GrafCoat-2: Graphene based extrusion coatings for paperboard
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 500 000 |
| Project duration | April 2022 - October 2023 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Strategic innovation program SIO Grafen |
| Call | SIO Grafen: Collaboration on commercial applications with graphene - autumn 2021 |
Important results from the project
The project´s aim was to further evaluate the thermoplastic graphene biopolymer material developed in GrafCoat-1. The motivation is a sustainable material for extrusion coating of paperboard. In GrafCoat-2 the focus has been on extrudability and lamination of pressed films onto paperboard. After some optimization, the project produced materials and a process that enabled extrusion. Pressed films laminated very well to paperboard and had good sealability. This, in combination with the films´ good barrier properties, makes the concept interesting for further development
Expected long term effects
Initially, it was difficult to obtain enough material, but the process has and is being optimized for larger production. It was also difficult to extrude the material. It solidified quickly and was difficult to get out of the extruder. Mounting a heat source close to the outlet solved the problem. The extruded material could be pressed into thin films and several pieces of material could be pressed together into larger films. But, the fusion of the material was not perfect and thus no fused films were evaluated. Good adhesion to paperboard and promising barrier properties were demonstrated
Approach and implementation
2D fab delivered optimized qualities of graphene. RISE stabilized the graphene, mixed it with theromoplastic starch, perform extrusion trials and pressed the material into thin films. Holmen and RISE then evaluated the properties of the films: free standing films and laminated onto paperboard