Dissolvable Food Container for Compostable Ingredient Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food or beverage ingredient containers are difficult to recycle or compost, leading to waste management issues and energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
Development of a container made from dissolvable materials with large surface areas for liquid interaction, designed to cooperate with preparation machines, allowing for easy composting or recycling without requiring significant user energy, and featuring a puncturing device for efficient liquid interaction and product discharge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If containers are made of plastics or plastic laminates, then they provide adequate containment and protection during preparation, but they are difficult or long to recycle or compost, generating waste management issues
Solution Approach 1:
The container material undergoes a parameter change from stable plastic to dissolvable material that transitions from intact during preparation to breaking down after use. The material is selected to dissolve within a specific time frame (less than 10 minutes for 100 μm thickness at ambient temperature), transforming the waste management problem into a solution where the container automatically degrades after serving its containment function.
Solution Approach 2:
The container uses composite material structure with dissolvable material as the base and optional biodegradable coating layers. This composite approach maintains containment integrity during the preparation process while ensuring rapid dissolution afterward, combining the benefits of protection during use and ease of composting afterward.
2Productivity
If the container has large surface areas for liquid interaction, then the liquid quickly covers and impregnates the container increasing composting speed, but the container structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into functional regions (first region for liquid injection, second region for puncturing) with large surface areas in each region. This segmentation allows optimized liquid flow paths and impregnation areas, enabling rapid dissolution without requiring complex overall container design. Each region independently contributes to the fast composting goal.
Solution Approach 2:
The container design emphasizes surface area-to-volume ratio by creating flat, extended regions rather than three-dimensional complexity. The first and second regions are designed as large surface area zones that facilitate rapid liquid contact and dissolution, achieving fast composting through dimensional optimization rather than structural complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If the container is made of dissolvable material, then it can be easily and quickly composted or recycled, but it may compromise the structural integrity during the preparation process
Solution Approach 1:
The container material exhibits dynamic properties, remaining structurally intact during the high-pressure liquid injection and puncturing phases, then transitioning to rapid dissolution after the preparation process completes. The material's strength and solubility are balanced to provide temporary structural integrity followed by controlled breakdown, adapting its properties based on the operational stage.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is designed with preliminary structural reinforcement or material selection that ensures adequate strength during the preparation process. The dissolvable material is chosen to maintain integrity under preparation conditions (high pressure, temperature) and only begins dissolving after the process completes, when liquid contact becomes prolonged and dissolution is triggered.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The container facilitates quick and energy-efficient composting or recycling of used containers, eliminates plastic waste, and preserves ingredients through oxygen and moisture barrier properties, enhancing user experience by eliminating the need for additional packaging.
Implementation Method 1
the container is composed of at least one dissolvable material
Implementation Method 2
the container may have oxygen barrier properties
Implementation Method 3
the container may have moisture barrier properties
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is directed to a container (1) for enclosing a dose (2) of a food or beverage ingredient. The container (1) has a first region (8) for cooperating with a liquid injection device (106) that has several injectors (116) distributed over an injection area (118). The container (1) has a second region (10) for being punctured by a puncturing device (108) that has several puncturing elements (120) distributed over a puncturing area (122). The container (1) is composed of at least one dissolvable material. The invention is also directed to an assembly (101) including such a container (1) and a food or beverage preparation machine (102). The invention is further directed to a food or beverage preparation process implementing such an assembly (101).