FR2727421A1 - Biodegradable packaging and filling material - Google Patents

Abstract

A novel filling and packaging material (I), having thermal insulation and anti-shock properties, is formed from cellulose deriv.-based spongy material by manufacturing methods used for vegetable sponges.

Description

FILLING AND PACKAGING MATERIALS
INSULATING AND SHOCK-RESISTANT PROPERTIES OF
SPONGIOUS MATERIALS BASED ON DERIVATIVES
BIODEGRADABLE CELLULOSICS
There are currently filling materials and / or materials with shockproof properties intended to protect materials or objects which are particularly fragile and sensitive to shocks and mechanical stresses, during their transport, handling and / or processing or storage. These materials used in packaging preparations for fragile products, for example, most often consist of derivatives chosen from the following derivatives:
* More or less dense polyurethane foams (more or less expanded by gases of the CFC type or replacement derivatives).

 * More or less dense expanded polystyrene foams composed of compacted polystyrene granules.

 * Fragments of various forms of various polymers of the polyurethane or polystyrene type.

 * Films of polymers of polyvinyl chloride type (P.V.C.) or equivalent comprising air bubbles (bubble wrap) of variable sizes and shapes.

These products, selected for their mechanical properties, density and capacity for protection against mechanical stress, have the following disadvantages in common:
* they are not biodegradable
* they are produced from non-renewable raw materials (derived from petroleum chemistry)
* They are difficult to recycle.

* * They emit non-degradable particles themselves (polystyrene)
* They are light and can be easily disseminated by natural elements and can therefore constitute visual pollution of large sites.

 * Their manufacture uses polluting raw materials (derivatives of chlorofluorocarbon for polyurethane foams which contribute to the greenhouse effect, toxic monomers and pollutants).

 * They are combustible and emit toxic fumes during accidental fires or their elimination by burning.

 * Given their manufacturing method they have a significant cost to which is added the cost and / or taxes of their elimination.

 These drawbacks are considered to be increasingly critical given the new constraints linked to environmental protection. There are currently no alternatives to the use of non-biodegradable synthetic foams which are truly industrializable and available on the market.

 However, there is a substitute material which does not have the drawbacks listed above and whose mechanical properties allow the materials described above to be used in place of the same applications, namely protection against shock and mechanical stress. fragile materials or objects.

This substitute material is made up chemically of viscose, the implementation process of which is such that it allows the formation of gas bubbles and subsequently voids in the material during its polymerization. This manufacturing process is currently used for the manufacture of vegetable sponges used in standard household applications. Viscose is itself prepared from wood pulp or wood cellulose solubilized in an alkaline medium (sodium hydroxide) and in the presence of carbon sulfide. This process allows the manufacture of a cellulosic polymer prepared from this sodium xanthogenate solution by polymerization. The cellulosic polymer obtained has its structure and composition, the property of being biodegradable when it is released in a natural environment , by bacteria or molds having enzymatic activities of the cellulolytic type (bacterial strains of the Clostridium species type or strains of microscopic fungi of the Trichoderma species type by way of non-limiting example).

This biodegradability can be verified by burying the material of the plant sponges in garden soil or in the ground. After a period varying from a few days to a few weeks depending on the temperature, soil moisture, and bacterial and fungal activity present in the soil, the buried material disappears completely by cellulolysis due to the activity of strains bacterial or fungal expressing this family of enzymes. This remarkable property constitutes a very important advantage compared to spongy materials prepared from raw materials of the non-biodegradable synthetic polymer type. This susceptibility to degradation is a particular remarkable property which therefore allows us to consider using these materials. viscose derivatives for new applications never described to date and which differ significantly from generally known applications.

This viscose-based substitute material which will be called "vegetable moss" in the following text is currently known for standard applications in the field of household cleaning in the form essentially of sponges of various sizes and shapes. n is by way of nonlimiting example manufactured and marketed by the company SPONTEX SA under the designation "vegetable sponge", and found in the distribution channels in France under the commercial name sponge "SPONTEX" type "S". The manufacturing processes for vegetable mosses are identical to the manufacturing process for vegetable sponges.

Due to its density (density), its biodegradability, its mechanical properties, its mechanical resistance, its resistance to degradation in a dry environment, its commercial availability, its manufacturing cost, vegetable moss can be used as a substitute for moss. based on synthetic polymers prepared from petroleum chemistry derivatives.

The final shaping, stabilization, wettability, hygrometry, density, color, impregnation with antiseptic and / or antibacterial solutions can be adapted according to the particular and new applications of plant mosses. The shapes, cuts made in the plant mosses will also be adapted to each type of particular application.

