LIGHT PET - Innovative process and
soLutions to reduce the weIGHt of PET
containers and boost the diffusion of the
green purchases LIFE11 ENV/IT/000184
Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data R e a d m o r e Contact details:
Project Manager: Franco PASUT
Tel: +39 0438 911553
Fax: +39 049 8638063
Email: f r a n c o . p a s u t @ z o p p a s . c o m
Project description:
Background
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was used for some 40% of beverage containers
worldwide in 2010. Europe processed 2.4 million tonnes of virgin PET for this
use, with the requirement expected to increase by 2% per year. Production and
use of PET results in the depletion of natural resources, and the generation of
packaging waste. PET is the main polymer that must be addressed to achieve the
EU plastics recycling target of 50% of plastics from households by 2020.
Processing of 1 tonne of PET per hour requires 600 KW of power in a two-stage
process, and results in the production of 50 000 containers/hr. The process also
consumes hydraulic oil, which is difficult to dispose of. In addition, certain
drinks (e.g. tea, fruit juices and milk) require container sterilisation, which is
energy intensive and uses water and toxic chemicals. New processes that address
these issues are needed to improve the environmental performance of PET
production. Objectives
The main goal of the LIGHT PET project was to establish a new process and plant
for the production of food containers made from PET. The new plant will consist
of modules for both the production of the preforms and for their shaping into
bottles. The main innovation prosed will be in the stretching-blowing process.
The specific goals of the project are to reduce the consumption of PET by
The specific goals of the project are to reduce the consumption of PET by
reducing container weight and using a greater share of recycled PET; to reduce
energy consumption by optimising the configuration of the PET bottle plant; to
change from a two-stage to a one-stage process; and to eliminate the use of
hydraulic oil by using an injection-compression production process to remove
the need for hydraulic gears (and therefore the oil to lubricate them). Results
The LIGHT PET project developed a single-stage prototype plant for producing
PET bottles. The plant consumes one-third less energy than that of traditional
processes, and it does not use hydraulic oils. It can produce up to 40 000 sterile
bottles per hour, with these bottles being 6% lighter than the commercial
benchmarks. The bottles produced by the project’s innovative new process
contain at least 30% recycled PET. The project team demonstrated how the
percentage of recycled PET might be increased to 50-70%. The project’s prototype plant consisted of five macro-units that rotate
synchronically to perform a continuous production of bottles. The project
pioneered the implementation of the injection-compression process, well-known
for plastics moulding, for the first time in the high-speed production of plastic
bottles. The project demonstrated that a bottle production plant based on this
technology performs better and consumes less energy than a plant using
traditional processes. Several innovations were necessary to achieve this result.
The machinery developed produces bottles with a single stage process, instead of
the traditional two-stage processes. This required in-depth technological
studies, but as a result three key advantages were obtained; firstly, maintaining
the inner temperature of preforms saves thermal energy; secondly, since the
bottles cool down from very high temperatures, they do not need to be sterilised
prior to containing beverages (acids are used for this purpose in two-stage
processes); and thirdly, since the process is rapid, the feedstock does not need to
be fully dehydrated (saving energy). Another innovation involved the deployment
of a rotating system of fast-running moulds, which improved on the
performance of the usual injection-compression technology utilising static
moulds. This required a great deal of fine-tuning and troubleshooting, but
ultimately provided an industrial need for higher production speed. Finally, the
project innovated in terms of raw materials. Traditional processes use hydraulic
oils for obtaining high pressures on melted PET, but the new process operates at
reduced pressures for which compressed air is sufficient.
The project’s information tools including a best practice manual for recycling
and buying eco-friendly PET containers that was targeted at public
administrations and consumers. Once the prototype plant was fully-operational,
project staff participated in a number of international events and published
many articles on the new technology. Consumers, citizens and public
administrations therefore have been made aware of the importance of recycling
PET containers, and the possibility of buying bottles with added "eco-friendly"
value. The project team foresees around 120 such plants in use by 2025. Given that it is
possible to reduce bottle weight by about 6% compared to benchmarks and use
10% more recycled raw material (decreasing virgin PET use by some 15%), cut out
the need for oils and water, and operate with 30% more energy efficiency
compared to current technologies, the beneficiaries calculated (to 2025) that the
following savings could be made: 751.5 tonnes/year of hydraulic oil for the
machine functioning, 15 480 million litres/year of water, and 155 million
litres/year of peracetic acid and 5 420 GWh/year of energy for sanitising bottles.
