Suitability of poly(butylene succinate) as a coating for paperboard convenience food packaging

Take out and convenience food packaging has seen rapid growth in recent years, particularly in the last few months due to restrictions of in-restaurant dining. Paper-based packaging is often thought to be a more sustainable option to plastics. However, paper-based food packaging materials generally require supplemental treatments, such as applications of perfluorinated chemicals and petroleum-based plastics to improve performance. These are effective but limit sustainable end-of-life options (e.g., recycling and composting). Landfill diversion strategies are needed to divert food packaging waste as consumer demand for ready-to-eat (RTE) convenience meal kits and single-use packaging continues to increase municipal solid waste accumulation. This investigation evaluated the suitability of poly(butylene succinate; PBS) as a direct-melt coating on recycled paperboard for grease resistance in microwave rapid reheat and heat and hold convenience food packaging applications. This research demonstrates PBS as a viable alternative to perfluorinated chemicals and petroleum polymers with a more sustainable end-of-life option due to its oil migration resistance at elevated temperatures and compostability properties.This accepted article is published as Thurber, Henry., Curtzwiler, Greg W*. Suitability of poly(butylene succinate) as a coating for paperboard convenience food packaging. International Journal of Biobased Plastics. 1 (2020) 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/24759651.2020.1785094. Posted with permission