Plastic Progress in Capsule Design

By Dan Bolton

As the self-imposed 2020 industry deadline for the ideal coffee capsule nears, dozens of companies are formulating their way to the finish line.

In 2015 Keurig, the largest US supplier of coffee capsules, promised 100% of its K-cup capsules would be recyclable by 2020. A year later the company switched from its original multi-layered blend of plastic (#7) to more environmentally friendly polypropylene (#5) which is a plastic that “not only is recyclable but that actually gets recycled.”

Notable advances followed with Club Coffee’s PurPod ring (made from coffee chaff) and the RealCup (which required disassembly) along with a number of bioplastic capsules made of cornstarch, sugarcane, and vegetable fibers. Most are compostable on land in six to 12 weeks, but not in a marine environment. In November Harney & Sons Fine Tea, working with TC Transcontinental Packaging, Dow Packaging and NEX Films, introduced the first two-ply EVOH flexible pouch that is 100% single-stream recyclable.

In March a roomful of engineers, scientists, and inventors attending AMI’s Single-Serve Capsule conference documented a decade of progress.

In her overview, AMI’s Martyna Fong estimates global demand for capsules at 60 billion with compatibles comprising 14 billion (23%) of the total. The five top systems are Nespresso (#1) and Dolce Gusto (#3) with Keurig (#2), Tassimo (#4), and Caffitaly (#5). “Demand is still growing but starting to saturate,” she said. Fong predicts heightened merger and acquisitions and expansion. Innovation is haphazard: There are 200 Nespresso-compatible plastic capsule designs, but only 10% are said to deliver on quality, she said.

Promising compostable solutions include RPC+BASF’s B2Nature, FLO+Natureworks GEA, and Capsul’in Compost. Joe Grubbs, senior polymer scientist at Danimer Scientific,  described PHA as a next-generation bioplastic that is food safe, certified 100% biodegradable, and backyard compostable. PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) is made by fermenting renewable biomass. It has polyester-like properties suitable for films, sheets, nonwovens, and molded capsules. It degrades in water both fresh and marine. Marketed as Nodax, this thermoplastic polymer is printable with excellent barrier performance, said Grubbs.

It now appears the coffee industry will have sufficient options to claim its supply chain can meet the basic goal of manufacturing recyclable and compostable capsules.

It is unclear whether the public will be convinced.

As everyone in the room attests, recycling plastic has proven to be a complex challenge. Meeting the performance requirements of high-speed fill and pack equipment while protecting coffee from staling is easily accomplished if you disregard the most difficult requirement of all – closing the loop.

Closing the loop

Mintel International observes that “proclamations by brands and converters touting commitment to 100% recyclable materials or packaging being 100% recycled dominate industry headlines. But the reality that few of them have yet to fully consider is how, where, and who will be supplying and recycling these materials.”

Closing the loop is one of the four most significant trends impacting the global packaging industry, according to Mintel. “Though recyclable packaging claims have become common, claims to include recycled content are still rare. Low availability of high-quality recycled plastic and concerns over food safety are hampering the use of recycled material in food and drink. And while recycling may be second nature to some, inconvenience and confusion surrounding recycling are a barrier for others,” according to Mintel.

“With no option to ship packaging waste off-shore and out of sight, we are likely to see fast improvements in recycling facilities. This will drive up capacity for high-quality recycled material. Going forward, brands have an opportunity to ride consumer awareness of recycling issues by being part of the solution and committing to using recycled material in new packaging,” according to the Mintel report.

This trend is one of the reasons for the revival of aluminum, according to Andrew Cousins, technical key account manager at Switzerland-based Alupak. He notes that 75% of all the aluminum ever produced is still in use. Alupak worked with Lavit for three years to create a single-serve system that uses aluminum capsules.

The conference offered a host of competing solutions and a consensus view: the public must be taught that plastic and aluminum capsules are a resource, not waste.

Innovative Oil-Free Valve

Chicago-based PLITEK recently introduced a design that eliminates the need to oil one-way degassing valves during packaging.

The innovative one-way value helps coffee roasters protect and preserve the quality of their roast. The valve saves time, decreases scrap, and reduces clean-up efforts by eliminating the need to oil valves during the packaging process.

The design also uses less material compared to a button valve, reducing its environmental footprint.

This breakthrough offers an outstanding opening and closing pressure allowing for the quickest release of CO2 from coffee inside of hermetically sealed packaging that provides an effective barrier to environmental oxygen, moisture, and contamination.

For 25 years PLITEK has been custom engineering valve applicator systems in its PLI-VALV line that can be integrated on customers’ packaging machinery providing full customer support and simplifying the source of degassing systems.

Learn more: www.plitek.com