Advanced Sustainable Paper Packaging

Paper was one of the original sustainable methods to package perishable items, but plastics replaced it due to their superior barrier properties for water and air. New coatings are needed for paper to improve its barrier properties while remaining a sustainable packaging material.

We collaborate with engineers and industry to understand how to improve dispersion coatings of latex and pigments. Additionally, our group synthesizes and develops new polymers and sustainable materials that advance paper-based packaging.

Our work is supported by the Paper Surface Science Program at UMaine.

We are currently researching:

Coating systems that do not crack during folding.

Sustainable dispersion coatings we improved oxygen and water barrier properties.

Modified cellulose nanomaterials for coating and packaging applications.

Advanced sustainable paper coatings

Selected Publications

Uchefuna, C.; Bousfield, D.; Gramlich, W. M.* “Montmorillonite Pigment Effects on the Water Barrier Properties of Paper Coated with Latexes Synthesized through Surfactant and Pickering Emulsion Methods.” Progress in Organic Coatings 2024, 189, 108367.

Fein, K.; Bousfield, D.; Gramlich, W. M. “The influence of versatile thiol-norbornene modifications to cellulose nanofibers on rheology and film properties.” Carbohydrate Polymers 2020, 230, 115672.

Purington, E.; Bousfield, D.; Gramlich, W. M. “Fluorescent dye adsorption in aqueous suspension to produce tagged cellulose nanofibers for visualization on paper.” Cellulose 2019, 26, 5117 – 5131.

Zhu, Y.; Bousfield, D.; Gramlich, W. M. “The influence of pigment type and loading on water vapor barrier properties of paper coatings before and after folding.” Progress in Organic Coatings 2019, 132, 201 – 210.

Purington, E.; Blakely, A.; Bousfield, D.; Gramlich, W. M. “Visualization of latex and starch in paper coatings by tagging with fluorescent dyes.” Nordic Pulp and Paper Research Journal 2017, 32, 395-406.