Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle for soft drinks

Since the development in closure technology, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle production, can design and manufacture, syrup making methods, carbonation technology and filling machine manufacture have led to the worldwide beverage industry as we know it today.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are a very popular pack type for carbonated soft drinks. Peanut butter, salad dressing and other household and consumer precuts are also package in PET bottles.

PET bottles have also replace PVC bottles that are often use in the packaging of mineral water. The bottle is manufacture in a two stage process. PET granules are melted and injected at high pressure into perform moulds.

The pre-forms can then be warmed and stretched and blown with compressed air into a mould to give a finished single piece bottle of the desired size.

PET packaging has allowed drinks companies to move into in-house bottle production, and to operate more independently from packaging manufacturers.

PET bottles have good gas barrier properties and are lightweight. Once filled with a carbonated drink the bottles become very strong and rigid.

Most PET bottles used are one-way or non-returnable containers. An improvement in PET bottles has led to the designing of refillable bottles.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle for soft drinks

Packaging for soft drink

Packaging is critical for consumer perception. It is vital for the product’s image, and the target market sector will influence pack type and design.

Consumer usage must also be considered. Traditionally, most beverages were pack in glass. Glass has many attractive features – not least that it is an excellent protective medium – but its overriding disadvantages are its weight and its brittleness.

For carbonated beverage packaging, containment takes on a special emphasis; unlike many other product categories, carbonated beverages are products that are maintained in an unnatural state of having an excess of carbon dioxide dissolved in the liquid.

Packages for carbonated beverages must have the ability to contain liquid and the gas pressure necessary to retain the excess carbon dioxide dissolved in the product.

The type of pack can have a significant impact on the product formulation. For example, any residual sulphur dioxide (SO2) from fruit compounds must extremely low is the fruit drink is to be pack into cans.

Another important packaging development area is plastic. When deciding which plastic to use, it is important to consider carbonation, appearance, strength and cost. By far the most widely used is PET and for carbonated drinks it is currently the only commercially viable option.
Packaging for soft drink

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging

PET stands for Polyethylene terephthalate. This type of plastic is characterized by a clear, glasslike transparency.

Polyethylene terephthalate or PET is a plastic resin used primarily to make soft drink bottles. PET was developed as a textile fiber in the 1940s and is still used as such for carpets and clothing.

In 1977 blow-molded PET bottles became commercially available for carbonated soft drinks.

In 1984 blow-molded PET bottles appeared in the market for liquor products with applications for on-beverage foods, pharmaceuticals and toiletries.

PET is formed from condensation reaction of dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol. Because PET contains the ester group O-C=O, as a repeating unit, PET is referred to as a polyester.

Peanut butter, salad dressing and other household and consumer products are also package in PET bottles.

Other forms of PET packaging include trays and sheeting for cups and food trays.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging