Containers for Liquid Drinks - Case Study Example

Containers for Liquid Drinks Introduction As soft drinks consumption have increased more than that of water consumption, manufacturers of liquid drink containers have begun to explore more packaging possibilities for these drinks. Supermarkets around the world are bombarded with different materials for containing these liquids- all with their own advantages and limitations. In this paper, we attempt to explore four such containers of liquid drinks including PET bottles, Aluminum cans, Glass bottles and Tetra Pak packaging. PET Bottles Polyethylene terephtalate (PET) bottles are one of the most popular choices as containers for soft drinks. These PET bottles are made up of a plastic substance known as polymer, which is created through a reaction between ethylene glycol and terephtalic acid. The manufacturing of the PET bottles begins with the process of polymerization were the actual material is developed. This involves the taking smaller molecules to create complex materials. During polymerization, terephthalate acid, methanol and glycol is combined at various stages to produce bis 2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate. This substance is them condensed at a temperature of 275 degree Celsius in a vacuum environment. This results in the PET mixture that is cooled after it reaches a certain consistency. This mixture may be later reheated for further use. Cooling is done to prevent discoloration and degradation. The main production of the bottles is done in two step namely injection molding and blow stretch forming. During injection molding, PET bottles are molded into plastic tubes which are later cut and shaped to their exact requirement. Once the mould is made, the next process is blow stretch forming whereby high pressure air is blown in the tube for the shape formation (Dege, 2011). One major limitation of the bottle is the issue of deformation of the neck. When hot content is poured in the bottle to the brim, there are chances that the neck would be deformed which would make capping difficult or even impossible. Furthermore, PET bottles though recyclable are not recycled in the amount that they produced which produces negative implications for the environment. They can be recycled and combined with new PET material for the process of recycling. Aluminum Aluminum packaging is quite common for liquid drinks in the millions of cans consumed daily. These cans are used because they are lightweight and are able to withstand the gases in the liquid drink. They are also strong enough to withstand the heat that they have to undergo during the manufacturing process. The manufacturing of aluminum cans is done in two phases, that is, the production of the body and that of the lid or the can end. Aluminum coils are taken for this purpose that are loaded in an uncoiler where they are rolled out and a lubricator deposited on them. These lubricated sheets then go through the cupping press whereby the sheet is cut into circular discs which later form into cups. The cups are then sent to the cup conveyor where they are moved to bodymakers to create the shape of the can by reducing the diameter and increasing the length. The bottom is also formed in the shape of a dome for increased strength of the can. After this, the can is checked and trimmed for a specific height. The trimmed can then goes through a washer where the initial lubricant is removed and protective coating applied on the inside of the can. The last phase is to decorate the can with the label of the drink that it would contain. Coating on the label is later added to protect it from wear and tear. Once the cans are developed, they are checked for any defects. This is done by passing them through a light tester that would detect any minute holes in the can, thus leading to rejection of the can. Through the manufacturing phase, scrap and rejected aluminum is sent for recycling. The recycling factor of aluminum makes it a good choice for liquid drinks and other packaging. Aluminum Cans are easily recycled to produce new cans. By recycling aluminum cans, 95% of energy can be saved as compared to creating new cans or packaging. The recycling of aluminum cans is becoming increasingly popular in the US and other countries of the world. Alumuim cans have the best potential for recycling within the beverage industry (Swartzbaugh, 1993). Glass Before the advent of the PET bottles, glass was the most preferred container for liquid drinks. Glass containers allow the consumer to have a look inside the contents of the bottle since they are transparent. Also consumers perceive glass bottles to be of a higher quality and for this reason they are used widely in wines and beers. Another advantage of glass is the wide range of decorative possibilities including powder printing, ceramic printing, colored printing etc (Coles and Kirwan, 2011). The production of glass bottles is a two step process- the production of sheet glass through float glass process and production of bottles through glassblowing. Glass bottles mainly comprises of soda-lime made from silica, lime and calcium oxide. Once the glass sheet is manufactured, the manufacturer chooses one of the two methods of making the bottles: the blow and blow method and the press and blow method. Blow and blow method involve turning molten glass into a gob by cutting it with a shearing blade. This gob is them transferred into blank moulds to take a specific shape and this is known as the parison. The parison is then passed through the mould and blown on to take the final shape. In the case of the press and blow method, the gob is turned into parison by using compressed air. In order to improve the stress level of the bottles, these bottles pass through the process of annealation where an annealing oven reheats the glass. Lastly the glass is checked for defects that include cracks in the bottles and stones that occur due to improper melting of the glass during production. The advantage of glass over other containers is that is not susceptible to moulds and does not allow odors and vapors to permeate into the container and impact the quality of the drink (Paine and Paine, 1992). Also glass containers are easily recycled and also reused. Glass furnaces allow for easy recycling of glass containers. Tetra Pak In the recent years, Tetra Pak packaging has gained widespread recognition. Tetra Pak is a Swedish food and beverage packaging company that become the largest selling food packaging company around the world. Their popularity stems from the fact that they are cheap to manufacture and easily recycled. Also these packages do not need to be refrigerated during storage. The reduced packaging volume of Tetra Pak allows for energy saving during transportation. Tetra Pak packaging are lighter, compact, easy to use and also versatile. Tetra Pak packaging is made from paper board, polyethylene and aluminum. While paperboard is the main material that adds strength to the carton, polyethylene protects the product inside from environmental moisture and thus provides a seal for the product. The aluminum in the packaging protects the product from light and outside flavors thus retaining the flavor and quality of the product inside. Tetra Pak is like another other carton packaging except that it is aided with aseptic packaging technology whereby the packaging and the product within are sterilized separately and after sterilization, the product is put inside the packaging and sterilized again. This ensures that the product remains preserved for an extended period of time without requiring refrigeration. This in turn increases the shelf life of the product (Tetra Pak, 2012). The printing on the package is done through roller blade printing where the package is fed into the printer and the appropriate label is applied. Recycling of Tetra Pak products have increased over the last few years. The wood in the paper allows the package to be recycled and used as toilet papers, tissues etc. References Coles, R. and Kirwan, M. (2011) Food and Beverage Packaging Technology, Sans Francisco: John Wiley & Sons Dege, N. (2011) Technology of Bottled Water, Sans Francisco: John Wiley & Sons Paine, F. and Paine, H. (1992) Handbook of Food Packaging, New York: Springer Publications Swartzbaugh, J. (1993) Recycling Equipment and Technology for Municipal Solid Waste: Material Recovery Facilities, USA: William Andrew Tetra Pak (2012) About the Package, Retrieved from http://campaign.tetrapak.com/lifeofapackage/what-its-made-of/ Read More