In this edition of our ‘In Conversation With…’ series, Joonas Hokka and Matthias Krätschell – Kemira’s manager for Applications and Marketing EMEA and manager for Business Creation EMEA, respectively – unpack the role of chemistry in packaging’s paperization trend, especially where it relates to recyclable barrier coatings for paper, board, moulded fibre, and more.
Firstly, could you walk us through some of the chemicals used in Kemira’s barrier coatings? What benefits do they bring to a fibre-based pack?
Chemistry is often the unsung hero in the transforming packaging industry. You can think of it as an invisible enabler: it allows fiber-based packaging materials to meet demanding performance requirements, especially in applications like food packaging.
As a dedicated partner in the ongoing paperization of packaging, we’re focused on developing and delivering sustainable chemistry solutions that power the shift from plastic to functional paper, board, and molded fiber packaging.
Our Kemira FennoGuard™ barrier coatings are a prime example of this. We have a broad portfolio of water-based dispersion barrier coatings to provide essential protective properties – from oil and grease resistance to water vapor control – and provide recyclable and safe alternatives to traditionally required PE layers and fluorochemicals (PFAS) in fiber-based packaging, such as food service packaging, flexible packaging, wrapping papers, pouches, and cup stock.
Our portfolio is designed to match different packaging needs, whether the brand needs short- or long-term grease resistance or reliable water or liquid holdout with specific converting properties such as heat sealability. Importantly, all our coatings are designed with recycling in mind and are easily repulpable.
Recycling should be the primary end-of-life option for any fiber-based packaging, ensuring that valuable fiber raw materials stay in circulation and are reused effectively rather than going to waste.
The practical benefits for manufacturers are equally important. Our barrier coatings have proven runnability with all typical coating and printing application methods and they meet versatile converting requirements such as folding, gluing, and sealing.
Our coatings are based on an open formula, which allows cost-efficient production of innovative barrier-coated products onsite. By working closely with partners throughout the value chain, we can optimize solutions for specific end-use requirements and to suit individual production lines and processes.
Food contact is still a challenge in the development of recyclable packaging, even for conventional plastics. How do Kemira’s barrier coatings maintain their functionality and safety in contact-sensitive applications while staying recyclable?
Food safety is non-negotiable when developing new solutions for food packaging. While the industry is changing rapidly, we can’t compromise on the fundamental purpose of food packaging: protecting both the packaged contents and consumers.
This means carefully balancing functionality, sustainability, and safety, and requires significant attention to regulatory compliance. Our FennoGuard™ barrier coatings are approved for direct food contact and comply with FDA, BfR, and GB regulations. Additionally, these coatings provide crucial protection against the migration of harmful mineral oil residues (MOSH/MOAH) in packaging made from recycled fiber.
Our dedicated PSRA team (Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs) plays a crucial role in navigating this complex, evolving landscape. They help us stay ahead of regulatory developments, ensuring compliance with current standards and actively anticipating future regulations and market demands.
Ultimately, it’s the brand owners who bear the responsibility for the safety of the packaged food and risk negative repercussions. Success requires close collaboration and transparency across the value chain. This also ensures new solutions are not just safe for food contact, but also practical and cost-efficient for real-world applications.
One area we’re actively working in is PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) replacement. While we don’t have any PFAS-containing products in our own portfolio, we’re actively following the discussion around these “forever chemicals” to understand the impact of the current regulatory attention on our customer industries and to support the transition away from these substances.
A good example is our participation in the EU and SERI-funded Zero F project. Along with 11 other industry and research partners, we develop coating alternatives to harmful PFAS compounds in food packaging, based on renewable raw materials.
Our role focuses on barrier chemistry, its application, performance, and chemical safety. We’re validating that new solutions are feasible, meeting the needed functionality and other requirements for end use while ensuring that they can also be efficiently applied to the packaging material.
Let’s dig deeper into Kemira’s biomass balance solutions. What are they, and what do they mean for fibre-based packaging?
Our customers are seeking more sustainable solutions for different applications within the paper and board-making process, but naturally don’t want to compromise on performance or efficiency. At Kemira, we’ve embraced the biomass balance approach as an immediate and practical step forward, to help reduce the use of fossil carbon across the value chain.
It’s essentially a drop-in solution that helps reduce the use of fossil-based raw materials while maintaining the product performance our customers rely on. At the same time, we continue developing novel renewable solutions.
We launched our first biomass-balanced alternatives to traditional fossil-based chemistries in 2021, starting with biomass-balanced polymers for water treatment, retention, and drainage applications. Since then, we’ve expanded the portfolio to include a range of products; for example, surface sizing and strength, and also our FennoGuard™ barrier coatings.
