FDBusiness.com

Aimplas, a Spanish research institute, has created new biopolymers for the production of biodegradable packaging that is resistant to sterilisation and pasteurisation.

The new biopolymers will be used to produce biodegradable bottles, bags and caps that are resistant to thermal power, making the packaging suitable for dairy products, such as fresh milk, shakes and yoghurts with probiotics.

Developed within the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme, Aimplas’s new Biobottle project has a budget of €1m, and has been executed by seven companies and technology centres from five different countries.

The seven participants are VLB Berlin in Germany, CNR in Italy, Vizelpas and Espaçoplas in Portugal, OWS in Belgium, and Almuplas and Aljuan in Spain.

The major aim of the project was to create new biodegradable packages that comply with mechanical and thermal requirements.

The biodegradable products also succeeded in passing microbiological tests without affecting the product’s organoleptic properties.

Monolayer bottles and caps were developed following the tests, as well as multilayer bags that are capable of resisting temperatures up to 95ºC.

The project uses a reactive extrusion process to modify existing commercial material, which can be processed by conventional methods to obtain the different packaging formats.

Aimplas’ research and technology centre is head-quartered in Spain. The company has been around for over 25 years. Aimplas offers various solutions to businesses within the plastics industry.