ZeroF · Development of verified safe and sustainable PFAS-free coatings for food packaging and upholstery textile applications

ZeroF develops safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) coating alternatives to replace PFAS compounds in food packaging and upholstery textiles value chains. The developed coatings will have limited water absorption, high oil/grease resistance for packaging and high water and oil repellency for textiles. We propose the development of coatings from reasonably-priced precursors with estimated costs of ca. 0.2-0.4 €/m2 in the final product, which meets the remains under the targeted 20% increase compared to current alternatives. To reach the environmental impact target of >25% improvement, we use renewable feedstock, non-toxic compounds and improve higher process efficiencies. PFASes are replaced by two chemistries, cellulose fatty acid esters for packaging and silane-based organic-inorganic hybrids for textiles. The project includes three work streams: food packaging, upholstery textiles and SSbD analysis. Both food packaging and textile workflows follow a similar path (chemical development, formulation, coating, and validation). The SSbD analysis actively analyses the data regarding environmental impacts (Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Cost, and Environmental Footprint) and toxicology (e.g., hazard and law, Green Toxicology principles). Computational methods are employed to model the toxicology and performance of developed chemistries in-silico, to reduce in-vitro testing and to generate tools for certification and standardization process. Certification and regulatory roadmap are developed to identify future regulatory needs and knowledge gaps. SSbD models are developed within the EC-suggested framework to be easily adapted to other sectors beyond the project scope. A mix of research and industrial partners able to cover both packaging and textile coating value chains including end-users comprises the consortium.