PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2021

BOTTLE MAKING 38 PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 07+08/21 www.petpla.net Designing for a closed loop PET market With the EU target to incorporate 25% of recycled plastic in PET beverage bottles from 2025, designing for sustainability is coming to the forefront. Avient’s ColorMatrix has a range of additives which can be part of the solution. Based on an article by Nick Ryan, Sales Director EMEA, ColorMatrix, Avient Corporation When the European Union announced a 25% rPET target for 2025, two key challenges were obvi- ous - the availability and price of rPET. In response to the burgeoning demand for rPET, mechanical recycling has seen rapid growth in capacity and investment; however, deposit scheme feedstock alone can’t feed the appetite of this rapidly evolving market. In addition, other concerns - includ- ing aesthetics, fluctuating mechanical properties and Non-Intentionally Added Substances (NIAS) - have emerged. In this environment of rapid change and uncertainty, brand owners, converters and raw material suppliers are quickly adapting to balance the interests of their stakeholders, customers, legisla- tors and recycling partners. Sustainability and brand protection PET packaging requires a full design process – aesthetics, addi- tives with consideration for a content’s shelf-life and now the addition of rPET content. Avient states that the quality of recycled PET can be improved by its material science solutions such as additives, scavengers, and toners. Nothing is more damaging to a brand than a bad consumer experi- ence like an off tasting, smelly or dis- coloured beverage. Content spoilage is also a significant contributor to overall carbon emissions, in many cases far more so than the packaging. This is why oxygen scavengers are widely utilised in juice, beer and wine applica- tions. It is critical that the oxygen bar- rier protects the beverage right up to the time of consumption. When using rPET, this can be a challenge as rPET content greater than 25% can disrupt or deactivate existing barrier tech- nologies. ColorMatrix Amosorb 4020R is an oxygen scavenger technology designed with the new rPET environ- ment in mind, intended to help main- tain full oxygen scavenging functional- ity, with no sign of deactivation even in bottles containing up to 100% recycled content. Bottles produced with this oxygen scavenger, in combination with rPET content, show minimal colour degradation when processed through existing recycle streams, says Avient. At the design stage, when adding rPET, by selecting a highly heat stable blue toner, such as Avient’s ColorMa- trix Optica Toners, the material contin- ues to tone out natural PET yellowing throughout its life leading to a cleaner, clearer rPET stream. These optical toners can also address the different behaviour of rPET compared to virgin PET due to fluctuating IV levels and variations in stretch. Their inorganic particles absorb and distribute heat more evenly throughout the preform inner and outer wall, overcoming much of the variation. In multiple commer- cial applications, this has enabled bottle blowers to regain lost efficien- cies, improve bottle performance and reduce energy usage. Non-Intentionally Added Sub- stances are also a challenge in the closed-loop PET market, where raw materials can be exposed to each other inadvertently with the potential risk of unintended impurities building up. Legislation is catching up with this and organisations have to be prepared. Avient has developed NIAS screen- ing capabilities for standard colourants and additives designed to help brands manage compliance risks. Where PET bottles cannot return to the PET bottle stream, the outputs are ranging from fibre to food trays and even toy blocks. When decreas- ing chain length provides a challenge, whether that be in bottle-to-bottle rPET production or repairing heav- ily degraded PET solutions, Avient’s ColorMatrix RePrize is claimed to ensure that IV increases of up to 0.2d/l are possible. This has been success- fully used to facilitate the use of 100% rPET in carbonated applications. The chain extender also allowed 100% tray to tray recycling and converted textile waste into reusable pellets. www.avient.com BOTTLE MAKING