The project falls within the framework of the EU directive on the optimisation of
natural resources and energy consumption, because less PET will be used per
bottle and less energy will be required from the plants. The project can also
accelerate the implementation of EU directives on the management of wastes,
particularly concerning recycling. Furthermore, as the new production process is
cheaper than traditional ones, it is likely to encourage producers to make bottles
with higher percentages of recycled PET (up to 70%). Project beneficiaries will benefit economically. SIPA will insert the new plant in its
portfolio as a "state-of-the-art" machine, and associated beneficiary IRCA will
start producing heating devices based on the more efficient ceramic technology
developed during the project. Industries that purchase the plant will save money
on raw materials and energy consumption, with a predicted return on investment
of about one year. The uptake of the technology may also increase job
opportunities, such as for trained technicians, product designers and sales
managers.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report
and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
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Environmental issues addressed:
Themes
Industry-Production - Food and Beverages
Waste - Packaging and plastic waste
Keywords
clean technology‚ plastic‚ industrial process‚ beverage industry‚ consumer
goods Target EU Legislation
Waste Directive 2008/98 - Waste and repealing certain Directives (Waste
Framework Directive) (19.11.200 ...
COM(2014)398 - "Towards a circular economy: a zero waste programme for
Europe" (02.07.2014)
COM(2015)614 - "Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular
Economy" (02.12.2015)
Natura 2000 sites
Not applicable
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Beneficiaries:
Coordinator
Type of organisation
Description
Partners
SIPA Società Industrializzazione Progettazione
e Automazione SPA
Large enterprise
SIPA SpA is a Zoppas Industries Group
company, which manufactures plastic
containers, in particular drinks bottles, and
equipment for filling them. The company is
experienced in working with polyethylene
terephthalate (PET), which is used for plastic
bottle production. SIPA has extensive research
facilities and a research staff of 40. Industria Resistenze Corazzate e Affini (IRCA)
S.p.A., Italy Consorzio per la Promozione della
Cultura Plastica (PROPLAST), Italy Istituto per la
Promozione delle Plastiche da Riciclo (IPPR),
Italy Top
Administrative data:
Project reference
Duration
Total budget
EU contribution
Project location
LIFE11 ENV/IT/000184
01-JUN-2012 to 31-DEC -2014
1,988,591.00 €
992,794.00 €
Piemonte(Italia),Lombardia(Italia),Veneto(Italia)
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Read more:
Newsletter
Title: "Light PET newsletter: processo innovativo
Newsletter
Title: "Light PET newsletter: processo innovativo
e soluzioni per diminuire il peso dei contenitori
in pet e promuovere gli acquisti green" (1.01
MB) Year: 2014 Editor: SIPA spa No of pages: 4 Project web site
Project's website
Publication: After-LIFE
Title: After-LIFE Communication Plan No of
Communication Plan
pages: 12 Publication: After-LIFE
Title: After-LIFE Communication Plan No of
Communication Plan
pages: 12 Publication: Guidelines-Manual Title: "Un approccio integrato per acquistare
responsabilmente: bottiglie di pet" (2.52 MB)
Editor: LIGHT PET No of pages: 13 Publication: Guidelines-Manual Title: "Un approccio integrato per acquistare
responsabilmente bottiglie di pet: Manuale per
la pubblica amministrazione" (2.38 MB)
Editor: LIGHT PET No of pages: 13 Publication: Layman report
Title: Layman report Editor: SIPA sPA No of
pages: 8 Publication: Layman report
Title: Layman report Editor: SIPA SpA No of
pages: 8 Publication: Technical report
Title: Project's Final technical report Year: 2015
Editor: SIPA SpA No of pages: 95 Top
Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data R e a d m o r e