Raw materials
Raw materials
Raw materials
In this section you can learn more about PET, its advantageous properties, as well as the numerous application possibilities on the market.
What is PET?
ELLIE EXPLAINS:
PLASTICS - TOO VALUABLE TO THROW AWAY!
Source: PlasticsEurope AISBL / Youtube
Length: 3:16 min
PET - Der Werkstoff des 21. Jahrhunderts
PET material - What exactly is it?
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a thermoplastic from the polyester family produced by polycondensation. PET has a wide range of applications and is used in the production of plastic bottles (PET bottles), films and textile fibers, among other things.
PET is polar, so there are strong intermolecular forces. The molecule also has a linear structure without cross-links. Both are prerequisites for semi-crystalline areas and fibers.
In particular, these areas result in high breaking strength and dimensional stability at temperatures above 80 °C.
PET - PROCESS & HANDLING
PET - versatile material
PET as a material has been on the market for many decades. PET has established itself as a particularly valuable raw material in the field of packaging technology.
Whether as packaging for food, cosmetics or chemical-technical applications. PET packaging has positioned itself on the market for years and has proven to be particularly sustainable and innovative due to its advantageous properties.
The food industry in particular is becoming increasingly convinced of its advantages. The specific properties of PET allow the highest safety standards in the food processing sector to be met efficiently.
HOW IS A PET BOTTLE MADE?
To produce a PET bottle or container, a mould blank, the so-called "Preform", is first produced at 300° C under high pressure. This is similar to a chemistry test tube.
The PET preform is then heated to around 120° C by a machine. At a pressure of 40 bar, the PET preform is blown into the desired shape in the "stretch blow molding process".
The adjacent sequence of pictures shows the so-called "stretch blow molding process" in simplified form.
COMPARISON OF PACKAGING MATERIALS
THE ADVANTAGES OF PET PACKAGING
CO2 footprint PET versus glass
Possible alternatives to plastic packaging are increasingly appearing on the market, but on closer inspection they are by no means to be regarded as more sustainable.
Facts, figures and data are essential for an objective discussion on the topics of packaging and sustainability. One of the most important parameters is the value of CO2 emissions.
In order to obtain a neutral assessment of this parameter for one of our 500 ml PET hotfill bottles compared to a glass bottle of the same size, we commissioned the Munich-based company ClimatePartner to calculate the CO2 emissions. Taking into account the extraction of raw materials, production and delivery to the customer, the determination of the necessary values and their comparison produced this clear result.
The outstanding properties of PET
- HIGH TRANSPARENCY
- BRILLIANT SURFACE GLOSS
- VERY GOOD STABILITY
- HIGH LOAD-BEARING CAPACITY
- GOOD BARRIER PROPERTIES
- LIGHT WEIGHT
- PRECISE MOULDING OF THE BOTTLE NECK
PROPERTY
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Impact resistance |
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Water barrier |
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Gas barrier |
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Hot filling |
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Microwave resistance |
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Recyclability |
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Neutral taste |
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Flexible Container Design |
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EVALUATION
excellent =
good =
ok =
bad =
COMPARISON OF PACKAGING MATERIALS
PET offers many advantages over other packaging materials. In particular, PET has very good gas barrier properties compared to other plastics.
Both the escape of CO2 and the penetration of oxygen into the contents are reduced to a minimum with PET. These are just some of the reasons why PET has become established on the market as a packaging material.
Assuming a realistic annual volume of 4.5 million bottles, the disposable glass bottle generates 186.3 tons more CO2 emissions than our PET bottle. This amount corresponds to:
km
by car
Annual CO2 absorption of
beech trees
people
from Germany
It becomes clear here that, especially due to the enormous weight of more than 7 times that of the PET bottle, the glass bottle causes considerable disadvantages in transport. In order to finally put an end to the sometimes untenable hostility towards PET bottles, the industry and retailers have been calling for the Environment Agency to draw up a neutral life cycle assessment for some time now. The values used today date back to 2010. In particular, due to the steady increase in the number of individual bottles in the reusable system, the life cycle assessment for the reusable system is unlikely to be positive. Perhaps this is the reason why this balance has not been compiled to date!
