NL2021596B1 - Biodegradable beverage cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

Described is a biodegradable sealed airtight cartridge containing extractable beverage ingredients for the preparation of a beverage, the cartridge being designed to be subjected to an extraction procedure under pressure of in a beverage production machine comprising a cartridge holder, the cartridge comprising a cup being thermoformed from a biodegradable polymer composition with a base portion, a circumferential wall extending from the base portion and a circular lip at the end of the wall, extending perpendicular from the wall, and a cover membrane welded to the periphery of the lip of the cup, defining an inner space in the cartridge wherein the extractable beverage ingredients are accommodated, the cover membrane, at the start of the extraction, being intended to be torn solely under the effect of the pressure of the extraction fluid, wherein the biodegradable polymer composition comprises leaf sheath material from the betel nut palm Areca catechu and a second biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, the cover membrane comprises a biodegradable plastic foil having increased tear resistance, chosen from a biodegradable plastic cast foil and a plastic laminate, the laminate comprising a first and a second biodegradable plastic foil layer, the first plastic foil layer being a biaxial plastic foil, the second foil layer being chosen from a monoaxial foil and a biaxial foil, wherein the directions of the biaxial foil of the first foil layer and at least one direction of the monaxial foil or the biaxial foil of the second foil layer differ from one another.

Description

© 2021596 © B1 PATENT (2?) Request number: 2021596 © Int. CL:

B65D 85/804 (2018.01) B65D 65/46 (2018.01) © Application submitted: 10 September 2018

Application registered:

October 2019 (43) Request published:

© Patent holder (s):

Compostable Coffee Cups IP B.V. in The Hague.

HemCell B.V. in Heinkenszand.

Patent granted:

October 2019 © Inventor (s):

Nicolaas Wilhelmus Ladislaus Osse © Patent issued:

October 2019 in Heinkenszand.

Robert Ilan de Jong in The Hague. Roland Arie Andries Pluut in The Hague. Petrus Antonius Alberts in Hengelo.

© Authorized representative:

Dr. T. Wittop King PhD in Delft.

54) Biodegradable beverage cartridge

57) Described is a biodegradable sealed airtight cartridge containing extractable beverage ingredients for the preparation of a beverage, the cartridge being designed to be subjected to an extraction procedure under pressure or in a beverage production machine including a cartridge holder, the cartridge including a cup being thermoformed from a biodegradable polymer composition with a base portion, a circumferential wall extending from the base portion and a circular lip at the end of the wall, extending perpendicular from the wall, and a cover membrane welded to the periphery of the lip of the cup , defining an inner space in the cartridge containing the extractable beverage ingredients are accommodated, the cover membrane, the start of the extraction, being intended to be solely under the effect of the pressure of the extraction fluid, with the biodegradable polymer composition comprises leaf sheath material from the betel nut palm Areca catechu and a second biodegradable th thermoplastic polymer, the cover membrane comprises a biodegradable plastic foil having increased tear resistance, chosen from a biodegradable plastic cast foil and a plastic laminate, the laminate including a first and a second biodegradable plastic foil layer, the first plastic foil layer being a biaxial plastic foil, the second foil layer being chosen from a monoaxial foil and a biaxial foil, featuring the directions of the biaxial foil or the first foil layer and at least one direction of the monaxial foil or the biaxial foil or the second foil layer differ from one another.

NL B1 2021596

This patent has been granted regardless of the attached result of the research into the state of the art and written opinion. The patent corresponds to the documents originally submitted.

Biodegradable beverage cartridge

The invention relates to a sealed airtight beverage cartridge containing extractable beverage ingredients for the preparation of a beverage, the cartridge being designed to be subjected to an extraction procedure with an extraction fluid under a pressure of 5-20 bar in a beverage production machine including a cartridge holder, intended to hold the said cartridge, the cartridge including a cup being thermoformed from a biodegradable polymer composition with a base portion, a circumferential wall extending from the base portion and a circular lip at the end of the wall, extending perpendicular from the wall, and a cover membrane sealingly attached to the periphery of the lip of the cup, defining an inner space in the cartridge the extractable beverage ingredients are accommodated, the cover membrane, at the start of the extraction, being intended to be only under the effect of the pressure of the extraction fluid or being mechanically punctured.

Such sealed biodegradable cartridges are known in the art, and are described in e.g. WO2015 / 121489. These are in particular intended for the preparation of single portions of freshly brewed coffee in coffee extraction machines such as known in the art e.g. from Nespresso or Dolce Gusto (Nestlé, Vevey, Switzerland; Krups, Solingen, Germany).

