Melodea joins sustainable packaging movement with bio-based barrier coatings
“MelOx and Melodea VBcoat offer quite large barrier effectiveness – as excellent as plastic,” Dr. Shaul Lapidot, CEO and co-founder at Melodea told FoodNavigator-United states of america.
“Instead of ending up in the sea or landfill, packages with our barrier coatings can be simply thrown into the recycling bin as they are recyclable, compostable and biodegradable.”
MelOx acts as a barrier towards oxygen and oil and grease transmission while Melodea VBcoat protects from drinking water vapor transmission. Lapidot describes that the items may possibly be applied jointly on paper or bioplastic to swap plastic solutions and MelOx on recyclable plastic to swap non-recyclable plastic packages.
Joining the plastic squander obstacle
Launched in 2010 by scientists from the Hebrew College of Jerusalem and industrial composite professionals from the clean-tech sector, Melodea has produced a suite of paints, coatings and boundaries to help firms conquer the plastic waste challenge and meet sustainability plans.
As the supply chain continues to go eco-friendly and new plastic laws exert pressure, the company is on the lookout to supply paper and packaging producers with far more sustainable and socially dependable alternatives to non-recyclable and non-degradable aluminum and plastic linings.
“It is no secret that the answer for a sustainable and round packaging marketplace necessitates transferring to bio-dependent resources,” says Zvika Weiss, CFO at Melodea.
“Our cellulose-primarily based barrier coatings present an economically cost-effective, normally ample and sustainable alternative to oil-based mostly goods.”
The cellulose enchantment
Melodea makes use of its proprietary technological know-how to extract cellulose nanocrystals from wooden pulp sourced from trees developed in the industrial forest.
“Cellulose, the most important making block of the mobile partitions of all crops, is the most ample biopolymer on the planet,” Lapidot points out.
“It delivers vegetation with incredible power and is a lightweight—yet strong—material. We discovered that this bounteous and renewable product can be used to produce novel, eco-welcoming packaging alternate options for the packaging business.”
Barriers can be used as ultrathin coatings or thick films with built-in qualities on pouches, lids and meals and beverage cartons, working with normal industrial machines including slot dies, rod coaters and gravures.
Lapidot suggests that a selection of medium dimensions and Tier 1 organizations across the packaging benefit chain are now piloting the solutions, powering what Melodea phone calls its “bio-based revolution”.
“Paper corporations apply our goods instantly on the paper, converters can use the solutions to coat movies/paper, and foodstuff and purchaser items organizations deliver specification and shelf-everyday living tests and occasionally complete pilots,” he clarifies.
Melodea’s barrier methods led the bio-primarily based classification at the Packaging Europe 2019 sustainability awards and took property a WorldStar Award 2020 from the World Packaging Organisation.
