New nanotechnology will hold up the future of packaging materials

A newly invented film will have a breakthrough impact on food packaging. The film has a high gas permeability, and it was originally intended to be used on space stations and for divers.

SINTEF, the Norwegian scientific and industrial research foundation, is using nanotechnology to build small particles on membranes, thereby enhancing the ability of plastic membranes to transport certain gases and removing some of the dirty air, such as carbon dioxide. However, some of the same theories can also be used in food packaging to block the entry of harmful gases – those that can shorten the shelf life of foods.

The film can provide barrier protection, it can prevent some gases (such as oxygen and ethylene gas) into the package to deteriorate the quality of other fresh fruit.

Dr. Keith Redford, director of the SINTEF Foundation's Polymers and Composites Division, explained that the main advantage of using nanomaterials in food packaging is that the film maintains transparency. A clear film is very important for the presentation and sale of certain food characteristics. This is the difference between a nanomaterial film and a multilayer composite film or an oxygen-containing film, the latter two appearing to be very ambiguous and fuzzy. Redford said food packaging must be combined with other active ingredients, such as modified atmosphere packaging and coated silica.

The first use of this technology in packaging may be in some electronic products and medicines, because these products can quickly transfer the cost to end users. Redford predicts that nanomaterials will not meet consumers in packaging for at least the next five years. He said that the technology may first be used in industrial packaging. It is now too early to predict the price of the film, but when it is mass-produced, its price should be comparable to a multi-layered barrier film, and multilayer barrier films require a high level of processing.

Clean Air is scheduled to begin in 2003 until the end of 2006, during which period the program was funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The team has not yet conducted prototype research and development because it is still in the stage of collecting suitable materials. SINTEF has not yet applied this technology to food packaging at this stage. The Norwegian Institute of Technology and North Carolina State University jointly sponsored this project.

SINTEF is a well-known research and development institution in Norway. It has more than 40 professional institutes, centers, laboratories and development companies, and 60% of research projects are related to the oceans and petroleum. It is the fourth largest research center in Europe.