At Fagor Professional, we have just launched our water-soluble laundry bags, which represent a further step towards guaranteeing complete hygiene and safety in laundries.
These are fully sealed bags that prevent cross contamination at any point, from the source where the dirty laundry is collected and all the way to the laundry. Safety is maintained even in the laundry itself, since the water-soluble bags are inserted directly into the washing machine and they dissolve due to the temperature of the water.
The water-soluble bags are made of plastic that dissolves in water above 25º.
The bags are available in two sizes: one for 10 kg loads (660 x 840 mm) and another for 15 kg loads (710 x 990 mm) and they are sold in packs of 4 rolls of 25 units (total of 100 units).
Water-soluble, biodegradable plastic water bottles
Bio Future World, a Massachusetts-based supplier of biodegradable plastic packaging, is patenting containers made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) that dissolve in hot water.
The company’s filing with the Patent and Trademark Office claims a PVA composition of:
40% water as a main solvent;
40% polyvinyl alcohol as a biodegradable, water-soluble base material;
6% sodium hydroxide solution 1M as a catalyst;
8% stearyl alcohol and 2% glycerin as the plasticizer substance; and
4% talc powder to increase mechanical properties.
Bio Future World says bottles and containers made using this method are soluble in hot water soluble film suppliers above 80°C or 176°F. According to the filing, they would also be completely biodegradable, decomposing without releasing any harmful or poisonous residue. Additionally, the items are claimed to exhibit very high resistance to chemical solvents and oils, among others. This makes them suitable for packing food, liquids, chemicals, oils, and agriculture products.
However, the novelty of the invention may lie in the Bio Future World’s specified PVA composition. The “Invisible Bag” from Hong Kong startup Distinctive Action is a PVA bag that also dissolves in water over 80°C, with plant-based starch as a unique ingredient. Meanwhile, Japanese researchers used starch membrane reinforced with microscopic cellulose fibers for a type of biodegradable plastic that dissolves in seawater. Much like the packaging described in the patent application, these inventions appear to be attempts to counteract plastic’s harmful nature when exposed to extreme heat and its alarming yet still growing presence in the world’s oceans.