Seeking Partners to Develop and Produce Bran Filled Polyolefin Compounds Suitable for Food Packaging Applications

SpecialChem client is looking for a partner that can make a polyolefin material incorporating bran (coming from milling of wheat) as a filler, to be used in food packaging applications with the following characteristics:

• Food contact approved (EU)
• Performance profile similar to polyolefins (PE, PP)
• Good aesthetics properties (homogeneous color, ‘natural’ look and touch)
• Cost competitive (versus polyolefin)

SpecialChem client, a company leader in Europe for food production in many categories of products, generates 20,000 to 40,000 tons of bran* (see composition below) per year from a milling process. As of today our client is not valuing these by-products internally. Knowing that current market price of bran is roughly 150€/ton, this company is seeking a partner who could incorporate bran into a material (films / sheets / trays / …) that could be used as packaging for long shelf-life products.

*Bran average composition:

• Humidity: 13 %
• Ash: 5 %
• Proteins: 15 %
• Fiber: 42 %
• Lipids: 5 %
• Starch: 20 %

SpecialChem client is looking for a partner able to produce polyolefin material incorporating bran (coming from milling of wheat) as a filler, to be used in food packaging applications with the following characteristics:

• Food contact approved (EU)
• Good aesthetics properties (homogeneous color, ‘natural’ look and touch)
• Cost competitive (price similar to traditional polyolefins) (1.3-1.5 €/kg)
• Processable with standard films, sheet extrusion, extrusion blow molding, injection molding equipment
• “Environmentally friendly” claim (for example, recyclable, sustainability…)
• Nice to have: Possibility to metallize, translucent.

Partners could be resin manufacturers, compounders, toll compounders, masterbatchers…

Non Food contact approved (EU) proposals are not of interest for our client.

SpecialChem client is interested in solutions that could be used for packaging within two (2) years.