WO2001053159A1

WO2001053159A1 - Reusable container for liquid products and method for producing the same

Info

Publication number: WO2001053159A1
Application number: PCT/SE2001/000073
Authority: WO
Inventors: Åke ROSÉN
Original assignee: Eco Lean Ab
Priority date: 2000-01-18
Filing date: 2001-01-17
Publication date: 2001-07-26
Also published as: AU2001228976A1; SE0000160L; SE0000160D0

Abstract

A reusable container for liquid products, which is produced by low moulding from a preform. The container has a body (2) containing a filler, comprising chalk (calcium carbonate), and a binder of polyolefin material, and a layer (3) arranged on the inside of the body (2) and containing a polyolefin material. The invention also relates to a method for producing such a container.

Description

REUSABLE CONTAINER FOR LIQUID PRODUCTS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a reusable container for liquid products to be consumed and a method for producing such a container. More specifically, the invention concerns such a container produced by blow moulding from a preform.

Background Art

Different kinds of liquid products are usually packed in bottles which are blow moulded from preforms made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or related materials such as polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) . Such bottles are particularly suitable for different types of both carbonated and non-carbonated bev- erages, such as wine, beer, mineral water and lemonade.

Thanks to a refunding system, the bottles can be returned to the producers, and after washing the bottles can be refilled. A bottle of the type described above has a number of advantages. The stiffness of the bottle makes it easy to handle while at the same time the product contained therein is mechanically protected against outside stress. The stiffness also makes it possible for the bottle to withstand an internal pressure above atmospheric caused by, for example, a carbonated product. Its relatively low weight results in lower transport costs and easier handling for the customer. The fact that the bottle can be refilled is, of course, environmentally advantageous .

However, PET or PEN bottles suffer from a serious drawback. They are sensitive to the action of heat in such manner that they shrink if subjected to excessive heat. This means that such a bottle, if it is to be refilled, must be cleaned at relatively low temperatures. For a satisfactory washing result, considerable amounts of dishwashing detergent must be used, which of course is costly and reduces the environmental advantages of the bottle. The bottle being sensitive to the action of heat also implies that it is not possible to sterilise the bottle at high temperatures, for instance by steam, so as to obtain sterile conditions when filling the bottle. The heat sensitivity of the bottle finally means that it cannot be hot-filled, i.e. the liquid product poured into the bottle is not allowed to be so hot that the bottle is deformed, i.e. shrinks, during filling.

Moreover, it is not profitable to use the material included in the bottle to produce new bottles. The material recycled from the bottles must in fact be subjected to extensive chemical processing before it can be used to produce new bottles. This chemical processing is fairly expensive, and for economical reasons bottles of the above-mentioned type are therefore made of newly-produced PET or PEN plastic or similar materials.

Summary of the invention

Taking that stated above into consideration, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved container for liquid products, which is made by blow mould- ing from a preform. More specifically, the container should be easy to handle and afford mechanical protection against outside stress.

Moreover, it should be possible to reuse the container and subject it to adequately high temperatures. In particular it should be possible to clean the container at high temperatures so as to allow refilling thereof, in which also hot filling is to be allowed. Furthermore it should be possible to reuse the container to the extent that it should be possible to use the material included in the container at a reasonable cost for producing new containers . ω ω M t * M

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suits in a container which without essential deformation can accommodate a liquid product which in itself generates a pressure above atmospheric inside the sealed container. Examples of such products are different kinds of beverages, such as beer, mineral water and lemonade. The casing contains for this purpose suitably polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) .

The casing advantageously has a barrier property which to the requisite extent prevents gas from penetrating into or escaping from the container. This ensures, for instance, that a pressure above atmospheric prevailing in the container and caused by a carbonated beverage is maintained. Moreover it will be possible to prevent penetration of air into a container filled with e.g. milk. The barrier property of the casing thus means that the shelf-life of a product in the container is prolonged. To achieve said barrier property, the casing may contain, for example, EVOH, PVDC, Nylon (trademark) , water glass (sodium silicate) or liquid crystals. The casing may also serve as a decoration carrier, in which case the decoration in itself may contain materials with the desirable barrier property.

Furthermore, according to the present invention a method is provided for producing a reusable container, characterised by the steps of making a preform having a first layer which contains a filler, comprising chalk (calcium carbonate) , and a binder of polyolefin material, and a second layer, which is arranged on an inside of the first layer and which contains a polyolefin material, and blow moulding the preform to form a container, the first layer forming a body and the second layer forming a layer of the container, said layer being arranged on the inside of the body. This results in a preform which is easy to blow mould to produce the completed container. The completed container has the advantageous properties stated above. When making the preform, a third layer can also be arranged on the outside of the first layer, said third layer consisting of a polyolefin material. This third layer forms an outer layer of the container, the purpose of the outer layer being to protect the body which is sensitive to wear and scratching.

According to a preferred embodiment of the inventive method, a casing is arranged over the blow-moulded container, the casing having such a tensile strength that the container and the casing arranged on its outside can withstand an internal pressure above atmospheric of up to 7-10 bar. The casing can be arranged over the container in such manner that it is slipped on to the container and is then subjected to heat treatment so as to shrink onto the container. The tensile strength of the casing thus means that the container can be filled with liquid products which generate a pressure above atmospheric inside the container without the container being deformed to any considerable extent . Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Brief Description of the Drawing Fig. 1 is a side view of a container according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a container according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a container according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the container shown in Fig. 3, the casing of the container being shown in a state before shrinkage.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the casing shown in Fig. 4. Ti Ti . 4H

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The second layer, which forms the layer 3 arranged on the inside of the body, consists of a polyolefin material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

The material thickness of the container 1 is pref- erably in the range 45-210 μm, the thickness of the body 2 preferably being in the range 40-200 μm and the thickness of the layer 3 preferably being in the range 5-10 μm. The preform, from which the inventive container 1 is blow moulded, is given a required material thickness. It will be appreciated that the material thickness need not be uniform either of the preform or of the completed container, but may vary to provide a suitable material thickness in each individual portion of the completed container 1. Thanks to the body 2, the completed container 1 has high stiffness even at small material thicknesses. It is thus the filler of chalk which gives the body its stiffness. As a result, a container 1 is provided, which is easy for a user to hold and which in addition has a low weight. The stiffness of the container 1, of course, contributes to affording mechanical protection against outside stress during the normal handling of the container 1.

