An Innovation Snapshot from The Packaging Conference

Over its 17 year history, The Packaging Conference has gained a reputation for highlighting technologies and trends in the packaging industry. While material-agnostic, the event traditionally leans toward plastic, the largest and most dynamic packaging material category. This year’s event, running from Feb. 12-14 in Austin, Tex., has so far been true to form in terms of content.

Just as the industry is constantly changing, so too does the focus of The Packaging Conference with every new edition. This year is squarely focused on sustainability, with a heavy emphasis on reducing a package’s carbon footprint and technologies that allow for more efficient recycling. This is particularly important now, as material suppliers and brands grapple with the implications of impending extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation.

Following is an overview of a few of the packaging innovations—some emerging and some fairly well developed—discussed at the event:

·     In her presentation, “Turning Plants into Plastics to Defossilize our Everyday Products,” Bineke Posthumus, director of business development for Avantium, discussed the company’s 100% plant-based PEF, or polyethylene furanoate, technology. PEF is a biopolymer made from first-generation feedstocks, or agricultural crops, that can be used as a replacement for PET.

The material is a drop-in biopolymer, meaning it fits into existing manufacturing systems and is recyclable. According to Posthumus, it also has some superior technical properties to PET, including a superior barrier. She added, “When it’s produced at scale, it’s cost competitive with fossil-based materials.” An LCA of Avantium’s PEF product shows a reduced carbon footprint of 60% versus virgin PET. Avantium is currently finishing construction on a 5 kiloton/year plant with a long-term vision to construct a 250-plus kiloton/year facility.

Daniel Abramowicz, executive vice president of Technology &·      On the aluminum can front, Daniel Abramowicz, (soon to be retired) executive vice president of Technology & Regulatory Affairs for Crown Holdings, talked about Velox DTS (direct-to-shape) digital printing technology, developed by Velox with assistance from Crown. Until recently, the only option for can decoration for short runs was shrink-sleeve labels, which create issues in the recycling stream.

Velox DTS was developed to enable cost-effective, short-run digital printing of cans. With an oval shape, the system is designed so that the cans are moving under the printheads at all times, resulting in speeds up to 500 cans/min. The Velox DTS can print the entire can in six to eight colors, and can create matte or tactile surfaces. According to Abramowicz, the technology is going commercial today, with 12 systems being deployed in North America.

Bill Cooper, senior vice president, Corporate Strategy & Development for Cyclyx·      In discussing “A Pathway Forward for Single Use Packaging,” Bill Cooper, senior vice president, Corporate Strategy & Development for Cyclyx, shared the company’s 10to90 vision, or moving from 10% recycled plastics to 90%. Cyclyx is a feedstock management company comprising 45 consortium members across the plastic value chain. Its goal is to collect all plastics, through existing partners such as MRFs, sort those that are best served by mechanical recycling, and process the rest based on exact technical specifications so they can be used for chemical recycling. Explained Cooper, this involves sorting the plastics by chemical composition rather than by polymer, a much more complex process.

Once Cyclyx completes custom feedstock processing, it will supply the materials to chemical recyclers for use in their systems. According to Cooper, of the plastic materials collected (both curbside and commercial/industrial), one-third will go to mechanical recycling, and two-thirds to advanced recycling. Cyclyx is piloting the system in Houston and has secured funding for a $100 million facility, the Cyclyx Circularity Center, also in Houston. “This is materially bigger than anything that’s been built before,” said Cooper. “Our key focus is single-use plastic packaging. We want to find a home for all plastic and increase the recycling rate for plastic from 10% to 90%.” 

Elvis Cudjoe, senior research and development engineer for Avient

·      To eliminate the yellowing of PET bottles from oxygen scavenging additives which consequently affects the quality of the PET recycling stream, Avient has developed ColorMatrix Capture Oxygen Scavenger technology, which was presented to The Packaging Conference attendees by Elvis Cudjoe, senior research and development engineer for the company. The fully recyclable oxygen scavenging solution is located entirely in the bottle closure. As Cudjoe explained, the base layer of the closure contains the activator, which slowly releases hydrogen and can be customized to achieve the desired shelf life. The control layer of the closure contains the metal oxidative catalyst and further controls the rate at which the hydrogen is released. When oxygen enters the bottle, hydrogen is released, which transforms the oxygen into minute amounts of odorless and tasteless water.

Said Cudjoe, “Capture supports the use of 100% rPET, it supports brand owner’s sustainability commitments to reduce GHG emissions and food waste, and it allows for lightweighting, since a barrier layer is no longer required in the bottle.” ColorMatrix Capture Oxygen Scavenger technology has FDA food-contact approval and has been recognized by the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR) to meet Critical Guidance based upon its recyclability with PET bottles. Applications include oxygen-sensitive beverages such as fruit and vegetable juice, nutritional and vitamin-fortified beverages, ready-to-drink tea and coffee, milk and dairy beverages, and wine.  PW