Date of Defense

4-21-2026

Date of Graduation

5-2026

Department

Chemical and Paper Engineering

First Advisor

Mert Atilhan

Second Advisor

Brian Scheller

Third Advisor

James Springstead

Abstract

The food industry is facing increasing pressure to develop grease-resistant barrier coatings that meet both performance requirements and sustainability goals. This project aims to evaluate and develop alternative coating formulations for paper food products that will provide effective grease resistance while reducing environmental impact.

Our team will conduct a comprehensive review of potential barrier materials and identify promising candidates based on performance benchmarks, sustainability metrics, and industry standards. Laboratory scale coating formulations will be developed and tested to determine the coating levels required to achieve target grease resistance. Performance testing will be guided by established evaluation methods and available literature.

As part of the engineering design component, the team will work to optimize a process in the barrier coating system. This process design will integrate a full financial analysis to compare the proposed coatings to current industrial standard coatings. Economic viability will be evaluated using metrics such as return on investment, payback period, and internal rate of return, alongside sustainability considerations. The results of this study and financial run through will help determine whether novel barrier coatings can provide a functional and economically feasible alternative for food packaging applications.

Comments

Co-authored with:

Ashley David

Mira Marino

Sydney Moranko

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Restricted

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