To this end, extractable beverage ingredients, such as coffee powder, tea or cocoa are sealed in an air tight manner in the inner space of the cartridge. To this end, the cover membrane is sealingly attached to the circular lip or cup. The term "sealingly attached" means that the membrane is attached to the circular lip so to seal the contents of the cartridge in an airtight manner. This can be done by gluing, welding and the like.

The cartridge is positioned in the extraction machine and the extraction fluid, in particular hot water or water vapor is injected at a pressure of at least 5 bar, in particular 5-22 bar in the cartridge, by puncturing the base portion and the circumferential wall. At the elevated pressure, the beverage ingredients are extracted and the cover membrane is torn as it is not resistant to the high pressure with the cartridge. When positioned in the extraction machine, the cover membrane is supported from the exterior by a supporting surface including one or recesses where the cover membrane is not supported. When the extraction takes place, the cover membrane is intended for the position of these recesses where the extracted beverage leaves the cartridge and is collected.

The term "biodegradable" refers to the definitions from the ASTM subcommittee D20-96 as described in Müller et al. (Biopolymers Online (2005) 10, 365-374), meaning that the said material can be degraded or decomposed by microorganisms or other biological means in a natural environment, preferably without the addition of additional energy, while forming CO2 and H ₂ O and biomass. Under anoxic conditions, also CH4 can be formed. Biodegradable material therefore loses weight while being degraded. The faster the weight loss, the better the biodegradability. The biodegradability is determined according to the standard guidelines ASTMD695401 / 04.

WO2015 / 121489 describes a biodegradable beverage cartridge or the above type, where the cartridge is described to be made of polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), starch or cellulose.

However, the biodegradable material described in WO2015 / 121489 is still very stable at ambient conditions, and products made therefrom are degradable in an industrial process. Industrially degraded PLA and PHA contaminates existing plastic recycling flows, and these industrially biodegradable plastics have been separated from traditional carbon based plastics and home compostable materials. Degradation or e.g. a PLA product naturally takes at least around 1 year to several years, so that such articles are still capable of environmental pollution. So energy has been added to order to allow the material to be degraded. It has been found that the degradability of biodegradable materials is improved when biodegradable polymers are mixed with leaf sheath material derived from the betel palm Areca catechu, see WO2014 / 084724. The present inventors have now found that a polymeric composition including leaf sheath material or Areca catechu and a second biodegradable thermoplastic polymer both as polymeric matrix materials is very suitable for the provision of beverage cartridges as described above. The cartridges or such a material are biodegradable at ambient conditions, i.e. without the need to add external energy, such as in case or cartridges, made or PLA as described in WO2015 / 121489.

The second biodegradable thermoplastic polymer is preferably chosen from the group, consisting of polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), starch, cellulose, or a mixture or two or more. Attractively, the second biodegradable thermoplastic polymer comprises polylactic acid or is polylactic acid.

The weight ratio of the first polymer matrix component, ie the leaf sheath material or Areca catechu, to the second biodegradable polymer matrix component, ie the second biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, is preferably 5 - 70: 95 - 30, more preferably 10 - 50: 90 - 10, even more preferably 40 - 60: 60 - 40. It has been found that the above advantages are pronounced with blends of leaf sheath derived material from Areca catechu and polylactic acid having a weight ratio of 50: 50 or even higher, ie having a higher content or leaf sheath material than polylactic acid.

WO2015 / 121489 describe a biodegradable beverage cartridge of the above type, which would imply that the cover would be biodegradable as well. WO2015 / 121489, however, is silent about the suitability of biodegradable materials as a cover membrane. It has been found that biodegradable plastics are as vulnerable for uncontrollable tearing as other plastics, and for that reason, unsuitable for use as a cover membrane for a beverage cartridge or the above type.

The membrane cover should be highly resistant and should be capable of high pressure in a controlled manner, e.g., the membrane should not be further than the position of the recesses in the extraction machine. For this reason, the membrane is usually made from a metal foil, such as aluminum foil. Attempts to provide cartridges of the above kind with a biodegradable plastic foil as membrane have hitherto failed. Such plastic foils are too weak and tear in an uncontrolled manner, hammering the extraction process.