The vegetable mosses can be used and used in all the applications described below either in the form of vegetable mosses called dry, colored or not, impregnated or not, or used in the form of vegetable mosses called wet colored or no, impregnated or not with stabilizing agents or antiseptic agents (quaternary ammoniums, organochlorine derivatives by way of nonlimiting example). The difference between the two states is the water content which is from a few percent to 100 /. in the dry state and varies from 10% to more than 50% in the wet state. The wet state can be stabilized by impregnation of the plant mosses during their production of hygroscopic agents not or very little volatile of mineral nature or organic (by way of nonlimiting example, organic derivatives of the polyol type, polymerized or not, glycerol and polyethylene glycols, may be mentioned).

What characterizes the two possible states of the raw vegetable moss and which is the consequence of the water content of the material is its density expressed in weight of material per unit of volume (grams / liter) which can vary from 30 100 grams per liter when dry and 100-150 grams per liter when wet.

The porosity of plant mosses is also an important parameter which can influence their density and mechanical properties in particular. The porosity of the plant mosses expressed as a percentage of the void volume (free of material) contained by the plant mosses can indeed vary according to the method of manufacture from 20% to more than 80% (by volume) and will be adapted according to the specific applications specific to each type of vegetable moss.

1 IMPLEMENTATION AS FILLING MATERIALS:
The applications described below will concern either so-called dry mosses or so-called wet plant mosses. In both cases, the plant mosses can be sanitized by impregnating antiseptic agents in order either to avoid bacterial development or to allow specific applications of the plant mosses or when the bacteriological cleanliness of the plant mosses will be a determining criterion for a particular application ( pharmaceutical field by way of nonlimiting example).

The shapes of the plant mosses will vary depending on the applications. Dry or wet vegetable mosses may be in the form of: - cubes, - parallelepipeds, - straight and oblique cylinders, - spheres, segments, rings and sectors of spheres, - spherical or ovoid discs, - cones, - trunks of cones , - toroids and toroid segments - ribbons - plates - all complex forms derived from the forms listed above, - all known forms currently used with vegetable mosses prepared on the basis of synthetic polymers, - all these forms may have irregularities surface and / or curvature, and / or recesses in order to reduce their density and to optimize the apparent density of a set of these forms by creating empty spaces between the forms.

The apparent density varies in the case of dry vegetable mosses from 30 to 100 grams per liter and from 70 to 150 grams per liter in the case of wet vegetable mosses.

The size of the shapes described above can vary from a few centimeters to a few tens of centimeters depending on the applications and shapes considered.

Vegetable mosses prepared in such a way that they come in one or more of the forms described above will be used as filling materials for the preparation of packing of fragile materials or objects with a view to their transport preservation and protection against shocks and mechanical stresses.

2 IMPLEMENTATION AS CALES AND SUPPORTS:
The applications described below will concern either so-called dry plant mosses or so-called wet plant mosses. In both cases, the plant mosses can be sanitized by impregnating antiseptic agents in order either to avoid bacterial development or to allow specific applications of the plant mosses or when the bacteriological cleanliness of the plant mosses will be a determining criterion for a particular application ( pharmaceutical field by way of nonlimiting example).

The shapes of the plant mosses will vary depending on the applications. Dry or wet plant mosses may be in the form of: - cubes, - parallelepipeds, - straight and oblique cylinders, - spheres, segments, rings and sectors of spheres, - spherical or ovoid discs, - cones, - trunks of cones , - toroids and toroid segments - ribbons - plates - all complex forms derived from the forms listed above, - all known forms currently used with vegetable mosses prepared on the basis of synthetic polymers, - all these forms may have surface irregularities and / or curvature, and / or recesses in order to reduce their density and to optimize the apparent density of a set of these forms by creating empty spaces between the forms.

The apparent density varies in the case of dry vegetable mosses from 30 to 100 grams per liter and from 70 to 150 grams per liter in the case of wet mosses.

The size of the shapes described above can vary from a few centimeters to a few tens of centimeters depending on the applications and shapes considered.

Vegetable mosses prepared in such a way that they come in one or more of the forms described above will be used as wedges or supports for the preparation of collages, wedging, packaging, conservation of fragile materials or objects in view of their transport, conservation and protection against shocks and mechanical stresses.

3 USE AS PACKAGING MATERIALS:
The applications described below will concern either so-called dry plant mosses or so-called wet plant mosses. In both cases, the plant mosses can be sanitized by impregnating antiseptic agents in order either to avoid bacterial development or to allow specific applications of the plant mosses or when the bacteriological cleanliness of the plant mosses will be a determining criterion for a particular application ( pharmaceutical field by way of nonlimiting example).

