Research and Development of Eco-Friendly Adhesive Tape

At present, most of the tapes used in the industry are BOPP material tapes, which are non-degradable after use, causing considerable pressure on the ecological environment protection of the industry. The eco-friendly adhesive tapes are expected to completely replace non-degradable tapes, which is of great significance for packaging in the courier industry.

The Background of Eco-Friendly Adhesive Tapes

Based on considerations of performance and cost, BOPP tape is mainly used for courier packaging. This type of tape uses biaxially oriented polypropylene film as the base material, with raw materials derived from petroleum resources. These resources are non-renewable and are gradually depleting with increased usage. After use, it is non-degradable in the short term, causing harm to the environment in the form of "white pollution" and "microplastics".

For example, in 2018, China's courier business volume reached 50.71 billion pieces, consuming approximately 43 billion meters of packaging tape, which can circle the earth 1,077 times. Since 2015, the annual growth rate of packaging tape consumption has exceeded 8%. After fulfilling its packaging mission, the material directly becomes waste, causing a significant amount of "white pollution". Based on policy requirements, non-degradable packaging tapes will be banned. The industry is actively exploring replacing traditional non-degradable polypropylene materials with degradable materials such as polylactic acid and cellulose to achieve environmentally friendly packaging consumables.

The Current Stage of Eco-Friendly Adhesive Tapes

Compared with traditional BOPP material tapes, eco-friendly adhesive tape is degradable and more eco-friendly, although generally more expensive and have slightly lower performance in some materials. The current degradable materials mainly include PLA and cellulose. The main types of environmentally friendly tapes in the industry include kraft paper tapes, masking tapes, biodegradable tapes, plant-based tapes, and cellulose tapes.

Kraft paper tape appeared the earliest, but the base material itself has poor toughness and does not meet standard requirements for tensile strength. Modified kraft paper tapes that do meet standards are relatively expensive.

Environmentally friendly tape made from polylactic acid as the base material has high costs due to low raw material production and high raw material costs. Additionally, the tensile strength of the polylactic acid material is poor, and its performance is not superior to traditional BOPP material.

Plant-based tape uses cellulose derived from trees as the base material. It has abundant raw material cellulose pulp and high strength but is expensive due to the complicated production process. Cellulose tape is also an environmentally friendly tape using fiber as the base material, but production costs are reduced due to simplified production processes.

Most of the tapes currently used in the market are still traditional BOPP tapes, with lesser usage of environmentally friendly tapes. Kraft paper and polylactic acid tapes have some market applications but in very small proportions. Plant-based tapes and cellulose tape have become eco-friendly adhesive tapes in the market. In some countries with strict environmental policies, such as Japan, South Korea, and the European Union, the production processes for plant-based (cellulose) tapes are mature and already in use.