Colgate-Palmolive, Polyplastics and PTI have unveiled an innovative new method for producing HDPE bottles that is reported to offer 25% weight and cycle time reductions.
This new technique adopts a common PET bottle technique – injection stretch blow moulding (ISBM) – to create thin, hot-fillable HDPE containers.
The companies report that the incorporation of a second component in the HDPE - a Polyplastics ethylene copolymer known as TOPAS COC – “greatly enlarges the processing window for HDPE rendering ISBM practical and efficient while delivering a recyclable container.”
According to the project partners, the drawbacks of the current most common HDPE bottle production method, extrusion blow moulding (EBM) are long cycle times and excess container weight at the base of the product.
TOPAS COC is already being used in combination with polyethylene (PE) in the packaging industry to enhance the existing properties of materials, and in medical applications in instances where high purity is required.
Colgate Palmolive says that it is exploring the use of COC “to enable cost-effective, high-performance packaging that meets increasing regulatory requirements for lighter weight”. The consumer products giant reports that “results to date are encouraging and the company plans to continue moving toward commercialization.”
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