The shapes of the plant mosses will vary depending on the applications. Dried or wet vegetable mosses may be in the form of: - cubes, - parallelepipeds, - straight and oblique cylinders, - spheres, segments, rings and sectors of spheres, - spherical or ovoid discs, - cones, - trunks of cones , - toroids and toroid segments - ribbons - plates - all complex forms derived from the forms listed above, - all known forms currently used with vegetable mosses prepared on the basis of synthetic polymers, - all these forms may have irregularities surface and / or curvature, and / or recesses in order to reduce their density and to optimize the apparent density of a set of these forms by creating empty spaces between the forms.

The apparent density varies in the case of dry vegetable mosses from 30 to 100 grams per liter and from 70 to 150 grams per liter in the case of wet vegetable mosses.

The size of the shapes described above can vary from a few centimeters to a few tens of centimeters depending on the applications and shapes considered.

The forms described above may include recesses specifically dimensioned and provided for housing the material or object to be protected. The forms described above can be molded directly during the manufacture of vegetable mosses or manufactured by cutting from elements of vegetable moss using sharp tools.

Vegetable mosses prepared in such a way that they come in one or more of the forms described above will be used as wedges or supports for the preparation of collages, wedging, packaging, preservation of fragile materials or objects in view of their transport, conservation and protection against shocks and mechanical stresses.

The main applications will be protection against mechanical stresses of particularly fragile objects or materials during their transport.

4 IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PACKAGES WITH
THERMAL INSULATION PROPERTIES.

Vegetable mosses are made of a porous material which, according to the manufacturing methods, contains from 10 to more than 80% by void volume (free of material) constituted by air bubbles when the moss is not soaked with water. This particular structure is comparable to the structure of polyurethane foams whose thermal and sound insulation properties are known.

By analogy with polyurethane-based foams and because of their porous structure, vegetable foams therefore have, in addition to their shock-absorbing properties, special properties of thermal insulators which can be used in the field of packaging requiring thermal insulation. .

The applications described below will concern either so-called dry foams or so-called wet foams. In both cases, the mosses can be sanitized by impregnating antiseptic agents in order either to avoid bacterial development or to allow specific applications of the plant mosses or when the bacteriological cleanliness of the plant mosses will be a determining criterion for a particular application (field pharmaceutical by way of nonlimiting example).

The shapes of the plant mosses will vary depending on the applications.

Dry or wet plant mosses may be in the form of masses of plant moss in the form of: - a cube, - a more or less flattened parallelepiped - plates
The size of the cubes, parallelepipeds or plates of vegetable moss can vary from a few centimeters to several tens of centimeters with a thickness varying according to the applications from a few centimeters to a few tens of centimeters, The thickness will be determined according to the level of thermal insulation required. The same shapes and dimensions as the synthetic foams (polyurethanes, polystyrene) may be used in the context of this application.

The plant mosses can be combined with other materials playing a support role such as, for example, wood or cardboard or any other material that can play the support role and having the property of being biodegradable. This makes it possible to manufacture boxes or containers of various shapes and sizes by combining materials having in common the property of being biodegradable.

These boxes or containers of variable shapes and dimensions adapted to specific needs, constitute thermally insulated boxes which make it possible to transport or temporarily store materials, objects, heat-sensitive consumer goods and requiring temperature conditions different from the ambient temperature in which is on the outside of the container.

The forms described above may include recesses specifically dimensioned and provided for housing the material or object to be protected and thermally insulated.

The shapes described above can be molded directly during the manufacture of vegetable mosses or manufactured by cutting from elements of vegetable moss using sharp tools.

Claims (10)

1) Filling and packaging materials with thermal insulating and shockproof properties, characterized in that they consist of spongy materials based on cellulose derivatives produced according to the process used for the manufacture of vegetable sponges. 2) Materials according to claim 1 characterized in that they are made from viscose prepared from cellulose. 3) Materials according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that they have a porous structure comprising from 20 to 80% void space by volume. 4) Materials according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that they have a dry density varying from 30 to 100 grams per liter and from 100 to 150 grams per liter in the wet state. 5) Materials according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that they have a porous structure giving them thermal insulating properties. 6) Materials according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that they are completely biodegradable in moist natural environments. 7) Application of the materials according to any one of the preceding claims as biodegradable filling materials for the packaging and protection of materials and objects sensitive to mechanical stresses. 8) Application of the materials according to any one of the preceding claims as biodegradable cushioning materials and the preparation of supports for materials and objects sensitive to mechanical stresses. 9) Application of the materials according to any one of the preceding claims as biodegradable materials for packaging materials and objects sensitive to mechanical stresses 10) Application of the materials according to any one of the preceding claims as biodegradable packaging materials with thermal insulating properties for materials and objects sensitive either to mechanical stresses or to thermal stresses or to both.