The first meeting of the European consortium, held in AINIA, marks the beginning of a strategic collaboration to transform the food packaging sector with solutions based on the recycling of PHA

The international consortium of the SATISPHACTION project held its Kick-off meeting. The project represents a key initiative to transform the food packaging sector by developing processes to obtain high-performance biodegradable polymers from recycling.

During the first official meeting held last week in AINIA, each of the work packages and common objectives were presented in detail and discussed between the partners. The meeting laid the foundations for a solid collaboration that will make it possible to move effectively towards circular and economically viable solutions in the field of food packaging.

The environmental challenge

Conventional plastics represent one of the main environmental challenges today due to their dependence on fossil resources and the problems arising from the pollution of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. A substantial part of this environmental problem stems from current food packaging products, due to their high presence, limited shelf life and difficult recycling. In this context, PHAs (polyhydroxyalcanoates) emerge as a promising alternative to polymers of fossil origin since they are a family of biopolymers produced naturally by bacteria, suitable for food contact and completely biodegradable, even in marine environments.

However, their presence on the market is weighed down by the high cost and final properties of polymers obtained through current production methods. The difficulty of obtaining plastic formulations for food packaging made entirely from PHA leads to the additivation and blending of PHA with other bioplastics such as PLA, PBS or PBAT, losing its biodegradability and limiting its subsequent recycling.

Objectives of the SATISPHACTION project

The SATISPHACTION project aims to overcome these limitations by:

• The development of efficient recycling processes for PHA, both chemically and biologically (through living cells) that reduce its cost of production and its environmental impact throughout the life cycle.
• The preparation of PHA polymers with bespoke properties, through the use of Artificial Intelligence to guide the design of molecular structures and the development of new chemical polymerization methods.
• The creation of new formulations from recycled material with high PHA content, free of harmful additives and incorporating thermoset enzymes for accelerated self-degradation. These formulations will also be tested to confirm their total biodegradation and non-microplastic generation in terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
• Validation of the feasibility of previous PHA formulations for food packaging by prototyping:
  • Thermoformed trays.
  • Flexible thermosealable envelopes.
  • Biodegradable adhesives for labelling fruits and vegetables.

Expected impacts

SATISPHACTION aims to halve the cost of production of the PHA by pursuing a circular and local economy model for food packaging that reduces the dependency on non-renewable sources and strengthens the competitiveness of European industry. The results will contribute to reduce carbon emissions, prevent the generation of microplastics and avoid the presence of chemicals of concern, such as endocrine disruptors, in the food chain.

The consortium

The project has a multidisciplinary team made up of research centres, universities, companies and key associations at European level:

• AINIA (project coordinator)
• Biological Research Centre Margarita Salas CIB-CSIC
• Univesidade Nova de Lisboa
• King’s College London
• NAITEC
• NaturePlast
• Polykey Polymers SL
• Normec OWS
• Cluster Packaging Association

With this partnership, SATISPHACTION is moving towards a future where food packaging is sustainable, competitive and environmentally friendly.