The Australian food packaging manufacturer Confoil and BASF have cooperated to develop a certified compostable and dual ovenable food tray based on paper. The paper tray is coated on the inside with BASF’s ecovio® PS 1606, a partly bio-based and certified compostable biopolymer especially developed for coating food packaging made of paper or board. The trays called DualPakECO® are certified according to the Australian standard AS4736-2006 and food contact approved according to international requirements. They can be used for ready-to-eat meals like lasagne, curries and stir-fries available as cold or frozen in supermarkets as well as for catering and take-away from restaurants.
Renewable chemistry technology business Avantium reports that it has struck a conditional offtake agreement with one of the largest manufacturers of luxury goods, LVMH Group (Louis Vuitton, Moët, Hennessy). Through this offtake deal, LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics Houses has obtained a predetermined amount of the high-quality, plant-based polyethylene furanoate (PEF) material from Avantium’s Flagship Plant for the packaging of its cosmetics. Avantium is currently building its FDCA (furane dicarboxylic acid) flagship plant: the first commercial plant for the production of FDCA from plant-based sugars. The company anticipates that it will begin operating in 2024, enabling the commercial introduction of PEF.
AIMPLAS inaugurates its new facilities to expand its presence in Valencia Technology Park. The new facilities, funded by the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE) with 2.47 million euros, will allow the technology centre to respond to growing demand from society and companies to boost the circular economy through R&D&I. A total of 2,200 square meters for pilot plants, laboratories and work areas has been added, designed around environmental sustainability criteria from the outset. This is Spain’s first R&D building to obtain certification according to the BREEAM method (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). These new facilities include a pilot plant for polymer synthesis chemical processes as well as research into the use of CO2 as a renewable raw material and will also be used to develop new chemical recycling processes and conduct research in the medical industry.