Science Japanese researchers develop world's first transparent paper for packaging use

But the material had a severe weakness. Since paper is manufactured with wood-mashed pulp, the gaps between its thick fibres diffuse light and make the finished sheets opaque. This is especially problematic given that transparency is highly valued in the food industry. Packages that allow consumers to check the contents beforehand are thought to motivate shoppers to select specific products. In France, a food manufacturer once introduced paper cartons for a juice beverage but later reportedly reverted to plastic containers in at least one instance. Derived from cellulose-like paper, the material known as cellophane was already recognised for its transparent appearance. A challenge is that cellophane is as thin as 0.03 millimetres under current production methods. It has long been considered technically impossible to produce cellophane between 0.3 mm and 0.7 mm thick — thick enough for use in paper cartons and other commercial packaging.

Click to expand...

Link:

Ukigumo said:

Oh that's incredible!

My nephew completed a degree in chemical engineering. In one of his lectures, they were shown that ordinary oil-derived plastic coffee cups were considerably more ecologically friendly than waxed-paper types because the latter needed to be stored in climate-controlled facilities that used lots of energy, whereas plastic cup could be piled up anywhere. It's a good example of 'green washing'

Click to expand...

mdchachi said:

But did they consider the entire plastic liifecycle including the resulting microplastics showing up in our brains?

Click to expand...