{"id":176683,"date":"2026-05-12T07:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T05:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=176683"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:23:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T11:23:45","slug":"researchers-develop-scalable-method-for-safer-compostable-packaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/researchers-develop-scalable-method-for-safer-compostable-packaging\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers develop scalable method for safer, compostable packaging"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Young Tek Kim. \u00a9 Jim Stroup for Virginia Tech<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

About 30 percent of plastics consumed are made to last forever but are discarded after a single use. Researchers at Virginia Tech are working to change that with a new approach that could make environmentally responsible packaging more practical at scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A team in the\u00a0Department of Sustainable Biomaterials<\/a>\u00a0developed a water-based process to create multilayer bioplastic films that are both high-performing and easier to manufacture.\u00a0The method avoids toxic solvents and matches current industrial production speeds, making it viable for real-world use.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cScalability and non-toxicity are critical,\u201d said Young-Teck Kim<\/strong>, professor of sustainable biomaterials in the\u00a0College of Natural Resources and Environment<\/a>. \u201cOur goal was to create a process that industry can realistically adopt while improving environmental outcomes. This is just the first generation of the technology, and it shows strong potential to replace conventional materials and expand the use of bioplastics.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The research focuses on replacing petroleum-based plastics with bioplastics in packaging, particularly for single-use products. Bioplastics are often seen as a more sustainable alternative, but their trade-offs have limited widespread adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMany current bioplastics require specific industrial facilities to break down,\u201d Kim<\/strong> said. \u201cIf they end up in the environment, they can behave like traditional plastics.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To address this challenge, the team used polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA, a newer type of bioplastic that can biodegrade in natural environments, including soil and marine settings. Unlike commonly used alternatives, PHA can also break down under home composting conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study was published in Food Packaging and Shelf Life<\/a> and involved collaborators including Haibo Huang in food science and technology<\/a> and Zhiwu “Drew” Wang in biological systems engineering<\/a> as well as industry partners. Additionally, the research team received a provisional patent for the invention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers combined PHA with a plant-based material and applied it using a water-based spray coating process. The result is a multilayer film designed to improve strength and barrier performance, two key requirements for food and consumer packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This multilayer approach is important because no single bioplastic currently meets all performance needs. By layering materials, researchers can combine strengths, such as durability and resistance to oxygen and moisture, into a single product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In testing, the team found that its method significantly improved the material\u2019s performance. The films showed stronger bonding between layers and better resistance to oxygen and water vapor, both critical for preserving packaged goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional methods for creating multilayer packaging often rely on high heat or chemical solvents. These processes can be inefficient, difficult to scale, and often bad for the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cExisting manufacturing methods create technical challenges like weak bonding between layers or limited compatibility between materials,\u201d Kim<\/strong> said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The water-based system avoids these issues while improving what researchers call \u201cprocessability,\u201d or how easily a material can be manufactured at scale. The process is also designed to match the speed of existing production systems, similar to paper manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Original Publication<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

DOI:10.1016\/j.fpsl.2026.101736<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About 30 percent of plastics consumed are made to last forever but are discarded after a single use. Researchers at Virginia Tech are working to change that with a new approach that could make environmentally responsible packaging more practical at scale. A team in the\u00a0Department of Sustainable Biomaterials\u00a0developed a water-based process to create multilayer bioplastic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":176699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"New Virginia Tech research brings safer, compostable packaging closer to everyday use","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[11270,5838,13230,10975,5847,12239,7105],"supplier":[656],"class_list":["post-176683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-biodegradability","tag-bioeconomy","tag-biofilms","tag-biopackaging","tag-bioplastics","tag-compostability","tag-packaging","supplier-virginia-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176683","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=176683"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176735,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176683\/revisions\/176735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176683"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=176683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}