Sustainable packaging with seaweed Plastic has long been used in food packaging, but with concern growing over its ecological and environmental impact, the hunt is on for alternatives. Researchers in the SeaweedPack project are using the polysaccharides present in seaweed to develop new, flexible, home-compostable films for food packaging, as Dr Adriana Kyvik explains. There is widespread concern over the environmental impact of conventional plastic food packaging, much of which cannot be recycled, prompting an intense focus on research into alternatives. One possible source of materials for food packaging is seaweed, a topic that Dr Adriana Kyvik and her colleagues at the Norwegian green tech company B’ZEOS are exploring. “Our expertise lies in the use of seaweed as a biomass source. We are looking to develop alternatives to fossil-fuel based materials such as plastic for packaging applications,” she outlines. Seaweed is a rich source of polysaccharides – or crude extracts – which can then be used to create new, more sustainable packaging. “One polysaccharide found in certain types of seaweed is alginate for example, while others are agar and carrageenan,” says Dr Kyvik. “These polysaccharides are present in different types of brown or red seaweed.”
Featured - Seaweed extract, B’ZEOS pellets & flexible film.
SeaweedPack project As part of her work in the SeaweedPack project, an initiative funded under the Eurostars programme, Dr Kyvik is looking to use these seaweed extracts to develop new, compostable films for food packaging. Seaweed is widely cultivated for a variety of different applications, including biofuels, food and agriculture, with Dr Kyvik looking to make use of waste streams after highvalue compounds have been extracted. “We want to use the waste streams for packaging, a relatively low-value application,” she explains. Researchers in the project are taking polysaccharides supplied by industrial partners, primarily alginate, and blending them with other additives and ingredients, with the aim of developing formulations which can then be extruded into film. “This
Cast Extrusion of B’ZEOS seaweed based films at pilot scale.
SeaweedPack
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is quite a complex process,” continues Dr Kyvik. “Our expertise lies in creating blends of pellets, which are then extruded into different formats – some can be extruded into films, others are intended to be rigid.” This depends to a large degree on the nature of the formulation, with researchers exploring different possibilities and assessing their effectiveness in food packaging. Part of this work involves looking into biochemistry and biopolymer chemistry, investigating different additives and how they behave in combination with others. “We are working to develop a set of formulations, each with a different set of combinations of additives, designed to be suitable for certain types of films and products,” says Dr Kyvik. A wide variety of different polymers are currently used in the plastics industry for various products, and Dr Kyvik expects things will be similar with biobased alternatives. “We are putting together different types of formulations for different types of products,” she says. “Our top priority is to develop a home-compostable film. This film will follow a different end-of-life path to conventional plastic.” The project’s agenda also includes research into the processing step, with researchers looking at how different manufacturing processing parameters are affected by the presence of a particular material. The aim is to develop a formulation that is stable, capable of working effectively in packaging food, and is also extrudable. “We have to find the right combination of plasticisers so that the material will not be too brittle,” says Dr Kyvik. “So we fine-tune the formulation, while we also look at the processing. What temperature profile would we have to use? What type of machine configuration? What type of screw geometry?”
Researchers don’t have vast amounts of data to build on here, as this is a relatively new area of investigation, and there is still much to learn about seaweed-based polysaccharides. However, Dr Kyvik believes that seaweed is a potentially rich source of biopolymers for food packaging, and she is keen to collaborate with industry to turn this research into practical application. “We’re very alive to what industry requires. We want to offer practical solutions to companies,” she stresses. Alongside investigating different formulations and manufacturing processes, researchers are also working with manufacturers and retailers to understand their needs and the types of constraints they are operating under. “Heat sealability is a big issue within the retail industry for packaging applications. These kinds of issues are a very important consideration in terms of product development with these types of materials,” stresses Dr Kyvik.
Seaweed based compostable packaging for food applications
Project Objectives
Pellet Extrusion/Extrusion compounding for seaweed based filaments at pilot scale.
B’ZEOS is a green-tech company that uses the regenerative seaweed biomass to develop a cost efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional plastic packaging across various industries. B’ZEOS is developing innovative seaweedbased pellets that can be converted into final packaging materials using current manufacturing technologies. Their unique plug & play approach seamlessly integrates into existing production lines, resulting in a 100% biodegradable and homecompostable final product.
of plastic packaging and consumer pressure will however intensify demands on the commercial sector to look at alternatives, believes Dr Kyvik. “We believe that regulations and requirements from final consumers will mean that companies in future will be more willing to pay a higher price for these types of materials,” she outlines.
Project Funding
Our expertise lies in the use of seaweed as a biomass source. We’re are looking to develop alternatives to fossilfuel based materials such as plastic for packaging applications.
Contact Details
There is wider commercial interest in this research, with businesses under pressure to find alternatives to plastic as concern grows over its impact on the environment. However, plastic is well established as a packaging solution and is also fairly cheap, so Dr Kyvik and her colleagues need to consider the cost-effectiveness of their formulations. “Cost-efficiency comes with speed – if we can produce the films faster then we’re going to be able to reduce the price. That’s the challenge at pilot scale – to be able to deliver a product at a price that customers are willing to pay,” she says. Growing awareness of the impact
The films will be rigorously tested in terms of parameters like their mechanical properties and home compostability, with the goal of bringing them to the food industry soon after the conclusion of the project, representing an important contribution to the fight against plastic waste. Most of the flexible packaging currently in use is not recycled, which is where Dr Kyvik believes the project’s work can make a difference. “We are developing films that can be used for certain types of food products, and at the end of their life they can be discarded into organic waste,” she says.
We have been granted Eurostars funding from the EurekaNetwork to develop our SeaweedPack R&D project together with our partner Moses Productos, with an allocated budget of 1.2k€.
Project Partners
• Moses Productos Kela Feller Communications & Partnerships Manager, B’ZEOS T: +34 658 874 524 E: kela.feller@bzeos.com W: https://www.bzeos.com/post/our-newproject-seaweedpack Adriana R. Kyvik, PhD Guy Maurice Kela Feller
Adriana Kyvik, Co-Founder and CTO at B’ZEOS is one of the leading seaweed packaging biopolymer formulation experts. Adriana has a PhD in Materials Science and has a background in chemical engineering. Guy Maurice, Founder and SeaEO of B’ZEOS, has a background in waste management and extensive experience in project management with organizations like WHO, ECWP/Reneco, and Equinor. Kela Feller has a background in environmental studies and international business administration. She manages communications, marketing, business development, and partnerships at B’ZEOS.
B’ZEOS final products. Pellet Extrusion at pilot scale.
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