BEVERAGE PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY
Sustainable partnership
launches 100% rPET bottles les Since the middle of May this year Germany-based Eckes-Granini’s oneliter hohes C juice bottle has consisted entirely of recycled plastic (rPET) in conjunction with KHS’ Bottles & Shapes experts in Germany.
T
he company decided that with
bottler will cut its carbon emissions by
the EU’s plastic strategy and the
about 8 000 tonnes a year.
increase in recyclate quotas it
circular economy and set a good example
EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE: THE INNOPET FRESHSAFE BLOCK
for the beverage industry,” explains
Finding ways of saving on resources
Hermann Naumann, plant manager
was not the only focus of the ambitious
for Eckes-Granini. “We aim to continue
project. The ability to do so on the KHS
steadily reducing our carbon footprint
InnoPET FreshSafe block in operation at
in production and in our packaging. This
Eckes-Granini since 2017 also had to be
means not only cutting down on the
investigated. “One of the concerns was
amount of material used but also closing
whether either the preforms or machine
the recycling loop.”
needed adapting,” explains Dr. Matthias
would now switch to using recycled PET only. “We want to be a pioneer in the
Kruse, head of PET Technology at KHS.
One-liter hohes C juice bottle has consisted entirely of recycled plastic (rPET)
“We thus assessed the quality of the recycled PET material. This is crucial, for large variances in colour, molecular
for example. No major changes to the
length and inhomogeneity quickly reduce
machinery or geometrical properties of
the efficiency of production.”
the preforms were required. “This enabled
The fact that Eckes-Granini procures
us to achieve a very high level of process efficiency while retaining the container
An InnoPET FreshSafe block from KHS has been in operation at Eckes-Granini since 2017
4 000 TONS OF NEW PLASTIC AND 8 000 TONS OF CO2 SAVED These are the exact issues KHS addressed first when implementing the current
“The geometry of the preform is essential for efficient processing, especially when a high percentage of rPET is used”
quality, thus fully meeting our customer’s requirements,” Kruse notes.
rPET HAS BARRIER PROPERTIES Eckes-Granini will continue to benefit from FreshSafe PET barrier protection also after converting to 100% rPET. The company has relied on the environmentally-friendly system from
project. With its holistic Bottles & Shapes
KHS since 2006. The oxygen barrier
consultancy programme, customers benefit from over 40 years of expertise
its preforms from two different suppliers
of chemically pure glass, a wafer-thin
in container design and production.
presented an added challenge. The
coating on the inside of the PET bottle,
Beverage producers state their
geometry of the preform is essential for
not only effectively protects the juice
preferences regarding the weight, shape
efficient processing, especially when a
from oxygen pickup but is also fully
or stability of the container. The systems
high percentage of rPET is used.
recyclable. The coating can be easily
supplier then assesses the feasibility of
Through extensive testing it was
washed off Eckes-Granini bottles during
the design with the help of laboratory
established that both makes of preform
the recycling process. The sustainable
tests and simulation.
function soundly on the block system.
packaging alternative therefore permits
All that was needed for optimum bottle
pure-grade bottle-to-bottle recycling. “By
specifications were clear: switch to 100%
production were minor adjustments to
combining rPET and future-proof product
rPET while maintaining the homogeneous
the heater on the stretch blow molder.
protection Eckes-Granini and KHS are
quality of the container. According to
KHS’ NIR or near infrared technology
again demonstrating their pioneering role
Eckes-Granini, the changeover of the
especially provides a wide processing
for the circular economy,” •
one-liter hohes C bottle to rPET will save
window for rPET, allowing preforms
over 4 000 metric tonnes of new PET
to be heated prior to the stretch blow
per annum. This in turn means that the
molding process with pinpoint accuracy,
In the case of Eckes-Granini, the
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June 2021 | FOOD RE VIEW
KHS – www.khs.com
