Moulded Pulp Manufacturing: Overview and Prospects for the Process Technology

Abstract

Eco‐friendly packaging such as moulded pulp products have gained commercial importance in the recent years. However, it remains a greatly under‐researched area, and there is an arising need to consolidate the best practices from research and industry in order to increase its implementation. The goal of this paper is to give an overview of the main aspects involved in the manufacture of moulded pulp products. This includes a classification of moulded pulp products, historical and current applications, production processes, materials, mechanical properties and environmental sustainability. Moreover, based on the latest research in the field, an innovative drying technique that utilizes concepts derived from impulse drying is presented, and the implementation of this process technology is discussed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.