Seaweed derived Films to displace hard to recycle plastics

海藻衍生薄膜取代难以回收的塑料

基本信息

批准号：
10075270
负责人：
金额：
$ 6.25万
依托单位：
FLEXSEA LTD
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Grant for R&D
财政年份：
2023
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2023 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10075270
关键词：
Seaweed derived Films displace hard

项目摘要

Plastics contained or concealed in mixed materials are notoriously difficult to recycle. Recycling facilities do not have resources to separate mixed materials, meaning otherwise-recyclable items like windowed envelopes and wet wipes end up in landfill. These 'hidden' plastics generate significant waste. For example, 650 billion envelopes are produced annually worldwide (30% contain plastic), generating 110kt of plastic waste.FlexSea's vision is a carbon-negative solution of a compostable biopolymer material, derived from seaweed and other natural, sustainably sourced products. FlexSea Film is a fully biodegradable alternative to single-use plastics. Its production benefits small local communities, the environment by protecting coastlines and cultivating seaweed, an effective carbon sequester. Being entirely biodegradable in natural environments, FlexSea material is washed away in the recycling process.Our solution aligns with EPR strategies in force globally, which require companies to be responsible for their packaging after the product has been used.In this project we will:-Improve the water barrier and mechanical strength of FlexSea transparent films.-Analyse water barrier and mechanical properties to establish suitable application, like windowed envelopes.-We will perform ecotoxicity testing of our films to ensure environmental benefits for the adoption of our solution.-We will evaluate the scalability and integration of our solution within different use cases, focusing on windowed envelopes.

众所周知，混合材料中包含或隐藏的塑料很难回收。回收设施没有资源来分离混合材料，这意味着开窗信封和湿巾等可回收物品最终会被填埋。这些“隐藏”的塑料会产生大量废物。例如，全球每年生产 6500 亿个信封（其中 30% 含有塑料），产生 110 吨塑料废物。FlexSea 的愿景是从海藻和其他天然、可持续来源的产品中提取可堆肥生物聚合物材料的负碳解决方案。 FlexSea 薄膜是一次性塑料的完全可生物降解替代品。它的生产通过保护海岸线和种植海藻（一种有效的碳封存剂）来造福当地小社区和环境。 FlexSea 材料在自然环境中完全可生物降解，在回收过程中会被冲走。我们的解决方案符合全球现行的 EPR 战略，该战略要求公司在产品使用后对其包装负责。在这个项目中，我们将：-提高 FlexSea 透明薄膜的防水性和机械强度。-分析防水性和机械性能以建立合适的应用，如开窗信封。-我们将对薄膜进行生态毒性测试，以确保采用我们的解决方案对环境有利。-我们将要评估我们的解决方案在不同用例中的可扩展性和集成性，重点关注窗口信封。