MarinaTex®
Turning waste into value through bio-based alternatives to plastics
The challenge
Single-use plastic packaging remains a major environmental challenge, driven in part by a linear approach to design: taking materials from the earth, making products, then disposing of them with little thought for long-term impact. MarinaTex® set out to challenge that model by turning waste into value, using seafood waste and plant biomass to create a biodegradable, biobased film for applications ranging from bags to single-use packaging.
At the heart of the innovation is the use of seafood waste as a sustainable resource rather than virgin natural materials. Globally, the seafood industry generates an estimates 18 – 20 million tonnes of shell waste annually. Seafood waste is abundant in the UK, creating an opportunity to build more resilient domestic supply chains. MarinaTex® wanted to transform this overlooked waste stream into a high-performance alternative to fossil-based plastics.
Owing to their water-based origins, early iterations of the biopolymer films exhibited high water vapour permeabilities and variable mechanical performance under changing humidity conditions, limiting their ability to protect moisture-sensitive products. To enable commercial adoption the material needed stronger moisture barrier performance, greater stability, and a scalable manufacturing route.
Initial production trials proved water-intensive and were not readily scalable, creating further barriers to commercialisation. For single-use applications, the ambition was also to deliver a material that could safely return to the environment, biodegrading in soil in as little as 4 – 6 weeks without leaching harmful chemicals whilst also remaining recyclable in paper streams. To overcome these challenges and accelerate development towards a robust, scalable solution, MarinaTex® worked with CPI for support.
“Working with CPI helped us better understand the performance limits and opportunities within our material platform. Their expertise in formulation, testing and process development enabled us to make meaningful improvements in barrier performance and manufacturing feasibility, providing valuable insights as we continue to develop commercially relevant natural polymer materials.”
How CPI helped
- Delivered formulation development and material substitution to enhance intrinsic moisture barrier properties.
- Applied natural, biobased coatings to create multilayer barrier structures.
- Developed a process treatment to improve coating adhesion and performance.
- Conducted mechanical testing under varying humidity conditions to confirm stability improvements.
- Assessed hot melt processing, demonstrating compatibility with extrusion-based manufacturing.
Achievements
- Achieved significant reductions in water vapour transmission rate, demonstrating improved moisture barrier performance.
- Demonstrated that biobased coatings and intelligent formulation choices can significantly improve barrier performance. The newly formulated biobased coating also offered the additional benefit of heat sealability.
- Improved mechanical stability across humidity ranges.
- Demonstrated the feasibility of hot melt processing as a route to scale-up for MarinaTex®’s material formulation.
Impact
Our work with MarinaTex® helped advance its material from early-stage innovation to a higher-performance, commercially relevant solution for applications from bags to single-use packaging. This collaboration strengthened the material’s potential as a viable, biobased alternative to conventional plastic films, with the ability to biodegrade in a soil environment and support a more circular approach to material use.
Through the project, CPI supported improvements in barrier performance while maintaining 100% biobased content, helping MarinaTex® move closer to the functional requirements of conventional plastic films. The work also established a credible route to scalable manufacturing, with process improvements that have the potential to reduce manufacturing costs and improve commercial viability, supporting future adoption at scale.
The project also enabled MarinaTex® to better understand and quantify its environmental impact. Subsequent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) work indicated a carbon footprint of approximately 2.83 kgCO₂e per kg of coating, already competitive with conventional fossil-based materials despite being produced at pilot scale. These findings provide further evidence that high-performance packaging materials can be developed with a lower environmental footprint while utilising renewable feedstocks.
Beyond packaging, the platform and knowledge developed through this work have supported MarinaTex®‘s expansion into additional applications, including agricultural coatings, increasing the potential impact of the technology across multiple sectors.
Overall, the project demonstrated how targeted technical development can accelerate the commercial readiness of sustainable materials, helping MarinaTex® turn promising research into scalable solutions that reduce reliance on conventional plastics.
Learn more about our capabilities in sustainable materials.
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