Apple juice production leaves behind skins, pulp and seeds.

Most packaging companies would see that material as a food-processing residue.

Researchers at Massey University in New Zealand are asking a different question:

Could some of it become part of the paper package itself?

Fourth-year food technology student Ed Ron Ng is studying whether apple pomace can supplement conventional wood pulp in fibre-based packaging, supported by a scholarship from New Zealand packaging procurement company Revo Packaging.

The project remains at the proof-of-concept stage, but early results suggest something more interesting than simple fibre substitution.

Massey says research conducted with the Bioeconomy Science Institute found that supplementing conventional wood pulp with 20% apple pomace increased both tensile strength and tensile stiffness by approximately 50% compared with the reference material.

If those results can ultimately be reproduced at manufacturing scale, apple pomace could potentially perform two jobs simultaneously:

reduce the amount of conventional fibre required and contribute useful mechanical properties to the resulting paper.

But reaching that point will require substantially more work.

Apple Pomace Is More Than Just Cellulose

Apple pomace is the material remaining after apples are pressed or otherwise processed.

It includes a mixture of:

skins;

pulp;

seeds;

and other fibrous plant material.

Ng says apples are processed almost throughout the year in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay region, creating a relatively continuous pomace stream that currently has comparatively low value, including use as livestock feed.

For packaging researchers, the attraction is its lignocellulosic structure.

Apple pomace contains cellulose and hemicellulose alongside lignin and pectin, making it different from a conventional purified papermaking fibre.

Previous academic work has already shown that these differences can affect paper and molded-pulp behaviour.

A 2024 study on apple-pomace pulp, for example, identified high water retention and separation from conventional cardboard fibres as technical limitations, while showing that fibre treatment could improve interaction between the two fibre sources.

That highlights an important point.

Alternative fibre is rarely a simple replacement calculation.

A tonne of apple-derived fibre will not necessarily behave like a tonne of kraft pulp on a paper machine.

Its morphology, chemistry, moisture behaviour and interaction with other fibres all matter.

Why Could Pomace Make the Sheet Stronger?

Massey’s early mechanical results are particularly interesting because alternative fibres are often discussed primarily as a way to reduce dependence on conventional raw materials.

Here, the research indicates a possible performance benefit.

Ng’s project reports that incorporating 20% apple pomace increased tensile strength and stiffness by around 50% in related preliminary work.

Separate Massey research provides a possible explanation.

A 2025 master’s thesis investigating food-processing waste for molded-pulp packaging found that sheets combining apple pomace with bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp showed stronger mechanical and barrier characteristics than sheets made from the wood pulp alone.

The researchers linked the improvement partly to higher sheet density and stronger fibre bonding created by the shorter pomace fibres filling spaces within the fibre network.

This should still be treated as research evidence rather than a universal rule.

Different apple varieties, preprocessing methods, fibre ratios and papermaking conditions could produce different results.

But it suggests an important development path.

Apple pomace may not have to compete with wood fibre by copying it.

Its value could come from having different fibre characteristics that complement conventional pulp.

The Next Problem Is Water and Oil

Strength alone does not make a food package commercially useful.

A takeaway tray or food container may encounter:

water;

oil;

steam;

condensation;

hot food;

cold storage;

and changing humidity.

Massey says improving resistance to water and oils is now the main technical challenge in Ng’s project.

The researchers are exploring plant-based coatings intended to improve protection and make the material suitable for a broader range of foodservice applications.

This is where the project begins to encounter one of the biggest challenges facing fibre-based food packaging generally.

Paper naturally interacts with moisture.

Adding more plant-derived material does not remove that limitation.

Previous apple-pomace packaging research has similarly identified water resistance as a major issue. One study found that pomace fibres contained less cellulose but more pectin or lignin than wood fibres and investigated formulations and surface coatings specifically to improve hydrophobicity.

For commercial packaging, the barrier solution will therefore matter almost as much as the fibre itself.

