From fossil to forest: sustainable packaging and products to replace fossil plastic

From fossil to forest intends to develop cellulose-based raw materials which can adequately be used to replace fossil resources in packaging solutions. This transformation focused on the development of innovative forest-based products will be crucial to achieving the goals of the green deal, ensuring a socially just transition to a nature-positive and climate-neutral economy. The development and production of these solutions, which are not yet widely known at the state-of-the-art level, will be possible through R&D activities, which include tasks related to the development of prototypes, and their subsequent industrialization, which involve the production (in an industrial context) of the solutions developed and approved under the following lines of action:

(1) high yield pulps and brown papers;
(2) papers with higher mechanical strength;
(3) papers with barrier properties;
(4) biocomposites;
(5) paper sensors for smart packaging;
(6) molded cellulose.

The UCP contribution focus in the development of coatings based in lignin and nanocellulose, in combination with polymeric coatings. Migration and safety of the materials and shelf-life evaluation of model foods packaged in the solutions developed will be studied. LCA studies will also be performed by UCP.

(1) high-yield chemical pulp and brown papers
(2) papers with high mechanical resistance
(3) papers with barrier properties
(4) biocomposites with the incorporation of cellulose fibers
(5) sensing solutions – “smart packaging”
(6) rigid molded cellulose packaging