Overview on Foam Forming Cellulose Materials for Cushioning Packaging Applications

Abstract

Wet foam can be used as a carrier in the manufacturing of lightweight materials based on natural and man-made fibers and specific additives. Using a foam forming method and cellulose fibers, it is possible to produce the porous materials with large area of end-using such as protective and cushioning packaging, filtering, hydroponic, thermal and sound absorption insulation, or other building materials. In comparison with the water-forming used for conventional paper products, foam-forming method provides many advantages. In particular, since fibers inside the foam are mostly trapped between the foam bubbles, the formed materials have an excellent homogeneity. This allows for using long fibers and a high consistency in head box without significant fiber flocking. As result, important savings in water and energy consumptions for dewatering and drying of the foam formed materials are obtained. In cushioning packaging, foam-formed cellulose materials have their specific advantages comparing to other biodegradable packaging (corrugated board, molded pulp) and can be a sustainable alternative to existing synthetic foams (i.e., expanded polystyrene or polyurethane foams). This review discusses the technical parameters to be controlled during foam forming of cellulose materials to ensure their performances as cushioning and protective packaging. The focus was on the identification of practical solutions to compensate the strength decreasing caused by reduced density and low resistance to water of foam formed cellulose materials.

Self-assembly fundamentals in the reconstruction of lignocellulosic materials: A review

“…Porous structures such as solid foams or aerogels can be prepared by specialized drying of wet foams that contain solid materials. Such foams, when containing cellulosic materials, have attracted strong attention for such purposes as cushioning and sound insulation (Lavoine and Bergstrom 2017;Yu et al 2018;Zhao et al 2018;Mimini et al 2019;Nechita and Nastac 2022). The arrangements of bubbles within a fluid foam follow well-known self-assembly rules (Pelesko 2007;Fameau and Salonen 2014).…”

Impact-responsive layer based on encapsulated solid/liquid non-Newtonian polymers

“…On average, a parcel is dropped 17 times during its shipping journey, and encounters compression loads, cosmetic damage, shocks, and vibrations [2]. Protective packaging materials are primarily manufactured from expanded or extruded polystyrene, polyurethane foams, and paper [8]. These lightweight materials are often associated with high handling and transportation costs due to their limited reusability and bulky nature, which makes them difficult to dispose [8].…”

“…Protective packaging materials are primarily manufactured from expanded or extruded polystyrene, polyurethane foams, and paper [8]. These lightweight materials are often associated with high handling and transportation costs due to their limited reusability and bulky nature, which makes them difficult to dispose [8]. Bubble wrap, corrugated paper, and polyurethane (PU) foam are three common examples of such protective packaging materials.…”

Activated carbon and cellulose-reinforced biodegradable chitosan foams

“…Considering all of these issues, many researchers have focused on producing from renewable resources because they have attractive properties, such as biodegradability, recyclability, environmental acceptability, and sustainability (Qiu et al 2013). Different types of biomaterials have been investigated for the preparation of biofoams, such as starch, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polybutyleneadipate-co-terephthalate, polylactic acid (Nofar et al 2015), cellulose (Nechita and Năstac 2022), and chitosan (Hao et al 2022). Because chitosan and cellulose are produced from wood, they have a safe, simple to handle, and aesthetic structure (Ergun 2021), and both are versatile and the most abundant biopolymers in nature.…”