A Plant-Based Coating Still Has to Work in Recycling

There is also a second question behind barrier development.

If apple pomace is introduced to create a more circular fibre package, the coating used to make that package functional should not undermine the intended end-of-life route.

That means developers eventually need to understand:

how much coating is required;

what chemistry it uses;

whether it affects repulpability;

whether it interferes with paper recycling;

and whether the complete package is intended for recycling, composting or another recovery route.

Those questions have not yet been answered for the current Massey formulation.

The project is still too early for claims about commercial recyclability or compostability.

This distinction is important.

Bio-based fibre does not automatically make the finished package recyclable or compostable.

The complete formulation determines that outcome.

Laboratory Handsheets Are an Important Step — Not a Production Trial

Revo’s scholarship funding was used partly to commission a laboratory handsheet-making system.

Massey says this allows Ng to make controlled paper samples according to international testing standards and compare different formulations more systematically.

That is an appropriate way to establish whether a fibre combination has technical potential.

But a laboratory handsheet is very different from commercial paper production.

A full-scale operation must deal with:

continuous stock preparation;

pumping;

screening;

drainage;

forming;

pressing;

drying;

web strength;

machine speed;

and consistent raw-material supply.

Alternative fibres that perform well in a laboratory can create very different behaviour when introduced to a high-speed paper machine.

Even molded-pulp manufacturing brings its own requirements around slurry behaviour, drainage, forming time, drying and mold release.

That is why Massey identifies the next stage as assessing commercial feasibility and determining whether the fibre can fit new or existing packaging manufacturing systems.

Moisture in the Raw Material Could Become an Economic Issue

Another issue to watch is what happens before the pomace ever reaches the paper process.

Fresh apple pomace contains substantial moisture and residual organic matter.

Historic Massey work described apple pomace as containing high water and sugar levels, characteristics that can make storage and biological stability more difficult.

For commercial packaging production, that creates practical questions.

Does the pomace need to be dried?

Washed?

Ground?

Separated?

Chemically or mechanically treated?

How much energy does that preparation consume?

And how far can wet pomace economically travel before transportation costs become unreasonable?

These issues could ultimately determine where the technology makes commercial sense.

A packaging mill located close to a major fruit-processing region might have a very different feedstock equation from one hundreds of kilometres away.

This is why local agricultural residues can be attractive.

Their strongest business case may be regional rather than global.

Feedstock Consistency Will Need to Be Proven

Wood-pulp producers spend significant effort controlling fibre properties.

Agricultural byproducts can be more variable.

Apple pomace may change according to:

apple variety;

harvest conditions;

processing method;

amount of skin or seed material;

storage time;

moisture content;

and the juice or food process that generated it.

Those variations may influence how the fibre performs in paper.

Commercial customers generally expect the opposite.

A packaging converter wants material supplied in January to behave like material supplied in June.

This means a commercial apple-pomace process would likely need a defined feedstock specification and preprocessing system capable of reducing natural variation.

The current research has not yet demonstrated that industrial consistency.

It is one of the questions the commercial-feasibility stage will need to address.

Could Fruit Processing and Packaging Become One Supply Chain?

This is where the research becomes particularly interesting from a circular-bioeconomy perspective.

Food processors generate the pomace.

A fibre processor could convert part of that residue into packaging material.

Packaging manufacturers could then turn the fibre into trays, containers or other formats used by the food industry.

In theory, one industry’s residual stream becomes another industry’s raw material.

That sounds circular.

The economics will determine whether it actually becomes circular.

If the pomace requires excessive drying, chemical treatment or long-distance transportation, some of the advantage could disappear.

If it can be collected locally, processed efficiently and blended into an existing fibre stream, the proposition becomes more interesting.

The important metric therefore should not simply be:

How much waste did we divert?

It should also include:

how much conventional fibre was displaced;

what processing was required;

how the material performed;

how much energy was consumed;

and whether the finished packaging has a viable end-of-life route.

Apple Pomace Packaging Is Not Entirely New

The Massey project also sits within a wider body of research.

