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News Release from: Fraunhofer Institute for Packaging | Subject: PET bottles
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 16 March 2000
PET bottles for quality food packaging
The aim of a new research project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging is to optimise PET bottles which are used for drinks.
The aim of a new research project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging is to optimise PET bottles which are used for drinks from both an economic and an environmental point of view At the same time, the quality of the contents and conformity to food legislation must be ensured
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 16 Feb 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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The use of plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for drinks is increasing.
A four-fold increase is expected by 2005 compared to current levels and with this in mind traditional recycling markets will no longer be able to use the increased amounts of recylate.
In order to prevent such a situation arising, the Fraunhofer IVV is carrying out a research project to further develop PET recycling processes from both technological and environmental standpoints.
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The operating parameters for existing processes will be optimised with consideration of the conformity of the recyclate to food legislation.
Amongst other things, on condition that in the future recyclate can be produced at more favourable cost and at the same time the bottle-to-bottle cycle can be closed.
New types of additives, polymer blends, bottle coloration and multilayer-structures for the PET-packagings require modification of existing recycling processes.
So that recyclate manufacturers and users can guarantee problem-free PET from both food-legislation and sensory standpoints, new certification criteria and methods for quality assurance analysis are being devised and validated.
PET is relatively inert compared to many other plastics used in packagings.
Current opinion is that the established test methods for evaluating the conformity of consumer goods made of PET to food legislation have been superseded.
The Fraunhofer IVV would like to replace the conventional and time-consuming test methods for evaluating food-legislation conformity with new and at the same time cost-saving and time-saving methods.
Such methods will provide better results for determining whether there are any improvements in quality.
Acetaldehyde - a degradation product of PET - has up till now principally only had an adverse effect on the sensory properties of mineral water in PET bottles.
Via new processing methods and additives it has been possible to improve the taste-neutrality of PET bottles.
This requires a quality assurance analytical method which can quickly and accurately determine highly volatile acetaldehyde.
The research project started in August 2000 and is being carried out in close co-operation with industrial companies and the German Ministry for Education and Research.
Industrial companies are making available PET materials developed by them with new properties such as oxygen barrier layers, light protection, etc.
Possible ways are being sought to further improve the materials used in both the recyclable-system and in the refillable-system, namely preventing interaction with the contents.
The Fraunhofer IVV will test and evaluate the PET materials chemically-analytically and their sensorial properties in order to measure their inertness compared to standard material.
Using the measurement data, it should for example be possible to minimise the layer thickness on multilayer bottles and hence save material.
The following companies are participating in the project: Genossenschaft Deutscher Brunnen e.G., BonnPETCYCLE E.A.G., Bad Neuenahr-AhrweilerRexam PETainer , RecklinghausenTetra Pak , DarmstadtVMH Mineral- und Heilquellen and Co KG, Rosbach.
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