In order to provide improved biodegradable plastic foils, having a high tear resistance for use as cover membrane in the beverage cartridges of the above child, cover membranes can be used that include a biodegradable plastic foil having increased tear resistance, chosen from a biodegradable plastic cast foil and a plastic multiaxial foil. The multiaxial foil is preferably a laminate including a first and a second biodegradable plastic foil layer adherently attached to one, the first biodegradable plastic foil layer being a biaxial plastic foil, the second biodegradable foil layer being chosen from a monoaxial foil and a biaxial foil , the layers are laminated such, that the directions of the biaxial foil of the first biodegradable foil layer and at least one direction of the monoaxial foil or the biaxial foil of the second biodegradable foil layer differ from one another.

It was found that a conventional biodegradable plastic foils, i.e. monoaxial or biaxial foils, have a tear resistance that is too low to be used as a cover membrane or the cartridges of the invention. Monoaxial foils are produced by extrusion, where the foil is stretched in a single direction (axis) while in the rubber phase. This direction is usually the direction of extrusion, biaxial foils are stretched in two directions, usually perpendicular to one another. These monoaxial and biaxial foils appear to be in an uncontrolled manner when used as material for cover membranes of the cartridges of the invention. It has been found that these foils tend to be in an uncontrollable manner in the corresponding stretch direction. As the thickness of the cover membrane is limited, biodegradable monoaxial and biaxial foils lack the required tear resistance at the envisaged thickness or e.g. up to 500,600 or 700 pm.

It has now been found that biodegradable multiaxial foils, in particular multiaxial plastic laminates, ie a first layer or a biodegradable biaxial foil is adherently attached to a second biodegradable plastic foil layer, that can be monoaxial or biaxial, a biodegradable membrane material or advantageous thickness, ie up to 700, 600, 500 pm or thinner can be obtained having surprisingly increased tearing resistance and can be used as a cover membrane material for a cartridge of the invention. In such a laminate, the directions of the first layer differ from at least one of that of the second layer, therewith providing a multiaxial foil laminate, i.e. including multiple directions (axes), i.e. more than two. As stretching is believed to generate multiple thick regions and thin regions arranged parallel to one in the stretch region, the thin regions tend to be fast. By providing a multiaxial plastic laminate, a grid-like structure is provided, providing a variety of small thin areas, embedded in a thicker web-like structure. The foils of the laminate are preferably adhered to one over the complete common surface to form a rigid web that tears in a controllable manner when exposed to high pressure, in particular to the thin portions of the laminate. Also cast foils have been shown to be very suitable as a cover membrane for the cartridges of the invention. Such foils are manufactured without stretching in any direction and can therefore be considered as omniaxiai; there are no thin portions in such foils. There is no bias with regard to tear in such foils, which makes these very suitable as cover membrane material. Such foils can be compared with the above multiaxial laminates, but lacking the thin portions. Therefore, in a particularly attractive embodiment, the cover membrane comprises a plastic cast foil.

In another attractive embodiment, the cover membrane or the cartridge comprises a plastic laminate covering the second foil layer comprising a biaxial foil, at least one of the directions of which differ from those of the biaxial foil or the first foil layer. As explained above, such a laminate provides for a strengthened web-like structure, in particular when both foils or the laminate are biaxial.

Completely, the sealed cartridge comprises a cover membrane comprising a laminate or at least three biaxial plastic foil layers, adherently attached to one another, in particular over the complete common surfaces. For a cover membrane to be biodegradable, the foil layers or the membrane should be biodegradable.

The foil or foil layers of the biodegradable cover comprises, is made of a biodegradable polymer, chosen in particular from the group, consisting of PLA, PHA, starch or cellulose or a mixture of two or more, in particular polylactic acid. This material has proven to be very suitable as a cover membrane, in particular when it comes to cast foil.

The cover membrane or the cartridge preferably has a thickness of 100 - 700 pm, more preferably or 200 - 600 pm, even more preferably or 300 - 500 pm. In case the cover membrane consists of a plastic laminate, the laminate comprises one or more layers having a thickness of 50 - 250 pm, preferably 50 - 150 pm. Preferably each of the layers of the membrane have such a thickness. The membrane can also comprise, as laminate layer, a layer or cast plastic foil.

The lateral wall from the cartridge preferably extends from the base in a frustoconical fashion and the circular lip is larger in diameter than the base, the cover membrane being well-welded to the periphery or the lip of the cup. Such a cartridge of the invention is also described in EP0512468, where in figure 1, the base is indicated by 5, the lateral wall extending therefrom in a frustoconical manner by 6, the lip by 7 and the cover membrane by 4. The extractable beverage ingredients are indicated by 3. The cartridge of the present invention can be designed this way. The base can be flat, as described for EP0512468, but can also be frustoconically designed, eg as in figure 2 or EP2364930, where the frustoconical base is indicated by 3, the frustoconical lateral wall extending therefrom by 4, having a circular lip 5 at the end of the wall 4, the extractable beverage ingredients being indicated by 8. The cartridge of the present invention can be designed this way as well.

