Brasil Pack Trends 2020

BrasilPackTrends2020 169 qual ity and new technologies FIGURE 6.32 PlantBottle Technology: 30% of renewable source raw material Source: Press Release Cushioning materials, although are almost always unseen by the final consumer, are extremely important at transportation and distribution of added values products, such as computing equipments, home appliances and electronics. There are many studies already done and in progress, seeking for alternatives for the traditional fossil materials, such as the expanded polyurethane, polystyrene and polyethylene. One of the alternatives is the molded pulp, much used with products like cellphones and small home appliances, but which show some difficulties in terms of productivity and material homogeneity, among others. In the biopolymers lines, the company Ecovative has developed a new material (Figure 6.33), mycelia-based, something similar to the mushroom roots. The fungi grow from five to seven days and develop themselves through the digestion of agriculture residues, such as husks, straw, etc. The format is given by the mold where they grow, and the density can also be manipulated. Among the biopolymers, besides the cellulosic materials, the poly(lactic acid) – PLA, starch-based polymers, and the Green Polyethylene by Braskemare the main products in the market. The market of biopolymers for packages is specialized and concentrated, but tends to be more fragmented in the next decades. In the field of biopolymers, the challenges are: overcome the limitations of their properties, especially for use in food package, increase the availability, increase the competitiveness with fossil source polymers of lower cost and solve environmental issues like: negative impact in the recycling chain of other materials and lack of collection and infrastructure for composting. The future is in the packages manufactured with by- products from food, beverage and wood industries and agriculture residues. FIGURE 6.33 Example of material for padding with sustainable appeal Source: Press Release ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. NBR 15448- 1 : embalagens plásticas degradáveis e/ou de fontes renováveis. Parte 1: terminologia. Rio de Janeiro, 2008. 2 p. ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. NBR 15448-2 : embalagens plásticas degradáveis e/ou de fontes renováveis. Parte 2: biodegradação e compostagem - requisitos e métodos de ensaio. Rio de Janeiro, 2008. 10 p. 6.5 REFERENCES ASTM INTERNATIONAL. ASTM D 5488-94 : standard terminology of environmental labeling of packaging materials and packages. Philadelphia, 1994. Withdrawn 2002. ASTM INTERNATIONAL. ASTM D 6400-12 : standard specification for labeling of plastics designed to be aerobically composted in municipal or industrial facilities. Philadelphia, 2012. 3 p.