Researchers have investigated fruit-processing residues for molded-pulp packaging for several years.

A 2017 study evaluated apple, blueberry and cranberry pomace mixed with recycled newspaper fibres and found that fruit-pomace characteristics influenced fibre compatibility and final board performance.

Other researchers have extracted cellulose from apple pomace for film formation, while later work has explored apple-pomace fibre specifically in molded-pulp packaging.

What makes the current Massey work relevant is therefore not the first-ever discovery that apple waste contains useful fibre.

Its value lies in testing the concept in a New Zealand food-processing and packaging context, using local waste streams while asking how the material might move toward practical packaging manufacture.

That regional connection could eventually matter as much as the chemistry.

Revo’s Scholarship Connects Research With Packaging Procurement

The research is being supported through a scholarship from Revo Packaging, a New Zealand packaging procurement company founded in 2023.

Massey says the funding has supported specialized equipment, materials, testing and travel required to collect food-processing waste streams.

Industry involvement is useful at this stage because commercialization questions need to arrive early.

Researchers naturally ask:

Can we make the material?

Packaging businesses need to add:

Can somebody manufacture it repeatedly?

Can it meet customer specifications?

What will it cost?

Does it work with existing equipment?

And what application is prepared to pay for it?

Those questions can stop promising laboratory materials from becoming technically interesting but commercially irrelevant.

The Biggest Opportunity May Not Be 100% Apple Fibre

There is another lesson in the early findings.

The research is not necessarily trying to replace wood pulp completely.

The current approach uses apple pomace as a supplementary fibre source.

That may be a more realistic path for agricultural residues.

Conventional wood pulp has an established industrial supply chain and predictable papermaking properties.

Alternative fibres do not always need to replace it.

A relatively modest percentage could still create substantial raw-material demand if adopted across large packaging volumes.

And if that percentage improves mechanical performance at the same time, the material may provide more value than a simple sustainability story.

This is worth remembering when assessing alternative-fibre technologies.

The commercial winner may not be the material promising:

“100% agricultural waste packaging.”

It may be the formulation that uses just enough alternative fibre to improve the complete sheet while remaining compatible with existing production systems.

What Has to Happen Before Apple Waste Becomes Packaging Fibre?

The current project has produced promising evidence.

It has not yet produced a commercial material.

Several questions now matter:

Barrier performance: Can water and grease resistance reach the level required for real food packaging?

Feedstock preparation: How much treatment is required to turn wet pomace into usable fibre?

Consistency: Can different batches provide predictable papermaking performance?

Manufacturing compatibility: Can the material run economically through existing paper or molded-fibre equipment?

Food-contact suitability: What testing and documentation would be required for the intended applications?

End of life: How do coatings and other additives affect recycling or composting routes?

Economics: Is the final fibre competitive once collection, transport, preprocessing and manufacturing are included?

Until those questions are answered, apple pomace remains a promising supplementary fibre rather than a commercial substitute for wood pulp.

Before Calling Fruit Waste a New Fibre Source, Follow One Tonne

For paper mills, molded-fibre producers and food processors interested in agricultural residues, the Massey project suggests a useful exercise.

Take one tonne of fresh pomace and follow it.

How much usable dry fibre remains after preparation?

How much water and energy are required to process it?

How far does it need to travel?

What percentage can realistically enter the pulp furnish?

Does it increase or reduce machine productivity?

Does the resulting packaging perform better enough to justify the additional processing?

And finally:

Who pays for each stage?

Those answers will determine whether apple pomace becomes an interesting university experiment or a genuine packaging raw material.

The early mechanical results give the project a stronger starting point than simple waste substitution.

A material that replaces some conventional fibre and improves strength has a more compelling industrial proposition than one selected only because it comes from waste.

But the next stage is the difficult one.

Massey has shown that apple pomace can contribute to the sheet. Now the research has to prove that the complete packaging system can contribute to the business case.

Last Updated on 04/09/2026 by Jota Machinery