ReBioFoam: innovative packaging

Officially inaugurated on the first of February 2009, the ReBioFoam (Renewable Biopolymer Foams) project has reached its goals and the results of four years of research and experimentation has been illustrated to the stakeholders on January 30 in Novara in the Aula Magna of the School of Economics. The project was funded by the European Union as part of the Seventh Framework Program and involved a consortium of 10 partners from eight countries: Italy, Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The objective of ReBioFoam, coordinated by Novamont (Italian firm dedicated to the development of chemical products and materials from renewable resources through the integration of chemistry and agriculture), is the development of an innovative starch-based biopolymer for the production of protective foam packaging offering an alternative to traditional foams used in the sector. The biopolymer is foamed via an innovative and continuous process using microwaves and a technology that exploits the water naturally present in the materials as a foaming agent.
The results of the ReBioFoam project will open new and very important prospects for progress in environmental sustainability and reduction of the use of non-renewable resources. The biopolymer is created in a highly efficient process that modifies the physical properties of starch while preserving its natural characteristics and thus making the material highly recyclable. The new foam is also completely biodegradable and compostable.