Companies partner to develop bioplastics for cosmetics, food, agricultural packaging

Spain-based biotechnology company Venvirotech, which specializes in the transformation of organic waste through a proprietary technology that uses bacteria to produce polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics, is working with Madrid-based Enplast SA, a specialist in the creation and manufacture of a variety of plastic packaging types, to develop new PHAs for biodegradable packaging.

The companies say their project, COM4PHA, is committed to developing new formulations of bioplastics based on the PHA group to promote new lines of product development based on these biodegradable materials. In particular, the project is working on formulations based on the PHBV copolymer for applications in the agriculture sector, using new processing technologies for this type of polymer. The companies say technologies used include hollow body blown extrusion for bottles and the application of the copolymer as a coating on paper substrates and agricultural mulch films.

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The partners say the overall objective of the project is to optimize the synthesis of the material and favor the scaling up of larger quantities to be able to offer PHBV at an industrial level and reach certain applications that currently are occupied by conventional materials.

As a link between the two companies, Valencia, Spain-based Aimplas, the Plastics Technology Centre, is in charge of the new PHA formulations, both for the production of packaging and for the formulation of coatings.

The companies say the new formulations for cosmetic packaging will be biodegradable and compostable and will comply with the established requirements, reducing their environmental impact and allowing for wider acceptance of the product by the market.

For coating formulations in the paper and agricultural sectors, the partners say developments will improve product quality and extend shelf life. The results can be exploited in the packaging sector and applied to those where barrier properties are required, such as the food and cosmetics sectors. In the agricultural sector, the partners say they will be applied in mulch films to maintain crop quality based on the barrier and antimicrobial properties of the coating.

Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the Next Generation funds of the European Union are financing the project.