Green packaging design derived from eggshell

In today’s society, looking around, no matter what it is to pack, pack materials, or hold bottles, it’s not a minority made of plastic. These plastic wastes crowded the waste dumps. What's even more frightening is that they have not been completely degraded after one hundred years and the heavy burden on the environment is self-evident.

Plastic substitute
At present, many scholars and institutions are conducting research and exploration on the subject of plastic substitutes, hoping to reduce environmental pollution. Among them, Sweden's use of the concept of egg shells from pure natural packaging materials by Klin Co., Ltd. produced a new type of eco-friendly packaging material, Lean Material, which fully complies with environmental protection principles.

From the analysis of the egg shell components, calcium carbonate accounts for 95% of them, and the remaining 5% is an important “binder” that can make the calcium carbide powder not be powdered and make the eggshell harder. It is an excellent packaging material, but it is too easy to break. However, this problem can be solved by improving the natural formula. The binder used in Ecolean materials is not a natural protein but utilizes harmless polyolefins extracted from natural gas. After having tasted different mixing ratios of raw materials, it was found that it is required to form a strong, durable, environmentally friendly material with an optimal ratio of 70% calcium carbonate and 30% polyolefin.

Ecolean materials look and feel like traditional plastics, but they do not harm the environment. These materials made from natural resources can be shaped, molded or folded into any shape. The finished products can be as strong as hard plastic bottles and as soft as ordinary plastic bags. From the viewpoint of reducing the consumption of natural resources, reducing the pollution to the environment, and infringing the human body, Ecolean materials are superior to conventional packaging materials such as plastic containers, paper containers, and aluminum containers, and are ideal for future packaging materials.

Rich in environmental value
The objective environmental value of a product can be determined by measuring its life cycle reserve and life cycle assessment. The so-called life cycle reserve refers to all the substances and energy consumed during the process from the extraction of raw materials to production, and finally to the waste recovery process; and the life cycle assessment refers to the product in each of the above processes. The impact on the environment in these links.

Tests conducted in countries such as the United States, Britain, and Germany have shown that the technical indicators of Ecolean are superior to those of pure plastics and paper products. Compared with the current popular disposable foam materials, Ecolean materials not only have the advantage of rapid degradation rate, but also the amount of smoke and nitrogen oxides, oxygen and sulfur compounds, and nitrogen and hydrogen compounds emitted during the production process. The destruction of the ozone layer can be greatly reduced.

Although Ecolean material still contains a part of plastic, its oil consumption can be greatly reduced compared to general plastic products; and the plastic composition of Ecolean material can be ultimately decomposed into carbon and oxygen without damaging the natural environment. On the other hand, the production of cardboard, plastic, and aluminum relies on large-scale chemical plants, so it causes environmental pollution; on the contrary, Ecolean materials are only used for abundant natural resources, and calcium carbonate is inexhaustible and processing is easy.

In fact, the most attractive feature of Ecolean materials is the ease of handling. Bottles, yoghurt cups, or candy wrappers made from Ecolean materials can all be degraded. Under sunlight, the organic compounds in the material will become small molecules that will evaporate and will not harm the environment. It is worth mentioning that the degradation process of Ecolean materials can also be controlled by humans. If not added to the material, the degradation rate will be faster. However, in the absence of sunlight, Ecolean materials do not degrade. In addition, this material is not "remembered." After the bottle is flattened, it will be flattened and will not return to its original shape, leaving little room in the dump. Therefore, this kind of material will be of great help in solving the problem of littering of waste around the world.

Wide range of applications
Without adding any injection agent, the mechanical properties of the packaging material can be enhanced by changing the molecular arrangement of the materials, thereby adapting to the needs of various commodities and expanding the scope of application. At present, Ecolean materials are mainly used in various types of packaging for food, medicine and chemical products, such as bags, cartons, milk cans, cups, crates, trays and other transport packaging.

In terms of processing technology, most of the existing packaging machines are suitable for Ecolean materials such as blow molding, blow molding, injection molding, etc. However, in terms of thermoforming, the existing machinery may need to be slightly improved. It cannot be overlooked that Ecolean materials can withstand the temperature of microwave heating, so it is very suitable for instant noodle bowls and the packaging of heated foods. In printing applications, most printing methods such as flexographic printing, offset printing, lithographic printing, etc., can always achieve excellent printing effects on Ecolean materials.

In addition, Ecolean materials provide improved economics. In terms of raw materials, the prices of calcium carbonate and binders are more stable than polymers and the cost is easy to control. In the processing process, the melting process of the Ecolean material requires less energy than melting pure plastic. In addition, the cooling rate of finished products is much faster than that of equivalent plastics, which means that Ecolean materials can greatly increase productivity.