The beverage ingredients are in particular chosen from roasted ground coffee, tea, soluble coffee, a mixture of ground coffee and soluble coffee, and a chocolate product, although also any other dehydrated drinkable substance can be accommodated in the cartridge, alone, or in combination with one another, such as milk powder In combination with grinded or soluble coffee. When the beverage ingredients are completely soluble in the extraction fluid, the extraction process results in a complete dissolution of the beverage ingredients, leaving an empty cartridge behind. However, in most of the cases, such as in case of grinded coffee, the extraction process will result in the preparation of a coffee, leaving debris of the grinded coffee behind in the cartridge. If the tearing is uncontrolled, the opening can become too large, allowing the debris to leave the cartridge together with the envisaged beverage, which is undesired.

In another attractive embodiment, the cartridge material, in particular the polymeric melt comprising leaf sheath material or Areca catechu and a second biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, comprising an odorant that corresponds with the odor of the beverage ingredient. The odorant gives the beverage cartridge an additional attractive appeal, allowing the customer to smell the beverage to be prepared with the said cartridge, while the beverage ingredients remain sealed in an airtight manner in the cartridge. The polymeric composition comprises the cup material after thermoforming or the melt of the polymeric composition.

In an attractive embodiment, both the polymer material and the odorant are provided as particulate material in the range of 100 - 800 pm, preferably 100 - 600 pm or 100 - 500 pm. The particle size is determined by sieving the particulate material through a sieving opening of the indicated size. The ratio of the particle size of the polymer material to the odorant being 0.25 - 4: 1, meaning that the particle size of the odorant is preferably between 4 times bigger and four times smaller than that of the polymeric material blended therewith. This provides good mixability of the different components and results in a well processable melt and in a product in which the odor or odorant is pronounced.

Preferably, the polymeric material, such as the leaf sheath material or Areca catechu has a particle size of 100 - 150 pm and the odorant, in particular in case of coffee, has a particle size of 250 - 500 pm. In case another biodegradable polymeric matrix material is used, the particle size is preferably in the range or 100 - 500 pm.

In a particular embodiment, the odorant is mixed as a particulate with the leaf sheath material or Areca catechu before being molten or being combined with a second polymeric matric material. The weight ratio between particulate from leaf sheaths of the betel palm Areca catechu and particulate of the odorant is preferably in the range of 1: 0.01 - 0.2, preferably 1: 0.05 - 0.1.

The surface of the base portion and the circumferential wall directed towards the inner space of the cartridge are preferably coated with a polymeric layer comprising one or more biodegradable food grade polymers. PLA is an excellent candidate for such a food grade polymer layer. Such layer precludes direct contact of the polymeric material or the cartridge with the beverage ingredients accommodated therein, therewith improving the freshness of the ingredients. Further, such a design allows the use of more porous polymeric materials for use as cartridge material, such as a polymeric mixture having a relatively high content of leaf sheath material, while still securing the air tightness of the cartridge.

The invention is now described by way of the following non-limiting examples.

Example 1

A. Coffee cartridges were prepared by thermoforming a polymeric blend comprising 50 w / w% Ingeo 3251D (Nature Works, US) and 50 w / w% Areca leaf sheath material as polymeric blend, as follows. The grinded powder from leaf sheaths from Areca catechu, prepared according to example 1 WO2014 / 084724 with a particle size of 100 - 150 pm mixed with an equal weight or polylactic acid granulate (Ingeo 3251D, NatureWorks, Minnetonka, MN, US) and fed to KraussMafei KMD 0-25 twin screw extrusion equipment (Munich, Germany) to produce regular formed and polymerized standard plastic pellets. Said pellets were melted at 160 170 ° C and subjected to injection molding to form the cartridges.

B. Another coffee cartridge was prepared according to example 1A, in the polymeric melt 0.05 w / w% grinded coffee having a particle size of 350-400 pm was incorporated in order to confer a coffee odor to the cartridge.

Example 2

A. A first multiaxial foil was prepared by laminating two layers of biaxial foil or polylactic acid (PLA), one prepared from Ingeo 4043D (NatureWorks, Minnetonka, MN, US) with a thickness of 200 pm and one from Ingeo 4060D (NatureWorks, Minnetonka, MN, US with a thickness of 200 pm by blow molding and subsequent biaxial stretching according to the manufacturer's recommendations. The two layers were laminated such, that the stretching orientations of the first layer differed from those of the second layer.

