that the materials are made from pulp fibers, making them biobased, CO2-neutral, recyclable, and compostable. The second characteristic is that the manufacturing processes to be developed all have a reduced CO2 footprint and are more environmentally friendly than conventional fiber production. This will be achieved through the use of recycled materials and new process controls in cooking and bleaching the fibers.

The project pursues various approaches to identify promising processes that can be further developed in subsequent projects on an industrial scale. The food suitability of the material is checked in the earliest phase of process development. Comprehensive chemical analysis for food safety is used to identify and eliminate unsuitable process approaches early.

Expected results / conclusions

The expected result of this project is the development of more environmentally friendly food packaging materials made from pulp fibers that all have a reduced CO2 footprint. It is expected that one or two promising processes can be identified from the various approaches, which can be further developed in subsequent projects on an industrial scale. The food suitability of the material will be checked in the earliest phase of process development to eliminate unsuitable process approaches early.

Project management

• Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Hirn Ulrich

Institute/Company

• Graz University of Technology - Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology (BPTI)

Partners of the project consortium

• Graz University of Technology - Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Food Chemistry
• Mondi AG

Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Hirn Ulrich
Graz University of Technology - Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology (BPTI)
Inffeldgasse 23
8010 Graz, Austria

ulrich.hirn@tugraz.at
+43 664 9632236
https://www.tugraz.at/institute/bpti/home