Tetra Pak has commenced research towards advancing fibre-based sustainable food packaging in collaboration with MAX IV, a synchrotron radiation laboratory in the world.
The research aims to uncover “fresh insights” into the nanostructure of fibre materials, with the first application to optimise the composition of materials used for paper straws.
Tetra Pak says the project is the first industrial research and development experiment at ForMAX, a new research station dedicated to studying materials from the forest, located at the MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden.
Eva Gustavsson, Vice President Materials & Package, Tetra Pak, commented: “A fundamental understanding of the structure and properties of materials is crucial as we work towards developing the package of the future. Our ambition is to provide the world’s most sustainable food package, and experiments at ForMAX will clearly support us in this mission.
“The package of the future needs to be fully recyclable and have a low environmental impact. Using renewable materials and increasing the use of fibre-based materials within packages will be vital. With this research, Tetra Pak is helping to uncover fresh insights into plant-based materials as a basis for future innovations.”
Our first experiment provides additional analysis capabilities into how paper straw material responds to changes in the environment in real-time.
Tetra Pak says that new materials based on paper will bring novel opportunities, but they need to remain food safe, recyclable and durable against liquids and humidity while meeting the increased sustainability demands.
Speaking about the project’s experiments, Eskil Andreasson, Technology Specialist, Virtual Modelling, Tetra Pak, said: “Our first experiment, which starts with paper straws, provides additional analysis capabilities into how paper straw material responds to changes in the environment in real-time, as well as how the straw interacts with different types of liquids under stringent conditions.
“These new insights and knowledge will be applied to developing the paper straws of the future in our virtual modelling tools, helping us to improve their functionality.”