Engineering innovation in graphene nanocomposites for consumer product and packaging applications

The potential areas for applications of polymer nanocomposites (a plastic containing a nanometre scale filler material) extend from aerospace and automotive industries to medical and consumer products. Such nanocomposites offer exciting step changes in both structural and functional material performance because the interfacial area between the nanofiller and polymer is greater by orders of magnitude when compared to traditional composites containing glass or carbon fibre filler. Graphene promises to be the ultimate nanofiller having outstanding and often unsurpassed electronic, mechanical and thermal properties. However, to date true commercial applications have yet to be realised or implemented due to lack of understanding in how the material and dispersions behave under melt conditions. This project will tackle these issues head-on to develop a high-volume, low-cost graphene engineering technology that will enable commercialisation of the unique structural properties of graphene nanocomposites in consumer products.

Consumer product applications are the focus of this project as they are early adopters of new technology and offer an ideal market for testing new developments. Melt processing is crucial in determining the performance of the final consumer product. The comparable length-scales between graphene nanofillers and the polymer chains provide a new challenge for composite formulation and processing: strong flows impact the stretching of polymer chains and the ordering, orientation and dispersion of the nanofiller. Control of these nanoscale phenomena by combining process-engineering technologies with new knowledge and methodologies from the chemical and physical sciences provides a platform for realising the commercial potential of graphene nanocomposites: enhanced mechanical, anti-static and barrier properties would deliver consumer benefits through better product performance and extended product life and business and environmental benefits through less raw material being consumed and transported. The industrial partners Procter and Gamble (P&G), a global consumer goods company; Dyson, a domestic appliance technology company; and Durham Graphene Science (DGS), a large-scale producer of graphene will work directly alongside the academic partners in the formulation, processing and prototyping of the graphene composites to deliver maximum impact in potential new consumer products.

The market for graphene is still developing and therefore difficult to quantify, however early business reports estimate that graphene technologies will be worth $675 million by 2020. While capacitors could account for more than half of this market, structural materials as required for future consumer products and packaging are expected to reach $91 million in 2020. Currently consumer goods production, distribution and sales make a significant contribution to the UK economy: The consumer goods sector employs ca. 14% of the total UK work force and accounted for 19% of the UK's GDP in 2000 (including food, drink and pharmaceuticals). Packaging is required to contain, protect and preserve these and other industrial products in conjunction with modern distribution systems and has become an essential everyday item, with its usage growing broadly in line with the global economy. The packaging manufacturing industry in the UK employs some 85,000 people (representing 3% of the UK manufacturing industry workforce) and has sales in excess of £10 billion .

The key drivers for consumer goods and packaging innovation come from: (i) Change of lifestyle e.g. consumption on the go or smaller households require greater robustness, smaller product sizes and better content protection. (ii) Increasing raw material costs (petroleum based, aluminium, etc) cannot be passed on to end consumers. (iii) Environmental concerns increase the need to reduce waste.

Graphene nano-composites could play a major role in addressing these challenges and thus contribute to maintaining a strong consumer products and packaging industry in the UK.

While P&G and Dyson have already identified several sectors such as domestic appliances, oral and shave care products where graphene composites may enable new products, the near term opportunity lies in packaging, currently at a cost of approximately 5% ($4bn) of P&G's annual turnover. The huge potential for impact is evident from for instance downgauging PE packaging by 10% alone could save P&G around £80 million per year. Additional benefits could also be seen in the food industry where increased barrier function could lead to a reduction in food waste. High volume processing of nanocomposites will also be relevant to sectors like the automotive industry and contribute to maintaining the existing manufacturing base in the UK.