Latex means environmentally friendly packaging

For several years, Caisa Andersson has been trying to create a better barrier against moisture and oxygen in our food packaging. On December 20, she will submit her doctoral dissertation at Karlstad University in Sweden.

Latex has long been used for various types of surface treatment of paper. In recent years, interest has been focused on the polymer’s characteristic of forming a protective coating on the surface of paper.

“Surface treatment is used to create a barrier against moisture in food packaging. I test different coatings of paper with latex and find out which one yields the best results, what characteristics the barrier layer has. The aim has been to understand what underlying factors determine how a good barrier is formed,” says Caisa Andersson.

Coating of paper and cardboard with latex has several advantages compared with coatings of polyethylene, which has dominated until now. A latex film renders the packaging simple to recycle or compost. Another advantage is that the package’s seams can easily be fused shut without having to glue the edges.

Caisa Andersson is a member of a research team led by Professor Lars Järnström. She is one some 20 doctoral candidates involved in a national network for surface treatment research. The network includes, besides Karlstad University, the Luleå University of Technology and industry-based research institutes.

With her dissertation Interaction between polymers in dispersion coating and surface sizing of paper and board, she will be the first candidate to receive a doctorate at the Department of Chemistry, Karlstad University.