Issue 02/2017
bioplasticsMAGAZINE_1702
bioplasticsMAGAZINE_1702
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Thermoforming / Rigid Packaging<br />
A sticky<br />
situation<br />
Creating hot filled candy molds<br />
from bioplastics<br />
DSC results for thermoformed tray<br />
Making trays for PLA or PHA based candy and chocolate<br />
packaging has been possible for a number of<br />
years, but creating a bioplastic thin-gauge thermoformed<br />
tray that can also act as a mold for hot, sticky caramel<br />
at 130°C is a new breakthrough in biopolymer science.<br />
Solegear Bioplastic Technologies Inc. (Vancouver, British<br />
Columbia, Canada) has developed a new thermoforming<br />
biopolymer that can do just that, allowing chocolatiers and<br />
confectioners to move away from conventional heat-resistant<br />
PP packaging and adopt bioplastic packaging across<br />
their full product range. Solegear’s latest biopolymer contains<br />
80% biobased content and is eligible to be certified<br />
compostable. Testing has shown that packaging trays made<br />
from Solegear’s latest material will consistently retain dimensional<br />
stability up to 130°C, even when being filled with<br />
hot, sticky caramels or chocolates with high fat and sugar<br />
contents – ingredients that usually spell disaster for first<br />
generation bioplastics.<br />
The thermoformed tray was manufactured using conventional<br />
extrusion and thermoforming methods. In addition to the<br />
requirement to retain a high percentage of biobased content<br />
so that the resulting trays could be certified compostable,<br />
the main challenge for development of this biopolymer was<br />
to engineer a formulation that would produce packaging that<br />
could withstand the considerable chemical and mechanical<br />
stresses introduced when hot caramel was poured into the<br />
tray, including heat resistance and dimensional stability up to<br />
130°C. Solegear’s Product Development team, deployed its<br />
expertise in manipulating high-performance biopolymers and<br />
non-hazardous, biobased additives to successfully create this<br />
new innovative formulation. The manufacturing process was<br />
also optimized to achieve a sufficient level of crystallinity of over<br />
45% (see DSC plot) and high impact resistance of more than<br />
75 kg·cm (Gardner drop weight impact resistance, ASTM D5420).<br />
These significant performance requirements posed numerous<br />
technical barriers during the course of production trials before<br />
a suitable high quality packaging was manufactured. Using its<br />
know-how and a design approach focused on the concurrent<br />
testing of multiple variables and criteria, Solegear succeeded in<br />
achieving the desired results in just under one year.<br />
These bioplastic trays not only act as molds for hot and sticky<br />
candies and chocolates at 130°C, but can also form the final<br />
packaging for the product, moving successfully from production,<br />
to transport and to fridge and freezer storage without cracking and<br />
without leaching any elements into the candies and chocolates.<br />
Solegear’s material formulation and the final thermoformed<br />
high heat resistant trays contain no “Chemicals of Concern” that<br />
may potentially be harmful to human health and the environment.<br />
This becomes especially important in the food industry where<br />
safety and security have become a priority concern for consumers<br />
and product manufacturers. Traceability of materials is proving<br />
to be challenging for fossil fuel-based plastics, and can be<br />
more precarious for recycled materials where the source and<br />
composition are rarely well documented.<br />
The first full-scale packaging made from Solegear’s new<br />
material is expected to be on retail shelves in <strong>2017</strong>. Solegear is<br />
continuing further product development to meet the needs of<br />
additional food safety and security opportunities.<br />
And for those of us who are nuts about caramels and<br />
chocolates, it can now be a bit more of a guilt-free experience<br />
knowing we’re doing something better for the planet. MT<br />
www.solegear.ca<br />
bioplastics MAGAZINE [<strong>02</strong>/17] Vol. 12 13