Krones declares ultra-light PET bottle ready for supermarkets
PET Lite 6.6 is so named because it uses only 6.6 grams of PET, making it the lightest PET bottle on the market for the 0.5 –litre size.
Prize winner
It has been recognised as an important innovation, winning several packaging prizes last year, including the German Packaging Institute’s packaging prize and the WorldStar Award from the World Packaging Organisation.
The bottle, developed using Krones’ NitroPouch process, has now undergone a series of tests to demonstrate to the beverage market that it is more than just a concept.
A spokesperson for Krones told Beverage Daily that PET Lite 6.6 could be used to package cheap bottled water in countries where clean water is not readily available. He said the bottle would also be suitable for companies looking to reduce their carbon footprint.
To turn the concept into a product Krones had to demonstrate to potential buyers that the innovation can live up to the demands of real world use.
Under pressure
It therefore commissioned a feasibility study with an outside testing centre in Munich.
One of the areas of concern was the low top-loading figure of less than 30 kilograms, but Krones said that it proved totally sufficient. In drop tests and simulated transportation under normal conditions, no damage occurred to the containers.
Krones also said the tests produced “surprisingly good results” with regard to static and dynamic loads. The company claimed the bottle proved significantly more flexible when subjected to dynamic forces than conventional containers with reinforcements.
The resistance of PET Lite 6.6 to the rough and tumble of the road is to a large extent down to the use of nitrogen to build up a defined pressure inside the bottle.
This internal pressure prevents the bottle from collapsing and enables it to be handled dependably and transported on normal pallets. The Krones spokesperson said the bottle is also able to jump back into shape when it is deformed under high pressure.
With these test results behind PET Lite 6.6, Krones hopes to be able to market the product successfully. So far Krones is still in the discussion phase with potential buyers.
