Biomasse als Verpackungsmaterial

For obtaining environmental benefits by using renewable resources for the production of products, the following key factors are essential: The environmentel targets have to be clear; the functionality of both classes of products (renewable vs. conventional sources) must be comparable; waste management processes must be adapted to the materials. The major obstacles in the application of renewable resources for the production of products appear to be today: 1. The usually low functionality of products from renewable resources. As examples, the properties "water vapour barrier" and "gas barrier" are shown for different types of packaging films. 2. The lack of biological waste management infrastructure. Functionality, however, plays the key role. As an improvement technology for the performance of packaging films, vacuum coating with thin barrier layers is demonstrated.