Swedish Cleaning Ecological Cleansing Company developed a new type of packaging material. Unlike traditional materials, the production of this new material does not require too much energy, and its raw material is mainly a rich natural material. After a few hours of sun exposure, the packaging material disappears completely. Therefore, this kind of material will greatly help solve the problem of littering of the world's waste. Nowadays, no matter whether it is wrapped, packed or bottled, it seems to be plastic. The garbage dump is full of plastic waste.
The company chemist Oak Rosen had dreamed of being able to develop a hybrid material (part of nature, part of the synthesis) since the 1980s. This material must have the durability, light weight, and inexpensive features of ordinary plastics. But at the time, he thought that the plan could not be realized for a time. In 1995, Rosen resigned and established his own eco-cleansing company, where he could devote his full time to researching dream packaging materials. Originally, Rosen considered using starch as a basic raw material, but starch biodegradation was too fast. He also tried talc. Later, Rosen tried the world's most common mineral, calcium carbonate, which is chalk. Facts have proved that the application of calcium carbonate has very bright prospects.
The eco-cleaning company's main factory is located in Helsingborg in southern Sweden. In the factory's front yard stands a monument: a huge egg that gives Rosen inspiration. Of the ingredients in the shell, 95% are calcium carbonate. For eggs, it is an excellent packaging material, but it is too easy to break. However, Rosen found a way to improve. The addition of an additional 5% of calcium carbonate to the eggshell is an important “binder†that can keep chalk from powdering and make the shell stiffer. Rosen uses plastic polyolefins extracted from natural gas instead of natural proteins as binders. After trying different mixing ratios, Rosenton stumbled upon the best ratio of "clean materials" that make up new eco-friendly materials: 70% calcium carbonate and 30% polyolefin.
"Clean materials" look and feel very much like traditional plastics, but they are not plastics. According to Rosen's experiments, "clean materials" are as rigid as glass and as soft as rubber; they are viable, cheap alternatives to plastic, paperboard, and aluminum packaging. For environmentalists, this material has many benefits. Although the “clean material†contains plastics and its production consumes energy, the effect of polyolefin on the environment is very small. It can be degraded to carbon and oxygen. In addition, less plastic means less oil is used. Petroleum is a basic component of plastics and a non-renewable resource. Chalk, the main raw material for "cleansing materials," is very rich in many places, and it is cheap, and many are hidden on the surface or close to the surface. Compared to synthetic plastics and other fibers, paper, and paperboard used for packaging, the energy consumed to extract chalk is much less. Rosen said: "The production of paper, plastics and aluminum requires the construction of chemical plants. Once a chemical plant is built, it will cause pollution. The 'clean material' uses only natural resources and is produced by the Earth itself."
The most attractive feature of "clean materials" is that it is extremely easy to dispose of garbage. Bottles, yogurt cups, or candy wrappers made from "clean materials" can all be degraded. Leave them on the picnic table. Under the sun, they will be completely turned into sand in a month or two. If you throw them into the incinerator, the remaining ash is rich in carbonates, which helps reduce the acidity of the soil. In addition, this material is not "remembered." When the bottle made of "clean material" is crushed, it will remain flat and will not return to its original shape, leaving only a small space in the garbage dump.
Reprinted from: Packaging Engineering