Bio-based packaging solutions derived from beer-production waste? We'll drink to that

Coordinated by AIMPLAS, the research is also focusing on demonstrating a feasible recycling process for these biobased plastics to ensure that resources remain in circulation. Novel, cost-competitive and versatile bio-based packaging solutions based on PHA will be developed for food, cosmetics, homecare and beverage products.

The BioSupPack Project has recently started a new project year aiming to develop packaging solutions based on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) derived from beer-production residues and demonstrating a feasible recycling process for these bio-based plastics to ensure that resources remain in circulation. Bringing together 17 partners from eight countries, BioSupPack receives funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI-JU) and Horizon 2020 framework.

Coordinated by AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, and with a budget of EUR 8.8 million, BioSupPack is developing a demonstration process for the production and enzymatic recycling of environmentally safe, superior and versatile packaging solutions based on the new PHA family of bio-based polymers. The main goal of BioSupPack is to deliver novel, cost-competitive and versatile bio-based packaging solutions based on PHA, for the packaging of food, cosmetics, homecare and beverage products as well as no environmental damage during and after their use.

On Sept. 26, the BioSupPack 28th Month meeting was held at AIMPLAS in Valencia (Spain) (above). Partners presented last results, exchanged ideas and met to discuss future project activities for the improvement of the circular bio-economy in the EU.

In several interlinked working groups, the project consortium partners will obtain PHAs from brewer’s spent grain and other monomers from enzymatic recycling of PHA packaging waste. Based on these PHA compounds, several packaging prototypes with tailored barrier properties will be designed at a pilot scale and tailored to the feasible waste collection and separation options. The packaging solutions will include injection-molded PHA and bio-composites demonstrators as well as well as PHA-coated fiber-based paperboard foodservice packaging and ready-meal trays.

Eventually, the project partners will develop an enzymatic-recycling process for recovering the PHA from these new packaging solutions – while the paperboard fraction can be repulped – demonstrating feasibility of upcycling post-industrial waste within the production process. The prototypes will be assessed regarding their environmental and socio-economic sustainability and the safety of the new bio-based packaging.