BUSINESS

Organic farm ice cream in recyclable plastic packaging made from agricultural residues

Duration

01.12.2022 - 31.11.2025

For several years now, the Department of Conversion Technologies of Biobased Resources, under the direction of Prof. Kruse, has been working in many projects on the production of the platform chemical 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from agricultural and food residues and the development of sustainable, circular biorefinery concepts and value chains. One interesting end product from HMF is the bio-based and recyclable plastic polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a high-performance polymer which, among other things, offers unique application options as a monomaterial for food packaging. Together with various partners and possible users and customers from industry, the Sustainable Packaging Institute of the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University (ASU), Prof. Schmid, and the Chair of Agricultural Markets of the University of Hohenheim (UHOH), led by Prof. Hess, the BUSINESS project is pursuing the goal of transferring PEF packaging made from waste biomass HMF from applied research into the field, where it will be introduced to the market in parallel with further technological development and optimisation. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) until the end of November 2025.

The object of the project is the demonstration of PEF-based food packaging made from agricultural residues for the marketing of organic ice cream from a producer of agricultural products. Compared to conventional plastics such as PE, PP, PET or PS, PEF could provide significantly more material-efficient packaging concepts without adversely affecting food protection and thus food shelf life. The selected ice cream is a premium niche market food product whose packaging needs for representative tests during the project can be met with the production capacities of the participating research institutions. Currently, the ice cream is sold in fossil-based polystyrene (PS) cups for sale from the refrigerated counter.  The early market launch of the ice cream in the newly developed packaging should contribute to an increased awareness of bio-based and recyclable PEF packaging and at the same time provide important insights into the expected consumer acceptance and the potential total market volume. The expected results should be the starting point for future scaling up to an industrial scale and for the development of further and larger markets and further dissemination opportunities in the field of sustainable packaging. A circular bioeconomy that encompasses the entire value chain is to be demonstrated in the project as an example.

The project will end with the demonstration in relevant use environments, where the ice cream cups will be tested by consumers and their acceptance will be evaluated. If successful, the consortium expects that the oragnic farm ice cream will also be sold in the PEF cups in the future. THis would be a big step towards carrying the circular bioeconomy from the research institutions into the economy.

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