Xylophane renewable barrier coatings – in focus of brand owners

The need for barrier materials to protect foods against oxygen, grease and aroma penetration has always been high and is growing since high grade barrier materials maintain the quality of the content and extends the shelf life of the product. Thereby barrier materials have a strong impact on the profitability for all players in the value chain. In addition the need from the packaging industry for a solution that is environmentally sound has increased dramatically.

Xylophane - a renewable barrier for food packaging

Xylophane is a new renewable barrier material for food packaging. It has got barrier properties against oxygen, grease and aroma and can thus prolong shelf life of sensitive food such as snacks, coffee, etc. Xylophane can be a renewable alternative to conventional oxygen or grease barrier layers in multilayer packaging materials. Today these barrier properties are often obtained with aluminum foil or synthetic plastics such as EVOH.

Xylophane AB, the Swedish innovation company behind the development of this new barrier material, has lately experienced an increased pressure from the industry to find renewable barrier materials that can replace the existing fossil based materials.

Sustainability and cost are the drivers of change

The factor initiating the interest for renewable materials is the sustainability aspect with the strong pull from consumers wanting more environmentally friendly packaging. Brand owners interest is mainly to replace materials like aluminium and barrier plastic foils for being non-renewable but also since cost of such materials has increased lately. It is agreed that costs for non-renewable raw materials such as metals and oil will be a challenge long-term. PVdC (polyvinylidene chloride) and fluorinated treatments are questioned more for the environmental impact and negative customer perception. 

"Do not use food to produce packaging materials"

However the share of barrier materials being renewable is still low but is increasing strongly. Renewable materials based on feed stocks that can also be used as food has not been welcomed by all brand owners. . Corn starch which today is used to produce some packaging material is debated since it not only is a major food source but is also used for ethanol production which in addition influences the cost of the raw material. The raw material of Xylophane, xylan, is derived from agricultural by-products and is thereby not competing with food production which is seen very positive by customers.

From fundamentalistic to a more pragmatic approach

"When bioplastics were first introduced the requirements were very stringent - one material should have all properties. It was a 100% or nothing approach", says Håkan Grubb - CEO of Xylophane. "Today brand owners' view is more pragmatic. We have seen an increasing interest in replacing materials step by step in multilayer packaging material." As a first step renewable alternatives for the oxygen and grease barriers, i.e. aluminium or oil based plastic foils, can be found. The moisture barrier could be replaced in the following step. Today it seems that the alternatives for replacing the moisture barrier are either to wait for sustainable moisture barrier coatings to come or to continue using a very common plastic as PE and then change over to bio-based polyethylene , which will be based on renewable sources such as sugarcane, when that will be available in larger volumes. By using bio-based polyethylene as the moisture barrier existing converting and filling lines as well as processing parameters can still be used.

Barrier coatings -  add value to paper and board with a cost-effective application method

New barrier materials can also create new opportunities for paper and board based packaging materials. Board and paper lack barrier properties by themselves and these must be added in plastic extrusion coating or foil lamination processes at the packaging converters place. However new water-based barrier coatings can make use of the dispersion coating process which is already available online in board and paper production. For board and paper producers this adds new functions and creates more value of their products. Also converters having off-line dispersion coating capability can apply water-based barrier coatings.

Xylophane's barrier coating for oxygen grease and aroma is applied from water-based slurry.

"Combining paper and board with a renewable barrier material like Xylophane enables sustainable packaging solutions which are high in demand by customers", says Håkan. "A sustainable packaging is also a great way to highlight the image of an organic, ecological or locally produced food product."