Colour Chronicle - June 2013

PAPER
Whether it’s a salad, an Asian wok dish, a
classical kebab or a pizza to go: quick and
tasty eat-out-of-hand snacks are now a
normal part of a shopping expedition or
the mid-day break. To save people getting
greasy fingers or stains on their clothing,
fast-food packaging is usually made of
grease resistant paper. Such paper also has
many other applications – for confectionery,
pastries and frozen foods and even for animal
food and cardboard tableware. Until now,
naturally absorbent paper was usually made
grease resistant by impregnating it with
conventional additives consisting chemicals
of long, very stable molecular chains.
However, these substances are attracting
growing criticism because of health and
environmental concerns. This is why paper
manufacturers have long been on the lookout
for alternatives.
“Clariant has now developed
Cartaguard® KHI, a highly
effective impregnating agent
which thanks to its innovative
formula is a big step forward in
terms of safer use,” says
DR. FRÉDÉRIC MABIRE, Global Product
Line Manager for Paper Coating Chemicals
at Clariant.
Impregnation with
totally PFOA-free
Cartaguard® KHI makes
paper grease resistant
Conventional additives impregnation
Conventional paper impregnation involves
the use of a fluorinated substance consisting
of long molecular chains. These chains are
very stable and difficult to break. However,
a small part of the chains may degrade to
perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a substance
of health concern viewed critically by the
experts.
Now there is an impregnating agent which
is both effective and safe: the innovative
Cartaguard® KHI – developed by Clariant
over five years of research activity.
“Cartaguard® KHI is based on a
completely different chemical
compound, a C3-perfluoroalkyl
ether polymer,” explains
DR. FRÉDÉRIC MABIRE. “Based on a
molecular substructure in which fluorinated
alkyl chains consisting of only three carbon
atoms are bridged by an oxygen atom,
Cartaguard® KHI cannot break down to
form PFOA.” Being safe for humans and the
environment, Cartaguard® KHI has grease
resistance properties which are close to
conventional fluorine-based chemicals.
Cartaguard® KHI: safer and more ecofriendly
Cartaguard® KHI is already approved for
food contact applications by the German
Federal Institute for Risk Evaluation (BFR)
and the US American regulatory agency
FDA. It meets the stringent requirements
for fast food as well as food service products.
Furthermore, impregnated paper is more
eco-friendly than plastic coated papers. The
new impregnating agent also offers important
benefits for paper manufacturers: it is easy to
process because it generates hardly any foam
during paper production and does not affect
either the adhesive or printing properties of
the paper.
Following a test phase with several large
customers, Cartaguard® KHI will be available
in 2013 for fast food, frozen food and
other food packaging. Customers enjoying
a hamburger or pizza will not only be
pleased about the unadulterated taste, but
will also feel good about eating from safe,
environmentally friendly packaging.
14 COLOUR CHRONICLE__JUNE 2013