Projects per year
Abstract
Barrier coatings derived from synthetic polymers have been widely used as protective layers in packaging applications. In this work, water dispersions of suberin, a natural polyester of birch bark with inherent hydrophobicity properties, were revealed as a sustainable and green alternative barrier layer in fiber-based packaging. Suberin fractions were isolated from birch outer bark using a lab-scale and pilot-scale alkaline ethanol-water fractionation process, and their properties were analyzed in detail. Thermomechanical dispersing (55-75 °C) was then used to produce stable aqueous dispersions of suberin, which were further used in the coating of paper and paperboard substrates using a pilot-scale coating line. The impact of pH, temperature, addition level of stabilizer, and Ultra Turrax post-treatment on the dispersion stability, particle size, and rheology were assessed. Results showed that the suberin aqueous dispersion exhibited homogeneous particle size distribution in the range of 1-100 μm, and its shear-thinning behavior benefits the pilot-scale coating process. Most importantly, the resulting suberin-coated paperboard sample showed an excellent barrier against water vapor (18 g/m 2/day), heptane vapor (below the detection limits), grease resistance (KIT number of 12), and oil penetration (24-168 h). The results indicate that the suberin aqueous dispersion is a promising coating material for fiber-based barrier packaging applications and its barrier performance is comparable to commercial barrier dispersions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 8902-8912 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 23 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Jun 2024 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
L.H. would like to acknowledge the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (Student ID 201908120107) to his doctoral study at AAU, Finland. All co-authors in this work are grateful for financial support from Business Finland. All researchers in Laboratory of Natural Materials Technology are acknowledged for research assistance to support the current work. Parts of the research used Research Council of Finland Research Infrastructure \u201CPrinted Intelligence Infrastructure\u201D (PII-FIRI) are acknowledged. The research was conducted as a part of the Sustainable Binders and Coatings (SUSBINCO) project (no. 2447/31/2021) funded by the Bio & Circular Finland program of Business Finland.
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Åbo Akademi Functional Printing Center
Toivakka, M. (PI), Rosenholm, J. (PI), Anttu, N. (PI), Bobacka, J. (PI), Huynh, T. P. (PI), Peltonen, J. (PI), Wang, X. (PI), Wilen, C.-E. (PI), Xu, C. (PI), Zhang, H. (PI) & Österbacka, R. (PI)
Faculty of Science and EngineeringFacility/equipment: Facility
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MADNESS: Centre of Excellence in Materials-driven solutions for combatting antimicrobial resistance
Rosenholm, J. (Principal Investigator), Porres Paltor, I. (Co-Principal Investigator), Bansal, K. (Coordinator), Lafond, S. (Co-Principal Investigator), Uppstu, P. (Co-Principal Investigator), Viitala, T. (Co-Principal Investigator), Wang, X. (Co-Principal Investigator), Wilen, C.-E. (Co-Principal Investigator), Xu, C. (Co-Principal Investigator), Zhang, H. (Co-Principal Investigator), Lu, Z. (Co-Investigator), Verma, J. (Co-Investigator), Kumar, V. (Co-Investigator), Frejborg, F. (Co-Investigator), Wang, S. (Co-Investigator), Ran, M. (Co-Investigator), Ma, X. (Co-Investigator), Yang, W. (Co-Investigator), Liang, S. (Co-Investigator), Zhang, Y. (Co-Investigator), Fan, L. (Co-Investigator), Chen, Y. (Co-Investigator), Wang, L. (Co-Investigator), Zhuang, P. (Co-Investigator), Rajan Prakash, D. (Co-Investigator), Howaili, F. (Co-Investigator), Gulshan, R. (Co-Investigator), Yadav, D. (Co-Investigator), Pathak, C. (Co-Investigator), Mustafa, R. (Co-Investigator), Rostami, L. (Co-Investigator), Jafari Dargahlou, M. (Co-Investigator), Nygård, A. (Co-Investigator) & Manasut, P. (Co-Investigator)
01/01/24 → 31/12/28
Project: Foundation
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SUSBINCO: Sustainable Binders and Coatings
Xu, C. (Principal Investigator), Toivakka, M. (Co-Principal Investigator) & Kvikant, M. (Co-Investigator)
01/09/21 → 31/07/24
Project: Industry/Business Finland