Veera Ollikainen: Improving Purity, Cleanliness and Hygiene of Fibre-Based Packaging Material Using Chemistry in Recycling Processes

Recovered fibre from packaging materials can contain unknown levels of contaminants that are harmful to human health, such as mineral oils, phthalates and other substances that may originate from printing, adhesives and the processing of packaging products. These contaminants limit the use of recovered fibre in hygienic packaging applications, including food contact materials. This project aims to generate new knowledge on the effective removal of such contaminants during the fibre recycling process. The project will develop and validate laboratory methods to monitor and improve fibre cleanliness within the recycling process, thereby helping to enable safer and higher-value uses of recovered fibre. 

The project is being conducted in collaboration with Kemira Oyj.