FISC is working with industry to help solve problems relating to six key themes. In this case study partner The Henry Royce Institute is working with a packaging company to evaluate the fibre materials used in their new renewable, recyclable and biodegradable fibre pulp bottle.

FISC Theme: Sustainable Materials
To combine skills across the innovation network to transfer research ideas through to manufacturing and also to combine resources to develop supply chain for the next generation of sustainable Foundation Industry products.

What problem/s does industry have?
Around 1.3 trillion glass and plastic bottles are produced each year globally generating significant carbon emissions through the manufacturing, lifecycle and supply chains of these materials.

The glass and chemicals industries want and need to decarbonise and are increasingly required to track and manage carbon lifecycles. But manufacturers aren't able to stop production and test new materials and processes to derisk product development at the speed and scale to demanded by investors.

The paper sector needs to explore a range of recoverable, recyclable and sustainable raw materials such as those required for the manufacture of paper-based food and beverage packaging, and bathroom tissue products.

How is FISC helping solve the problem/s?
Through FISC's EconoMISER Programme its partner The Henry Royce Institute at the University of Manchester worked with sustainable packaging company Pulpex to evaluate the fibre material used in their new renewable, recyclable and biodegradable fibre pulp bottle.

Royce analysed the distribution of fibres and Pulpex investigated coating performance of the material which was affecting both the shelf-life and aesthetics of the finished product. The work helped the manufacturer understand the effects of pulp beating on the barrier performance in the manufacturing process.

By producing samples of the product material quickly and at scale Pulpex and Royce's application scientist were able to understand the effect of the manufacturing process on the barrier coating performance, which has led to further work to enhance smoothness and stiffness in the packaging.

"We collaborated with Royce on a FISC EconoMISER sprint project. The Royce team provided expert assistance in researching and understanding how the mechanical properties of our fibre bottle can be adjusted to suit different applications.

"High-performance raw materials and advanced processing techniques are critical for the future of high-performance fibre-based packaging. The research conducted by the team within the Royce Facilities at the University of Manchester will help design the next generation of fibre bottles. We are excited to continue collaborating with FISC." Justin O'Keefe, Innovation and Technology Partnerships Lead at Pulpex


How does this benefit industry?
Packaging manufacturers and suppliers want and need to decarbonise and use materials that can be recovered and remanufactured time and time again. But they don't always have the technical knowledge or experimental facilities to analyse and test new innovations at a magnitude that supports scale up.

Agile research and development like this can deliver product samples and data that can inform scale up processes which in turn will help industry reduce their reliance on plastics for packaging solutions. It also helps derisk new product development to match the pace of scale-up demanded by investors.

Read the full Royce case study HERE or find out more about Royce's work as part of FISC's EconoMISER project HERE.

If you'd like FISC to support you with your industrial problems please drop us an email at info@ukfisc.org

Published: 13-02-2025