Krill Lab - ReKrill®

Krill Lab is Krill Design‘s Research and Development centre, the place where ideas take shape and our most advanced solutions are born. Here REKRILL® was developed, the first biopolymer by Krill Design, symbolising our commitment to a concrete and measurable circular economy.

From Krill Lab, we are leading the industry’s transition towards sustainable production models, developing biopolymers and customised formulations in direct collaboration with our partners. Each project is born from listening to the customer’s needs and translates into innovative, high performance and certified materials.

From by-product to certified material

Thanks to our testing equipment, we can quickly validate new formulations and verify experimental results in just a few weeks. We analyse every stage of the process, from the by-product supplied by our supply chain partners to the organic fillers, biopolymers and finished product, to guarantee quality, traceability and performance.

Chemical, mechanical and resistance tests cover a wide range of performance characteristics, ensuring our customers receive reliable, market-ready solutions.

From characterisation to performance monitoring

Analysis and testing of the by-product

TGA (Thermal Gravimetric Analysis). This is used to define, thermally and quantitatively, the various components of the organic filler: it serves to obtain a complete profile of the thermogravimetric composition of the filler. A weighed quantity of sample is brought to high temperatures and the weight losses due to the elimination of moisture, volatile compounds, and the decomposition of organic structural materials (cellulose, lignin, etc.), and finally, with oxidation in air, the mineral residue (ash) is quantified.
Camsizer is used for particle size analysis to determine the size distribution and the shape of particles. These parameters are necessary to predict the behaviour of the filler in the compounding process.
The density measurement provides information on the compactness and internal structure of the material.
FIWE Advanced Fiber auto extractor – used to analyze the chemical composition of organic fillers, allowing the fractions of hemicellulose, lignin, and cellulose to be distinguished and thus understood in terms of their nature and potential effect on the properties of the final material.

Polymer analysis and testing

Mechanical tensile tests: measurement of elastic modulus, strength and elongation at break. It indicates how rigid, strong or elastic the material is when pulled.
Bending test: evaluates the polymer’s ability to resist a force that bends it. Used for rigid or loaded materials, where deformation is not only elastic.
Impact test: determines how much energy the material can absorb before breaking due to sudden impact; it is used to measure its toughness.
Melt Flow Index (MFI): measures the fluidity of the melted material. High values indicate polymers that flow easily, low values indicate more viscous materials.
HDT (Heat Deflection Temperature): measures heat resistance under stress. It point out the temperature at which the polymer deforms under a constant load.
Vicat softening temperature: serve per valutare la stabilità del campione ad alte temperature: mostra la temperatura a cui il materiale inizia ad ammorbidirsi.
DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry): analyses thermal transitions such as melting temperature, crystallisation and glass transition, which are useful for identifying the structure and purity of the material.
TGA (Thermal Gravimetric Analysis): measures the change in mass as a function of temperature. It is used to evaluate thermal stability, decomposition and additive content.
Density: this is a basic parameter that helps to compare formulations and evaluate their composition, quality and homogeneity.

From the laboratory to the market

Krill Lab is the beating heart of Krill Design. Thanks to the expertise of our researchers and the technologies at their disposal, the laboratory offers a unique opportunity to study and develop dedicated projects or formulations designed to meet specific technical and/or industrial requirements. Our R&D team is available to collaborate in the creation, validation and optimisation of new material solutions, offering specialist support and advanced testing equipment to accelerate innovation and the transition to sustainability.

One example of this is the Collabora&Innova project, currently being developed in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano. Together with other specialised companies, we are exploring the application of the material with rotational moulding, a technology that requires specific formulations to guarantee the performance of traditional polymers.
The versatility of REKRILL® also lies in its ability to adapt to different production technologies.

This open research approach allows us to continuously evaluate new food by-products and new formulations, identifying the best combinations for each specific application.

Krill Lab: the beating heart of innovation

From by-product to certified material

From characterisation to performance monitoring

From the laboratory to the market

Collabora&Innova Project

Krill Lab & Production

Production Bio-based solutions for every industrial supply chain