Plastic packaging sector: a contemporary and crucial challenge

Thumbnail Image

Files

master_Bey_Pierre-Alexis_2020.pdf (10.47 MB)

URL

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
Unless otherwise stated, all rights belong to the author. You may download, display and print this publication for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.

Authors

Date

2020-08-18

Department

Major/Subject

Advanced Materials for Innovation and Sustainability

Mcode

SCI3083

Degree programme

Master’s Programme in Advanced Materials for Innovation and Sustainability

Language

en

Pages

117

Series

Abstract

Recently, the packaging sector started to aim at the reduction of the ecological impact of one of its main materials: plastic. Pictures of plastic marine litter among others democratized bad reputation of this material. Hence, alternatives and bans started to appear. However, plastic displays various important properties for content protection, which are difficult to reach by using alternative materials at industrial scale. In the past, several materials were supposed to replace synthetic plastic in packaging, including polylactic acid, without success. The usages of plastic packaging make recycling complicate, and thermal recovery plants and landfills are still widely used to process these plastic wastes. Nevertheless, innovations have the potential to change this sector. Among materials that could replace plastic, nanocellulose appears as a solid competitor. Regarding recycling technologies, the recent discoveries of plastic enzymatic degradation could solve contamination and diversity problems encountered with plastic packaging wastes.

Description

Supervisor

Timonen, Jaakko

Thesis advisor

Timonen, Jaakko

Keywords

plastic, packaging, recycling, materials, technologies, innovations

Other note

Citation

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202008235077

Collections

[dipl] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI