Page 37 - Plastics News January 2018

FeAtures

PET the distinctive Packaging option

PET is currently a favorite for bottlers as its use results in cost savings for raw polymers, energy and
transportation.

s a bottling solution it is undeniable that PET • It has high impact and tensile strength and therefore
A(Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic has the upper ideal for carbonated products which exert high
hand over all other alternatives such as glass and metal. pressure inside containers
Plastic has an array of qualities that make it an irresistible • It has low permeability to oxygen, carbon dioxide and
option for many brand owners, and which include light water thus ably protecting product and assuring shelf
weight, minimal wastage, versatility, ability to take life
attractive and unique designs, and a carbon neutral
footprint. Taking all this into perspective, things can only • Good chemical resistance
be expected to get better for the growing PET plastic • It’s lightweight. This allows for cheaper shipping,
bottle manufacturing industry, and indeed the wider excellent shelf utilization and sufficient stacking
plastics industry.
• Zero-leakage of PET bottles. This is as a result of
There are lots of numbers in support of this position. A having an injection-molded neck finish and a base
study by Research and Markets found that the 2014 global that doesn’t feature a weld line
production of plastic containers stood at 50.1 Million
Metric Tons (MMT). By 2020 this is expected to rise to • It allows for a wide range of design flexibility in terms
67.9 MMT. That 2014 figure was worth $273.15 billion; the of size, shape, color, neck finish, etc and moreover it
2020 figure is expected to be $388.35 billion. It is also a is completely recyclable.
known fact that plastic bottles and jars constitute an Designing PET bottle
estimated 75% of all plastic containers by weight. Also,
PET and HDPE (high-density polyethylene) make up 86% In designing a new PET bottle, structural qualities are
of the plastic container market. given priority over aesthetics.The following illustrations
will help to clarify why this is so.
PET is currently a favorite for bottlers as its use results in
cost savings for raw polymers, energy and transportation. a) A bottle intended to store a carbonated drink must
be able to withstand the carbon dioxide pressure
Their PET bottle designs are a hit with their customers (typically 4 atmospheres) and maintain shape during
considering their attractive packaging and sustainability storage (which involves stacking). Such a bottle must
qualities. Of note is that PET plastic bottles are increasingly therefore have the required wall thickness, base
being used for beer bottling. As a matter of fact Sidel was design and adequate top load strength.
innovative in launching world’s first ever pasteurizable
lightweight PET bottle for beer with a non petaloid base b) A bottle intended for packaging juice or other
perishable should be able to withstand hot-filling
All these details make for exciting prospects. Some of the conditions that would cause a standard PET bottle
reasons why PET is an ideal packaging material include: to shrink and deform.
• Excellent clarity thus making it ideal for product c) Where a bottle is designed to be lightweight with an
presentation aim to lower production costs, provisions must be
• It does not alter product taste — thereby complying made to assure its rigidity. Ribs/ridges can be added
with international food contact regulations in this case to prevent collapsing.
• Structural toughness which prevents breakage during The point here we are discussing is that of late design
production, warehousing and transportation in PET bottle have become trendy and more and more
customers want to have light weight PET with a variety
• It is shatter-proof. In the event of failure a container
will split but not shatter in base. The use of PET is steadily gaining market

37 Januar y 2018 Plastics News