Chemical company BASF is collaborating with Pulpex and its partners to develop barrier technologies for its paper bottle. Two types of food-grade barrier coatings are in the pipeline.
Paper bottle pioneer Pulpex is making strides in the commercialization of its paper bottles. After announcing that it had inked an agreement with Finnish paperboard specialist Stora Enso for formed fiber material, the company has revealed that BASF is to develop the paper bottle’s barrier coatings.
Rather than using a plastic lining, Pulpex’s molded pulp bottles are sprayed internally with specialized coatings that create a barrier with the paper.
“Pulpex uses proprietary, food-grade coatings that are compatible with the product inside the bottle,” Pulpex explained to Luxe Packaging Insight. “BASF is assisting Pulpex in developing coatings across a wide range of applications for the Pulpex technology. One of two types of coating are used depending on whether the bottled product is oil-based or aqueous-based.” The coatings are free of PET, BPA and HDPE.
The collaboration with BASF follows that with Finnish paperboard specialist Stora Enso. Pulpex will use Stora Enso’s formed fiber material for its paper bottles, with the partners working on a high-speed production line set to be operational in 2022.
Pulpex’s global partner consortium, which includes Diageo, Unilever, PepsiCo, Castrol and GSK Consumer Healthcare, is aiming to collectively produce 750 million paper bottles per year. Unilever is readying to launch a paper bottle for laundry detergent and is also working on using the technology for haircare bottles.
