Improved Packaging with Cellulose Nanomaterials

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The packaging industry continually seeks innovative solutions to make their products more sustainable and, at the same time, cost-effective. Further, the Consumer Packaged Goods companies seek to deliver enhanced consumer experience through improved package performance, which may be achieved through improved material properties. Cellulose nanofibers, cast as composite films, provide excellent barrier to oxygen and water vapor.

At TAPPI's upcoming International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials this June, researchers from around the world will share their latest findings on the use of cellulose-derived nanomaterials to improve functional properties, targeted for packaging applications. Dr. Tamal Ghosh of PepsiCo's Corporate Research (Beverage Packaging), USA, will host a packaging-focused session on Wednesday, June 26.

The Packaging Session showcases three presentations focused on food and beverage packaging applications. A team of researchers from Switzerland will present their work on composite films with layered silicates and nanofibrillated cellulose. Their results will show a 30-fold lower water vapor permeability and 5-fold higher E-modulus compared with commercial base paper. Researchers from Hungary will discuss their work on improved barrier properties of a poly lactic acid (PLA) bottle coated with an invisible layer of cellulose nanocrystalline-chitosan material. An international team of researchers will discuss the promise of fungal chitin as a nanomaterial for the future.

The 8th Annual International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials is scheduled for  June 24 -27, 2013, in Stockholm, Sweden, at KTH Royal Institute of Stockholm. New reports will present some exciting advances for both within the pulp and paper industry and beyond. The technical program features cellulose nanomaterials in a variety of applications, including:

• Unique and Thin-Film Composites
• Filler and Coating Applications for Different Paper Grades
• Improved Barrier Properties for Packaging Applications
• Cellulose Nanomaterials as Films and Carriers in Medical Applications
• Nanopaper and Iridescent Colored Cellulose Films.

With more than 80 technical presentations, five keynote presentations, and 50 poster presentations, this year's conference is packed with the latest applications of renewable nanomaterials. Watch for additional updates from TAPPI on how nanotechnology, and cellulose nanomaterials, in particular, can be a transformative technology for the pulp and paper industry.

The 8th Annual International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials is hosted by TAPPI's International Nanotechnology Division, which strives to collectively advance the responsible and sustainable production and use of renewable nanomaterials.

More information is available online.