Biobased degradable knife plate elastic pads: Aligning with the dual carbon goals, leading the new trend of green transformation in die-cutting consumables

In the current era of comprehensive deepening of the dual-carbon strategy, green printing and sustainable packaging have become the core trends in the development of the printing and packaging industry. From the zero-carbon packaging requirements of brands to the tightening of environmental protection regulations at the national level, and to the green trade barriers in export markets such as the European Union, the entire industrial chain is accelerating its transformation towards greening, low-carbonization, and circularization. And the knife plate spring pad, as the core consumable material in the die-cutting process, its environmental performance and low-carbon attributes are no longer just an added benefit, but have become the core entry threshold for printing enterprises to undertake high-end orders and break through green trade barriers. The emergence of biobased and degradable knife plate spring pads has completely broken the high-pollution and difficult-to-recycle predicament of traditional petroleum-based die-cutting consumables, leading the die-cutting consumables industry into a new stage of green and sustainable development.

For a long time, the development focus of the knife plate spring pad industry has always been on rebound, wear resistance, precision and other performance indicators. The environmental and low-carbon issues have long been ignored by the industry, and many environmental pain points have accumulated. In terms of materials, over 90% of traditional knife plate spring pads in the industry use petroleum-based thermosetting polyurethane formulations. Once formed, this material cannot be melted and recycled, and after reaching the service life, it can only be incinerated or landfilled as industrial solid waste. According to industry estimates, China discards over 10,000 tons of knife plate spring pads each year, of which the vast majority cannot be recycled. Incineration will produce a large amount of carbon dioxide and toxic and harmful gases, while landfilling requires hundreds of years for natural degradation, causing serious pollution to the soil and water bodies and putting great pressure on the environment.

At the production end, the production process of traditional petroleum-based knife plate spring pads is highly dependent on petroleum resources, with high energy consumption and large carbon emissions. Some small manufacturers adopt the rough intermittent foaming process, which generates a large amount of waste gas and wastewater during the production process, not meeting the requirements of green factories. At the application end, traditional spring pads have short lifespans and frequent replacements, not only increasing the overall consumption of consumables but also generating more solid waste. At the compliance end, most traditional spring pad products do not have complete environmental protection test reports and carbon footprint accounting reports, unable to meet the zero-carbon packaging requirements of brands, nor can they adapt to the latest packaging waste regulations of the European Union, becoming the core weakness for enterprises to expand high-end markets and export overseas.

Facing increasingly strict environmental requirements and market trends, the green transformation of the knife plate spring pad industry is imperative. The research and application of biobased and degradable knife plate spring pads have solved the environmental pain points of traditional die-cutting consumables from the material source, achieving the triple goals of "performance compliance, environmental compliance, and low-carbon recyclability". In the raw material system, biobased and degradable knife plate spring pads break through the limitations of traditional petroleum-based materials, using renewable biobased raw materials such as corn starch, palm oil, and pine resin to replace traditional petroleum-based polyols, with the highest bio-based content reaching over 60%, reducing the reliance on non-renewable petroleum resources at the source and significantly reducing the carbon emissions throughout the product's life cycle. The measured data of EU packaging enterprises show that the carbon emissions during the production process of these biobased knife plate spring pads are reduced by 60% compared to traditional products, fully meeting the requirements of the latest packaging waste regulations of the European Union.

In terms of the balance between degradability and mechanical performance, biobased and degradable knife plate spring pads achieve the core goal of "stable performance during use and rapid degradation after disposal" through material modification technology. The product adopts a degradable polyurethane system, precisely regulating the molecular chain structure, maintaining excellent rebound performance, wear resistance, and fatigue resistance during normal use, with a rebound rate of ≥ 95%, compression permanent deformation rate ≤ 5%, and a service life of over 500,000 die-cuts, with mechanical performance equivalent to traditional petroleum-based products, perfectly adapting to the production needs of various high-speed die-cutting scenarios. After the product is discarded, it can be completely degraded into carbon dioxide and water within 6-12 months in environments such as industrial composting and soil through microbial action. There are no any toxic or harmful residues. Some photothermal dual-responsive products can also trigger the degradation process through specific wavelength light, achieving controlled degradation. Truly, it has achieved "from cradle to cradle" closed-loop management.

In terms of compliance and environmental certification, high-quality biobased degradable knife plate and elastic pad have passed the EU OK compost industrial composting certification, the US FDA food contact material certification, and the Chinese GB 4806 food contact material safety testing. They contain no heavy metals, no phthalates, and low VOC. Not only can they be safely applied to the packaging die-cutting of food, medicine, and baby products, but they can also fully meet the environmental compliance requirements of the domestic and export markets. At the same time, leading enterprises have established a complete product carbon footprint accounting system, which can provide carbon footprint reports for the entire product life cycle, helping downstream printing enterprises calculate product carbon emissions and meeting the zero-carbon packaging requirements of brands, helping enterprises achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.

Nowadays, biobased degradable knife plate and elastic pad have been widely applied on a large scale in many leading printing packaging enterprises in China, especially in the high-end packaging fields of food, cosmetics, and baby products, as well as in export packaging orders. Biobased degradable elastic pads have become standard consumables in these fields. After an international cosmetics group adopted biobased knife plate elastic pads, its carbon footprint certification score increased by 35%, significantly enhancing the brand's environmental image and market competitiveness. For printing enterprises, adopting biobased degradable knife plate elastic pads not only avoids environmental compliance risks but also gains core competitiveness in承接高端品牌订单 and expanding overseas markets.

In the era of carbon neutrality， green and sustainable development has become an irreversible trend in the printing and packaging industry. The emergence of biobased degradable knife plate elastic pads not only solves the environmental pollution problems of traditional die-cutting consumables but also provides a new technical path for the green transformation of the entire industry. In the future， with the continuous tightening of environmental regulations and the continuous upgrading of market demands， biobased degradable knife plate elastic pads will gradually replace traditional petroleum-based products and become the mainstream in the die-cutting consumables industry， promoting the entire printing and packaging industry chain to achieve low-carbon and sustainable high-quality development.