B. A second multiaxial foil was prepared by laminating a third layer of Ingeo 4043D biaxial PLA foil onto the Ingeo 4043D layer of the first multiaxial foil, where the stretching orientations of the third layer differed from those of the first and second layer.

C. A third multiaxial foil was prepared by laminating, onto a biaxial foil or Ingeo 4060D with a thickness of 200 pm a monoaxial Ingeo 4043D PLA foil having a thickness of 150 pm.

D. A fourth foil was provided by casting Ingeo 4043D to a foil or a thickness of 350 pm.

Example 3

Coffee cartridges of example 1A and 1B were filled with grinded coffee and the foil material of example 2A, 2B, 2C or 2D was heat sealed onto the cartridges. If as outer layer an Ingeo 4060D foil was present, heat sealing was performed on this layer.

Example 4

Coffee cartridges of example 1A and 1B were coated with an inner liner or polylactic acid as described in WO2015 / 121489.

Example 5

Coffee cartridges of examples 3 and 4 were subjected to extraction by a Zenius Nespresso coffee machine (Nestlé, Vevey, Switzerland). Coffee cartridges with foil material or examples 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D showed a perforated grid like structure after extraction. Coffee was prepared without any leakage.

Claims (17)

CONCLUSIONS A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge containing extractable beverage components for preparing a beverage, the cartridge being adapted to be subjected to an extraction procedure with an extraction fluid under a pressure of at least 5 bar in a beverage preparation machine comprising a cartridge container, which is intended to hold the cartridge, the cartridge comprising: a cup formed by thermoforming a biodegradable polymer composition with a base portion, a circumferential wall extending from the base portion and at the end of the wall a circular flange extending perpendicularly from the wall, and a cover membrane that closes on the periphery of the flange of the cup is adhered, defining an internal space in the cartridge in which the extractable beverage components are included, the cover membrane, at the start of the extraction, being arranged to be solely due to the effect of the pressure of the extraction fluid to be torn open or to be mechanically punctured, characterized in that: the biodegradable polymer composition comprises a first biodegradable thermoplastic polymer and a second biologically thermoplastic degradable polymer, wherein the first thermoplastic polymer leaf shaft material of the betel nut palm comprises Areca catechu, the cover membrane comprises a biodegradable plastic film with increased tear strength selected from a biologically molded plastic film and a plastic multiaxial film. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, starch, cellulose or a mixture of two or more thereof. The biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the second thermoplastic polymer comprises polylactic acid. Biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the weight ratio between the first biodegradable thermoplastic polymer and the second biodegradable thermoplastic polymer is 5 - 70: 95 - 30, preferably 10 - 50: 90 - 10, more preferably 40-60: 60-40, even more preferably at 50: 50. The biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the multiaxial film is a laminate comprising a first and a second biodegradable plastic film adhesively bonded to each other, the first plastic film layer being a biaxial plastic film and the second film layer selected is from a monoaxial film and a biaxial film, the layers being laminated such that the directions of the biaxial film of the first film layer and at least one direction of the monoaxial film or the biaxial film of the second film layer differ from each other. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the cover membrane comprises a plastic laminate, wherein the second foil layer comprises a biaxial foil, at least one of the directions of which differs from that of the biaxial foil of the first foil layer. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cover membrane comprises a laminate of at least three biaxial plastic film layers that are adhesively bonded to each other. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cover membrane has a thickness of 100 - 700 µm. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cover membrane comprises a plastic laminate, wherein each layer in the laminate has a thickness of 50 - 250 µm. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the molded plastic film or plastic laminate is selected from the group consisting of polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), starch, cellulose or a mixture of two or more thereof. The biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the molded plastic film or the plastic laminate comprises polylactic acid. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the side wall extends from the base in a frusto-conical manner and wherein the circular flange is larger in diameter than the base, the cover membrane at the periphery of the flange of the cup has been merged. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the beverage components are selected from roasted ground coffee, tea, soluble coffee, a mixture of ground coffee and soluble coffee, and a chocolate product. A biodegradable airtight-sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the polymeric composition further comprises a fragrance corresponding to the odor of the beverage component. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the surface of the base portion and of the circumferential wall facing the inner space of the cartridge are coated with a biodegradable polymer layer containing one or more food-acceptable polymers includes. The biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to claim 15, wherein the food-acceptable polymer comprises polylactic acid. A biodegradable airtight sealed beverage cartridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cartridge is adapted to be subjected to an extraction procedure with an extraction fluid under a pressure of 5 - 22 bar.