{"id":175792,"date":"2026-04-17T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=175792"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:42:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:42:05","slug":"biodegradable-barrier-coating-developed-for-paper-packaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/biodegradable-barrier-coating-developed-for-paper-packaging\/","title":{"rendered":"Biodegradable barrier coating developed for paper packaging"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\"View
View of the coated paper on the partner company\u2019s rewinding line \u00a9 Reflex<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The reduction in the use of fossil-based raw materials also presents new challenges for the packaging industry. In a research project, scientists from INNOVENT e.V. in Jena, in collaboration with the paper manufacturer Reflex from D\u00fcren, investigated how speciality paper could be equipped with a water vapour barrier without compromising its already excellent oxygen barrier properties.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The laboratory has succeeded in developing coatings based on biopolymers and waxes which, until now, could not be applied in sufficient thickness in industrial flexographic printing. Nevertheless, the water vapour barrier has been improved and the paper remains compostable and recyclable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The growing move away from fossil-based raw materials is driving the need for new material concepts in the packaging industry as well. In the field of sustainable paper packaging in particular, there is a need for solutions that ensure both functional barrier properties and recyclability and biodegradability, for example using paper-based materials. As a specialist paper manufacturer, Reflex has developed a transparent paper that is characterised by an excellent oxygen barrier. In collaboration with INNOVENT e.V., a research project funded by the German government has now investigated whether this paper can be equipped with a fully compostable and recyclable water vapour barrier, thereby making it suitable for the packaging materials market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the coatings, \u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To this end, various coating formulations based on aqueous biopolymer solutions were developed on a laboratory scale. These did not exhibit the desired barrier properties, which is why hydrophobic components such as waxes and inorganic particles were added. Once applied to paper samples, the coatings were then tested for their barrier properties, recyclability and compostability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026, done, \u2026 <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It became apparent that combining biopolymers and waxes enables significant improvements in the water vapour barrier. At the same time, the excellent oxygen barrier properties of the base paper were retained. The coated papers also proved to be fully biodegradable and recyclable. This demonstrated, in principle, a sustainable material concept for functional paper packaging. However, a key challenge emerged during the transfer to existing industrial production processes. With the coating solution developed, it has not yet been possible to achieve sufficiently thick layers using flexographic printing, meaning that the desired barrier properties cannot yet be fully realised on an industrial scale. Ways of improving the coating application rate are therefore being investigated further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Come on!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This innovative packaging solution would be right on trend: sustainable packaging solutions are becoming increasingly important, particularly in the food and consumer goods sectors. Paper-based materials with improved barrier properties could replace plastic packaging in certain applications, thereby helping to reduce the use of fossil raw materials and curb the flood of plastic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the final water vapour barrier achieved, potential applications include, for example, the packaging of dry foods, snacks or other products where both oxygen and water vapour barriers are important. The findings from the project form the basis for future developments towards bio-based packaging materials suitable for industrial use.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Confocal
Confocal microscope (left, 10\u00d7 magnification) and scanning electron microscope (right) images of the special paper.\u00a0\u00a9 Reflex<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The reduction in the use of fossil-based raw materials also presents new challenges for the packaging industry. In a research project, scientists from INNOVENT e.V. in Jena, in collaboration with the paper manufacturer Reflex from D\u00fcren, investigated how speciality paper could be equipped with a water vapour barrier without compromising its already excellent oxygen barrier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":175810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"In a research project, scientists investigated how speciality paper could be equipped with a water vapour barrier without compromising its already excellent oxygen barrier properties","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572,17143],"tags":[11270,10416,12348,12239,7105,23866,12679,15515],"supplier":[3569,27823],"class_list":["post-175792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","category-recycling","tag-biodegradability","tag-circulareconomy","tag-coatings","tag-compostability","tag-packaging","tag-papercoating","tag-recyclability","tag-upcycling","supplier-innovent","supplier-reflex-winkelmann-gmbh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175792"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175821,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175792\/revisions\/175821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175792"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=175792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}