The inner layer 3 of the container 1 prevents con- tact between a product kept in the container 1 and the body 2. This is necessary since the product would otherwise be affected by the body 2. The inner layer 3 also prevents the filler with chalk contained in the body 2 from being affected by various products poured into the container 1. Without the inner layer 3, the container 1 would not be able to keep products such as juice or wine. Nor would it be possible to clean the container with different kinds of chemical detergents.

The inventive container 1 is reusable. Owing to the composition of materials of the container, it is possible to clean the container 1 with hot water, without the container shrinking or being deformed in some other way. As an example, it may be mentioned that an inventive container 1 is not affected in washing with water having a temperature of 90°C while a conventional PET bottle shrinks by about 50% in washing with water at the same temperature .

The good heat resistance of the inventive container 1 also allows sterilisation by steam. Experiments have demonstrated that the container 1 withstands sterilisation by steam at as high temperatures as 140°C, without being affected. This renders it possible to use steam to obtain the conditions that are necessary for aseptic filling of the container 1.

The heat resistance of the container 1 also means that it can be hot filled, i.e. a product can be poured into the container 1 while it is still hot, which of course in some cases can be advantageous in terms of production.

The inventive container 1 according to Fig. 1 is also reusable in the sense that the material included in the container 1 can be used to produce new containers.

The polyolefin material which forms the layer 3 arranged on the inside of the body 2 is suitably the same polyolefin material which is the binder of the body 2. This allows melting of the container and - after adding a filler to the required extent - use of the molten material for producing new bodies for the container of the inventive type. The step of grinding the container can optionally precede the melting thereof.

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of the inventive container 1. What differs this container 1 from the container 1 shown in Fig. 1 is that a layer 4 is arranged on the outside of the body 2. This is suitably carried out in connection with the making of the preform, from which the container 1 is later produced by blow moulding. Like the inner layer 3, this layer 4 consists of a polyolefin material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The purpose of the outer layer 4 is to provide an outside which SH ti SH Φ 1 ti 4H Φ rt Φ 1 SH SH Ti 1 S3 rt -H 43 Φ Φ 3 CJ S3 3 Φ ti Φ Φ S3 43 _ . 3 Ti -H φ Φ CQ Φ ti r-i -H -i SH -H SH ft Ti CQ 4H X 4H S3 rd CJ rti Φ Φ 43

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When a container 1 with a casing 5 is to be reused, the casing 5 is suitably removed before cleaning the container 1. This can be carried out, for example, by the casing 5 being slit open and then being pulled off. It will be appreciated that the present invention is not restricted to the embodiments illustrated. Several modifications and variations are feasible, and the invention is thus only defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A reusable container for liquid products to be consumed, said container being produced by blow moulding from a preform, charac t e r i s e d in that the container has a body (2) which contains a filler, comprising chalk (calcium carbonate) , and a binder of polyolefin material, and a layer (3) arranged on the inside of the body (2) and containing a polyolefin material.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a layer (4) arranged on the outside of the body

(2) and containing a polyolefin material.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , wherein the filler of said body (2) has a weight proportion in the range 30-70%.

4. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, wherein the filler also contains talc (magnesium silicate) .

5. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, wherein the filler also contains mica.

6. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a casing (5) arranged on the outside of the container and having such a tensile strength that the container and the casing arranged on its outside can withstand an internal pressure above atmospheric of up to 7-10 bar.

7. A container as claimed in claim 6, wherein the casing (5) contains a plastic film of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) .

8. A container as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the casing (5) also has a barrier property.

9. A container as claimed in claim 8, wherein the casing (5) contains a material which is selected from the group consisting of EVOH, PVDC, Nylon (trademark) , water glass (sodium silicate) or liquid crystals for providing said carrier property.

10. A container as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the casing (5) contains a decoration print for providing said barrier property.

11. A method for producing a reusable container (1), c ha r a c t e r i s e d by the steps of making a preform having a first layer which contains a filler, comprising chalk (calcium carbonate) , and a binder of polyolefin material, and a second layer, which is arranged on an inside of the first layer and which contains a polyolefin material, and blow moulding the preform to form a container (1) , the first layer forming a body (2) and the second layer forming a layer (3) of the container (1) , said layer being arranged on the inside of the body (2) .

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step of making the preform also comprises arranging a third layer on an outside of the first layer, said third layer containing a polyolefin material, the third layer forming a layer (4) arranged on the outside of the body (2) when the preform is blow moulded to form the container (1) .

13. A method as claimed in claim 11 or 12, further comprising the step of arranging a casing (5) having such a tensile strength that the container and the casing ar- ranged on its outside can withstand an internal pressure above atmospheric of up to 7-10 bar.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the step of arranging the casing (5) on the outside of the container (1) comprises slipping the casing (5) on to the container (1) and subsequently shrinking the same onto the container (1) .

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the casing (5) is shrunk onto the container (1) by heat treatment .