Floreon - Introducing a ground-breaking new plant-based polymer blend.
Ground-breaking new plant-based polymer blend set to revolutionise packaging around the world!
- CPD and University of Sheffield join forces to develop new plant-based Polymer – Floreon
- New Polymer blend requires less energy to produce
- Composts within weeks
- Destined to transform packaging around the world.
CPD plc, one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of cleaning and hygiene products, has invented Floreon, a ground-breaking strong, durable, biodegradable and recyclable plant-based polymer blend that’s set to be big news in the world of packaging.
Developed as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with leading materials scientists at the University of Sheffield, employing low-energy production and made from renewable resources, Floreon is a significantly greener option than many other plastics, from its manufacture through to end-of-life. Compared to those made from conventional PLA, Floreon bottles are tougher, easier to process and slightly more heat resistant.
Floreon offers significant benefits over PET and conventional PLA plastics in terms of:
Energy costs - Requires 62% less energy to produce. Rival products regularly need heat of 280-300 degrees centigrade during the manufacturing process, Floreon can be processed at temperatures below 100 degrees centigrade.
Sustainability - over 90% of Floreon comes from renewable plant materials with a patented PLA blend made from 100% annually renewable corn, so has zero impact on ever-decreasing oil reserves. In future the source for Floreon can extend to other crops.
Recyclability - PLA is a better recycled material than PET as quality does not decline during recycling. Florian can be recycled into virgin plastic, unlike PET.
Biodegradability - Floreon’s naturally biodegrades within just weeks, even in home composting – not just into very fine particles, but into chemicals that exist in soil that can be broken down by bacteria. Standard plastic bottles can take up to 500 years to decompose in landfill.
Contemporary design for a future proof material
Floreon’s first use will be in what promises to become an iconic item – a prototype water bottle created by internationally-renowned design studio Sebastian Conran Associates (SCA). SCA has developed a contemporary design that’s practical to make, fill, vend, use and recycle.
CPD founder and CEO, Shaun Chatterton, believes that the new material has huge potential ramifications and benefits: “The possibilities for Floreon are endless. We’ve gone far beyond the original remit of replacing the traditional water bottle or even replacing PET plastic and other plastic derivatives. I believe it has the potential to transform both packaging and the way we think about plastic. We’re starting with an iconic water bottle, however ultimately Floreon could even be used to construct aircraft.
“You wouldn’t normally think that a distribution company in Hull would attempt to create a ground-breaking new technology. But we’ve always liked to think on a grand scale. We’ve invested a considerable amount of time and money and worked with some of the best technical brains in the country to create Floreon. This is by far the most exciting business initiative that I have been involved with”, concludes Shaun.
Floreon Project Supervisor, Dr Alma Hodzic, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield, concurs: “Floreon is an exceptionally innovative product. We have produced a naturally biodegradable bottle that is renewable, compostable, environmentally beneficial, and will have an enormous positive impact on society.”
Floreon – where it all began
In 2008 Shaun Chatterton wanted a greener, safer form of plastic water bottle for office watercoolers, of which CPD was a major supplier. Unhappy with the options available he began to look at developing his own product.
Then as now most plastic bottles are made from petroleum-based plastic - PET - and others from PLA, a bio-based plastic, made from plants rather than petroleum. Some PET is made from plant-based material so does not use up a finite resource like petroleum, but still uses an energy-intensive process and creates a plastic that is not compostable, therefore remaining a hazard to the environment if not captured in the recycling loop.
CPD formed a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Sheffield with an initial aim was to develop and commercially produce a bio-derived compostable biopolymer, using corn-based PLA blends, to replace plastics currently manufactured from non-sustainable oil based materials.
Over two years, a team of polymer scientists selected, manufactured and tested different blends of renewable, sustainable bio-polymer compounds. Drawing on the core expertise of the University’s Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry Departments and extensive knowledge of composites and nanotechnology, by September 2010 the team had created a revolutionary blend of commercially available polymers to produce a 100% biodegradable, 100% compostable packaging material that could be produced at a much lower temperature than existing plastic compounds. Floreon was born.
The next step
May 2011: CPD received confirmation from an independent testing agency that thermoplastic bottles made from Floreon confirm to current EU food regulations and are suitable for use with all types of food. The company is now focusing on developing new bio-products, which could include drink bottles, food trays and even structural materials.
The new project will investigate more novel possibilities for bio-products that can replace synthetic plastics. Concrete ideas will develop as the project unfolds, however already it is possible to envisage stationery and even structural materials produced from renewable and compostable resources. The research team’s goal is to transform the way we think about plastic and the way we work with plastic and ultimately to have only a positive impact on the environment.