All these products contain at minimum 50% of renewable carbon through the mass balance attribution. This is achieved through the increased use of renewable raw materials at the beginning of the production value chain.
All our biomass-balanced products and their manufacturing sites are certified according to ISCC PLUS standards. What makes this approach valuable is that it effectively reduces fossil-based raw materials in the value chain and supports the reduction of carbon emissions without disrupting established processes.
Could you tell us about Kemira’s ongoing projects to develop renewable barrier solutions?
We’re developing new-to-the-world renewable solutions that combine high barrier performance with enhanced sustainability, enabling paper and board packaging and molded fiber applications to meet demanding end-use requirements while being fully renewable. These innovations are particularly exciting as they offer multiple end-of-life options, from recyclability to compostability and biodegradability, giving manufacturers flexibility to meet varying global and regional requirements for packaging materials.
Innovation at this scale requires collaboration. That’s why we’re developing these breakthrough solutions with strategic partners and by working closely with packaging material manufacturers, converters, and brand owners.
One of the avenues focuses on harnessing the potential of PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) in barrier coatings for fiber-based packaging. This range of renewable aqueous dispersion barrier coatings is developed utilizing Danimer Scientific’s advanced Nodax™ technology.
PHA has an excellent biodegradability profile, comparable to that of cellulose, starch, and other natural polymers, which makes it ideal for enhancing the functionality of fiber-based packaging materials.
On another front, we’re working to develop renewable, polysaccharide-based barrier coatings based on IFF’s innovative Designed Enzymatic Biomaterial™ platform. This biotechnology approach enables the production of new renewable polymers with enzymatic polymerization, opening new possibilities for renewable barriers and other performance additives in fiber-based packaging.
These technologies are particularly promising as they combine excellent barrier properties with strong sustainability profiles. This helps meet the industry’s demand for renewable, biodegradable, and compostable barrier solutions that deliver high performance in demanding end-use applications.
In a way, this work represents the “last mile” – eliminating the remaining non-renewable content from fiber-based packaging while maintaining the functionality both brands and consumers expect.
As we all know, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is closer than ever to being enforced, and the Single-Use Plastics Directive revision will take place in 2027. How could Kemira’s solutions help customers stay ahead of legislative changes?
We actively follow the evolving regulatory landscape in Europe, particularly the developments surrounding these initiatives. With the PPWR now waiting for the final approval and a SUPD revision expected in 2027, these regulations will significantly reshape the future of the packaging industry and directly impact packaging requirements.
Our position is clear: we believe fiber-based packaging is crucial in creating a circular society, and recyclability must be at the core of future packaging solutions. We support all efforts that drive this transition and focus on developing solutions that help our customers and the broader packaging value chain meet these goals.
This regulatory evolution is accelerating the shift toward fiber-based alternatives, particularly in molded fiber applications where brands are looking to replace traditional plastic packaging items. Chemistry plays a vital but often unseen role in this transformation.
Chemistry expertise provides properties that allow fiber-based packaging to compete with plastic – such as strength, hydrophobation, and barrier properties – but it also ensures production processes remain efficient and cost-effective. This ensures packaging solutions that are both compliant and commercially viable.
Kemira aspires to go beyond barriers and coatings in its support for a wider transition into recyclable paper. What else is the company doing, and where is it going next?
Our commitment to paperization builds on decades of chemistry and application expertise in pulp and paper processes. The transition to functional, safe, and recyclable fiber-based packaging requires more than just innovative barrier coating solutions.
Our experience and know-how in the end-to-end process, from pulping to base paper production and coating, as well as using recycled fibers, give us insight into developing comprehensive solutions throughout the packaging value chain. We’re strengthening this commitment further with our new organizational structure launching in January 2025, which includes a dedicated global Packaging and Hygiene business unit.
Creating high-performance, fiber-based packaging requires expertise across the entire production process. Our chemistry solutions enhance multiple aspects of packaging performance: strength additives ensure durability, hydrophobation provides water resistance, and microbiological control guarantees hygiene requirements are met.
We also focus on manufacturers’ operational efficiency – our solutions help optimize processes through effective deposit and foam control, while enabling efficient repulping and reuse of fiber material.
Looking ahead, our focus is on expanding our renewable product portfolio across applications and helping our customers optimize their production processes and quality through data-driven chemistry management and digital solutions.
To learn more about the part chemistry plays in the paper and board packaging of the future, click here.
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