PET news 6 NEWS PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 04/18 www.petpla.net PET upcycling of fibre reinforced industrial plastic A recently launched research project “UpcyclePET” is developing an innovative process for high-grade recycling of PET. This will enable PET waste from used drinks’ bottles to be recycled as an industrial plastic, thereby reducing the use of new plastic based on polyamide. The project team comprises the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, the Institute for Applied Ecology and Easicomp Ltd. As the project coordinator, Dr Volker Strubel, explains “In this upcycling project, we are using recycled PET to produce new lightweight reinforced glass fibre compo- nents, thereby reducing the use of polyamides in the production of automotive parts such as engine mounts and mounting supports”. The UpcyclePET project is harnessing its partners’ expertise in material and process development to create an integrated manufacturing system for the production of reinforced glass fibre PET components. In this case, a pultrusion technique is used to reinforce the PET plastic with long glass fibres and is technically evaluated as part of the process. Such an approach combines the mechanical advantages of the particularly robust long glass fibres with the special properties of PET which include low swelling capacity and dimensional stability. “The distinctive feature of this approach is that it combines two process phases that are decoupled in modern day practice and specifically customises the properties of the recycled PET used by means of additives and modification”, explains Dr Frank Schoenberger of Fraunhofer LBF. The fact that all the necessary process steps are undertaken at just one plant makes production particularly cost-effective. Using the lightweight component from the car industry as an example, the project team assesses the potential for the technical replacement of the material and identifies possible environmental and economic benefits. Easicomp Ltd is a manufacturer of reinforced long glass fibre thermoplastics using pultrusion techniques and is responsible for the large-scale application of reinforced long glass fibres under UpcyclePET. As part of the project, Fraunhofer LBF is using its considerable expertise in the field of additives, modification and pro- cessing of industrial plastics in its customised material and process development. The Institute for Applied Ecology is conducting envi- ronmental and economic analyses of important sustain- ability impacts (savings in resources, energy and CO 2 etc.). The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the project as part of its “Innovative SMEs” funding programme. www.lbf.fraunhofer.de www.oeko.de www.easicomp.de WIkiPETia – The online PET knowledge platform More than 240 suppliers at a glance More than 240 companies along the PET value creation chain are already registered on the moderated knowledge management system WikiPETia. At www.wikipetia.info, th ere are profiles, prod- ucts, technologies and other valuable information about compa- nies in the materials, PET recycling, preform production, bottle making, filling, capping and labelling sectors. Each company profile has direct links to posts and reports relating to it in PETplanet Insider. All important information is avail- able at a glance! Is your company listed yet? Would you like to add more information? We would be happy to set up an account for you and you can amend your details yourself. Simply contact us at
[email protected]. www.wikipetia.info UK water drinks approach 4,000 million litres UK consumption of water drinks rose 7% in 2017 to nearly 4,000 million litres, with a retail value of £3.1 billion, according to a new report from global food and drink experts Zenith. Sales of plain bottled water in retail packs increased by 8% to over 3,100 million litres, while volume through bottled water coolers grew a more modest 2% to 310 million litres. This marks a slowdown in growth from the preceding four years, partly as a result of poor summer weather. Conversely, sales of flavoured, functional and juicy waters, which increased by 2% in 2016, advanced by 5% in 2017, after more strong branded players entered the market. Plain bottled water, with average annual consumption of 54l per person, strengthened its market dominance in 2017 to account for 87% of total sales. Flavoured water’s share of the market fell to 11% volume share, with juicy and functional water making up the remaining 2%. In terms of water types, still water drinks accounted for 83% of total volume in 2017, with sparkling water drinks contributing 17%. The top 5 UK plain water brands - Highland Spring, Evian, Buxton, Nestlé Pure Life and Volvic - are collectively responsible for 30% of total water drinks sales, whilst the top 5 water plus brands - Volvic Touch of Fruit, Calypso Clear, Trederwen Essence, Drench Juicy and Perfectly Clear - account for 5%. “Environmental concerns have grown, but are being tackled by lighter bottles with more recycled content and by new packag- ing formats as well as recycling initiatives,” commented Zenith Chairman Richard Hall. Zenith forecasts that, by 2022, the total market for UK water drinks will reach 5.3 billion litres, 32% above 2017 levels. Plain bottled water is set to lead this advance, with average growth of 6% per year. Flavoured, functional and juicy waters are forecast to expand more slowly. www.zenithglobal.com