PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL - Paving the way towards “paperization” with CargillTM barrier coatings. Diego Fort, Senior R&D Specialist, Cargill Andreas Voigt, Senior Technical Account Manager, Cargill - Paper Technology International 2026 - Book - Page 112

PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL - Paving the way towards “paperization” with CargillTM barrier coatings. Diego Fort, Senior R&D Specialist, Cargill Andreas Voigt, Senior Technical Account Manager, Cargill

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Image 2: Base paper – Microtome
image of base paper 1 with 3 different
methods for Cargill Barrier Coating ™
OGR 11.
Starch for oil and grease resistant (OGR) barriers
The OGR bio-barrier market is expected to grow as
more companies invest in more sustainable packaging solutions.
Innovations in material science and coating technologies will likely
drive this growth and make starch-based and other biodegradable
barriers more competitive when compared to traditional materials.
Additionally, regulatory pressures and consumer demand for more
sustainable products will continue to shape the market dynamics.
Cargill is a global leader in the production of industrial
starches, offering a wide range of starch products derived from corn
and wheat. These starches are used in various industries due to
their versatile properties, which can be tailored through chemical
and physical modi昀椀cations. Cargill’s portfolio is very broad, and
offers native, pregelatinized and modi昀椀ed starches, each with
speci昀椀c applications and bene昀椀ts for paper making, corrugating, and
coatings.
For many years, Cargill provided modi昀椀ed starches to
the paper industry to replace synthetic binders in graphic coating
applications, while improving runnability and paper properties.
Starch-based OGR barriers work through several speci昀椀c
mechanisms that enhance their effectiveness in food packaging
applications. The key advantages of using modi昀椀ed starches are
hydrophobicity, 昀椀lm formation, and biodegradability:
Hydrophobicity: Starch
itself is hydrophilic, meaning that it
naturally attracts water. However, to
make it effective as an OGR barrier,
starch is often chemically modi昀椀ed
to increase its hydrophobicity.
Graph 1: Kit test (Tappi T559).
Chicken grease fat permeability
Test (ASTM F119) and coat weight
grammage (GSM) results obtained
for base paper 1 after coating
with MSP. Jet and Curtain Coater
with both products (Cargill Barrier
Coating ™ OGR 11 and Cargill
Barrier Coating ™ OGE)
112
This can be achieved through
processes such as esteri昀椀cation
or etheri昀椀cation, which introduce
hydrophobic groups into the starch
molecules.
Film formation: When applied as
a coating, starch forms a continuous 昀椀lm
on the surface of the packaging material.
This 昀椀lm acts as a physical barrier that
prevents oil and grease from penetrating
through to the food. The quality and
elasticity of the 昀椀lm is crucial, as any
imperfection can compromise its effectiveness.
Biodegradability: One of the signi昀椀cant advantages of
starch-based OGR barriers is their biodegradability. Unlike synthetic
materials, starch-based 昀椀lms can break down naturally in the
environment, reducing their ecological footprint.*
From lab test to pilot trial: CargillTM Barrier Coatings
Through collaborations with universities and research
institutes, Cargill was able to obtain initial data on the use of
starches for barriers. Based on those, we ran lab trials to evaluate
the effectiveness of different modi昀椀ed starches as OGR barriers
when applied to various types of paper using a rod coater.
The results of the lab tests were dependent on the type
of paper used. We observed that papers with smoother surfaces
and a higher density tended to show better performance. The
differences observed with the starches used were attributed to the
hydrophobicity and 昀椀lm formation characteristics.
The rod coating technique used in the lab proved to be
effective in achieving uniform coatings. However, we do know that
the conditions at bigger scales are quite different. That’s why we
decided to run pilot trials to con昀椀rm starch performances at realistic,
practise conditions (see image 1 preceding page).

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