About 30 percent of plastics consumed are made to last forever but are discarded after a single use. Researchers at Virginia Tech are working to change that with a new approach that could make environmentally responsible packaging more practical at scale.
A team in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials developed a water-based process to create multilayer bioplastic films that are both high-performing and easier to manufacture. The method avoids toxic solvents and matches current industrial production speeds, making it viable for real-world use.
“Scalability and non-toxicity are critical,” said Young-Teck Kim, professor of sustainable biomaterials in the College of Natural Resources and Environment . “Our goal was to create a process that industry can realistically adopt while improving environmental outcomes. This is just the first generation of the technology, and it shows strong potential to replace conventional materials and expand the use of bioplastics.”
The research focuses on replacing petroleum-based plastics with bioplastics in packaging, particularly for single-use products. Bioplastics are often seen as a more sustainable alternative, but their trade-offs have limited widespread adoption.
“Many current bioplastics require specific industrial facilities to break down,” Kim said. “If they end up in the environment, they can behave like traditional plastics.”
To address this challenge, the team used polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA, a newer type of bioplastic that can biodegrade in natural environments, including soil and marine settings. Unlike commonly used alternatives, PHA can also break down under home composting conditions.
The study was published in Food Packaging and Shelf Life and involved collaborators including Haibo Huang in food science and technology and Zhiwu "Drew" Wang in biological systems engineering as well as industry partners. Additionally, the research team received a provisional patent for the invention.
The researchers combined PHA with a plant-based material and applied it using a water-based spray coating process. The result is a multilayer film designed to improve strength and barrier performance, two key requirements for food and consumer packaging.
This multilayer approach is important because no single bioplastic currently meets all performance needs. By layering materials, researchers can combine strengths, such as durability and resistance to oxygen and moisture, into a single product.
In testing, the team found that its method significantly improved the material’s performance. The films showed stronger bonding between layers and better resistance to oxygen and water vapor, both critical for preserving packaged goods.
Traditional methods for creating multilayer packaging often rely on high heat or chemical solvents. These processes can be inefficient, difficult to scale, and often bad for the environment.
“Existing manufacturing methods create technical challenges like weak bonding between layers or limited compatibility between materials,” Kim said.
The water-based system avoids these issues while improving what researchers call “processability,” or how easily a material can be manufactured at scale. The process is also designed to match the speed of existing production systems, similar to paper manufacturing.
Original study : DOI:10.1016/j.fpsl.2026.101736
Food Packaging and Shelf Life
Development of bioplastic multilayer films fabricated with PHA and HPMC using a water-based spray coating process