RUSNANO and UralPlastic-N launched a factory for the production of flexible polymer packaging, modified with the company’s own nanocomposites

During a session of the Commission for the Modernization and Technological Development of the Russian Economy that took place at the IV Nanotechnology International Forum, the company UralPlastic-N was launched; it will produce flexible polymer packaging modified with the company’s own nanocomposites. Dmitry Medvedev, the President of the Russian Federation, Anatoly Chubais, the Chairman of the Board of RUSNANO, and Alexey Goncharov, the General Director of UralPlastic-N, participated in the factory’s opening ceremony via Teleconference Bridge.

The total budget for the project amount to 2,550 million rubles; RUSNANO and CJSC UralPlastic acted as investors.

The new plant’s capacity is 1,800 tons of flexible packaging per month, which is equal to about 650 million containers of finished products.

The packaging produced as part of this project is intended for holding dairy products, meat and fish, baby food and a wide range of other food and non-food products.

The modification of the film material with nanocomposites makes it possible to increase the shelf life of products packed in it. For example, it is possible to preserve prepared dishes (first and second course etc.) for up to 5 years without the use of preservatives, while traditional barrier packaging with a foil layer provides for a shelf life of 6 to 24 months. Furthermore, it is possible to reheat these dishes in a microwave oven without removing them from their packaging, thanks to fact that no foil layers were used in its production. Additionally, traditional composite packaging, which contains several different materials, is often virtually impossible to reprocess due to the complexity and high cost of recycling such materials. In this case, the new facility products are fully recyclable.

This new film makes it possible to significantly increase the physical/mechanical characteristics of the packaging, in particular its resistance to damage from stretching, piecing or impacts. At the same time, the application of nanocomposites makes it possible to reduce the total number of layers in the packaging, and, therefore, its thickness and weight.

As part of this project, CJSC UralPlastic-N applied three vital pieces of know-how:
the production of nanocomposites, their introduction into the ingredients of the film and
the production of film modified with nanocomposites.

This new manufacturing facility contains unique equipment for the production of nanocomposites – the only 10 layer extrusion line in Russia, which makes it possible to produce highly hermetic film, as well as a raw materials batching system which is unmatched in Russia. The transfer of raw materials into the extruder is full automated. The total length of the pneumatic transfer system along which all the production components pass amounts to over 10 kilometers.

Today, all highly hermetic polymer packaging with the gas and vapor permeability characteristics required for maintaining the freshness of food products, as well as the required physical/mechanical and optical characteristics, is imported to Russia from Europe. The application of new technology will make it possible to produce domestic highly hermetic packaging, which does not lag behind, and in terms of some characteristics, even surpasses, comparable foreign products.