Paper Technology International 2020 - Journal - Page 45

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Barrier coatings as green chemicals for a sustainable future in the paper industry
Warwick Hudson, Surface Technology Segment Team Leader, BIM Kemi Group
INTRODUCTION:
The rising awareness of environmental issues puts new demands on the paper and pulp industry. But the switch to more
sustainable solutions is often impeded by an exaggerated perception of its complexity. Today, all necessary technology is in place, and with
standardized models, the path forward becomes both clear and approachable.
Our oceans are drowning in plastics. It comes from rubbish
that we throw away on the street, from fishnets that are discarded,
from washing synthetic clothing, and from plastic packaging of all
kinds.
The estimated size of the plastic waste in the oceans ranges
from 700,000 (the size of Poland) to 15,000,000 square kilometres
(the size of Russia), and an important part of the waste is directly
derived from the paper and pulp industry.
Over time, plastic falls apart into small fragments,
transforming the water into a big soup of microplastics. When
plankton and other small animals mistake them for food, the
particles enter the food chain. This pollution affects the world’s
largest ecosystems, and in the end, us humans.
The oceans constitute 72 percent of the earth’s surface and
are our primary oxygen suppliers. The oceans are also the main
source of food for more than half the world’s population.
To protect the oceans, the European Commission wants to
reduce single-use plastics and make manufacturers responsible for
the waste phase of their products.
The negative impact of plastics
Chemical suppliers have an important part in helping the
pulp and paper industry develop new and long-term sustainable
products with high quality and minimal impact on people and the
environment. One way is to reduce the use of plastics as a barrier
in paper and board. This would benefit the environment in many
regards and is not just limited to the oceans.
As a non-renewable and fossil-based product, plastics
also contributes to climate change, and even if paper and boards
extruded with plastic are technically recyclable today, the separation
process is complex, can deliver poor yields of recycled fibre
and there is still plastic to dispose of in the end at a cost. Not
surprisingly, it has been estimated globally that only a minor part of
these materials is recycled annually, leading most to enter landfills
where it can persist in the environment for more than 500 years.
A solution for today
To create a sustainable future, we need to reduce our
dependency on polluting and non-renewable materials. By
substituting plastics with more sustainable alternatives, the pulp and
paper industry can make a real difference. And with recent years’
big advancements there is no excuse for delaying the switch. Today
all types of packaging, from food to cosmetics, can be made without
plastics.
The advantages are many and the consumers increasingly
expect the end products to be sustainable. When switching from
plastics to barrier coatings the products become repulpable and
recyclable like ordinary paper. In many cases, even compostability
can be achieved. The end product can be treated as a monomaterial and therefore be directly re-pulped and all fibre reclaimed
with no special separation or cleaning stage (and therefore no
consequential loss of fibre yield when recycling, or plastic film to
dispose of to landfill).
Figure 2 & 3: Circularity is created by making the fibre more economical to recover through existing recycling streams.
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