Packaging ¦ IDM
From the preform, then low-energy container production and packaging design,
all the way through to the recycling of used plastics – Krones offers a solution for
every step of the process. (photo: Markus Vogel, Krones AG)
February 2020 ¦ international-dairy.com · 19
A closed cycle
Complete-line competence from Krones
Can plastic packages be sustainable?
Yes, if they are resource-economically
produced and kept in a closed
cycle. Krones offers a solution for
every step involved in the process.
From material-minimised packaging design and
energy-economical container production all the
way through to the recycling of used plastics.
The aim is to achieve a sustainable beverage
factory with a closed PET cycle – a vision that’s
now within our reach. Because all the building
blocks needed are already included in the Krones
Group’s portfolio.
For producing the preforms, every tenth of
a second in cycle time and every tenth of a gram
in weight are vital. There are plenty of potential
savings. In order to use them, there are two preconditions:
firstly, comprehensive knowledge
of the properties and behaviour of the various
preform materials; and secondly an in-depth
understanding of the production processes involved
– both during injection-moulding of the
preforms and also when identifying the salient
parameters for the stretch blow-moulding
function. Based on its innovative hot-channel
technology developed in-house, the Krones
subsidiary MHT offers a sophisticated highperformance
injection-moulding tool that even
with a flakes content of over 70 per cent rPET
achieves superlative results. In addition, it excels
in term of particularly homogeneous temperature
control of the melt, and natural balancing.
For the further path of the preform to a
saleable product, Krones’ portfolio includes
an entire bandwidth of technical solutions.
With the Contiform stretch blow-moulding
machines, preforms with a recyclate content
of 100 per cent can be handled without
any problems at very low energy and
compressed-air consumption: Also at high
speed. With the Contiform 3 Speed up to
2,750 bottles per cavity and hour can be produced.
This version even undercuts by up to
15 per cent the in any case already very low
energy and compressed-air consumption of
the Contiform 3 Pro.
After the bottles have been filled, they can
be innovatively closed using Flip Lid. This closure
has been jointly developed by Krones and Aptar.
It connects the lid to the bottle, thus preventing
plastic waste from entering the natural
environment. Commercial availability of Flip Lid
is planned as from 2020.
For container decoration, Krones supplies
the DecoType Select direct printing system,
which offers high colour brilliance on both virgin
and rPETt. The resource cycle is not interrupted,
since the American Association of Plastic
Recyclers has confirmed that the ink involved
can be removed in its entirety.
In order to combine eco-friendliness with
cost-efficiency for the packaging of beverage
bottles, Krones has expanded its enviro sustainability
programme to include enviro Design. This
means that in future packaging solutions will be
scrutinised for their environmental impact, such
as greenhouse gas emissions or preserving the
eco-system. One of the solutions, for example,
is the LitePac packaging option.
In the shape of LitePac, Krones has created
a secondary package that consumes up
to 90 per cent less energy in the production
process and even 70 per cent less waste than
shrink-packs.
In order to close the cycle, Krones offers in
the shape of MetaPure recovery systems that
recycle containers made of PET to make foodgrade
PET and upcycle polyolefins for higherquality
re-use than hitherto. krones.com