Technical Press Article*
Reliable and efficient concept
Air supplies tailored to PET container
production
It's immediately obvious from a glance in the beverages section of any supermarket - the containers and
bottles of polyethylene terephthalate, better known
as PET, are competing strongly with conventional
glass containers and bottles. And there's a good
reason; PET offers both the beverage industry and
the consumer immense advantages. Compressed air
plays a central role in the production of modern
packaging mediums. In this particular field of operations, tailormade system solutions can increase
efficiency significantly.
The development of the PET market is impressive; whereas in
1998 around a milliard litres of non-alcoholic beverages were
filled in PET containers, this volume has increased in the meantime to approximately 2.6 milliard litres. But there isn't even a
hint of saturation yet. Market researchers reckon with an annual
growth in the field of plastic in the foodstuff and beverage packaging industry of between eight and nine percent up until 2007.
And the rising sales of fruit juices in PET containers will account
for a strong impulse in this sector. There are several reasons for
the increasing acceptance of PET; it is highly durable, resistant
to pressure, break proof and much lighter than glass. It is
odourless and tasteless, non-reactive to oxygen and carbon
dioxide, has a high degree of purity and can be recycled just like
glass. In addition, the material is easily moulded in any form
imaginable.
In the meantime, the barrier properties of PET have been developed to such an extent that, in contrast to a few years ago, it
is suitable for products that have to be filled warm, or even hot,
such as fruit juices or other pasteurised beverages and foodstuffs. There are other advantages, as well to make PET bottles
and containers or the material recyclable, only relatively small
amounts of energy are required.
With the expansion of PET container production, compressed air
supplies and their efficiency in this field of application are gaining in significance.
Specialised production process
PET containers are manufactured in bi-axial blow moulding
machines. The plastic blanks called "preforms", (fig. 2) are
blown up bi-axially in these machines, i. e. stretched in both
Fig. 2:
The "preforms" are blown up to size as finished PET bottles in the blow
mould machines.
(Krones works photo)
their width and length. This bi-axial stretching introduces higher strength in comparison with other materials. A blow-moulding machine generally consists of the following units assembled
as a production system: preform feed line; preform loading;
heating; blow moulding; bottle removal (fig. 3).
Compressed air system solutions increase efficiency
Fig. 1:
A multiplicity of form and size is possible for PET containers and bottles.
(Krones works photo)
a) Blow air and working air at different pressures
First, air is needed during the manufacture of PET containers to
blow (stretch) the preheated preforms. The blank is firstly
stretched in length and, at the same time, charged with an initial blow pressure of 12 to 25 bar. Finally, the bottle is completely formed at an end pressure of 40 bar (fig. 4). The blow
pressure is related to the physical peculiarities of the container
concerned, i.e. its form and wall thickness. Higher pressures are
needed for a higher wall thickness and sharper edges, lower
pressures being sufficient for simpler forms.
Technischer Presseartikel
control air purposes. A pressure regulator determines the
required pressure for the working pressure and control air.
Fig. 3:
Blow mould machines with preform feed lines and blow mould units.
(Krones works photo)
The major portion of the compressed air supplied by the rotary
screw compressors is fed to the boosters via prefilters. The
booster compressors are single-stage, oil-lubricated reciprocating compressors with a low compression ratio. The final, achievable pressure can be as high as 45 bar. A speciality of the
boosters and rotary screw compressors in the Sigma PET Air
systems is that they are not only available as water-cooled versions but also as economical air-cooled versions. The highly
compressed blow air is also fed through a refrigeration dryer
that reduces the pressure dew point to +3 to +5 C, reliably
preventing condensate forming in the blow mould equipment.
Any existing oil aerosols, oil vapours and solid particles are efficiently retained by a microfilter combination.
In addition, working air at a pressure of between 7 and 10 bar
is needed for the activation of pneumatic cylinders, such as the
blow moulding cylinders and various feed systems.
b) Air supplies tailored to requirements
Kaeser has created a specific system solution to satisfy the
requirement for working and blow-moulding air at different pressures with its "Sigma PET Air" system, which generally consists
Fig. 4:
The preforms are simultaneously "stretched" and blown and brought into
their final shape.
Fig. 5:
A compressed air package supplying air to the blow mould machines.
The package illustrated consists of a rotary screw compressor (lowpressure stage, rear left), a booster (high-p
pressure stage, front right), an
air receiver (centre rear), control cabinet (rear right), and an Aquamat
condensate treatment unit (centre front). The package can be made up
of correspondingly more compressors, depending on requirements.
(Kaeser works photo)
(Krones works photo)
of a so-called low pressure stage, i.e. at least one fluid-cooled
rotary screw compressor, a refrigeration dryer for control air, a
high pressure stage with at least one booster, a high pressure
refrigeration dryer, filters and condensate treatment equipment
(fig. 5). Of course, several rotary screw compressors and boosters can be combined to satisfy the compressed air requirement.
Air at a working pressure of between 9 and 14 bar, depending
on the system, is available at the outlet of the low-pressure
stage. The screw compressors are fitted with modulating control, a method of control that ensures that the air delivery of the
compressor is always matched to the air demand from the blow
mould machine. A partial flow of compressed air tapped off
downstream of the low-pressure air receiver is dried in a refrigeration dryer, filtered by a microfilter combination and used for
A control cabinet directs the complete Sigma PET Air system.
The booster, high-pressure air receiver and control cabinet are all
mounted on a base frame and fully piped and wired. Sigma PET
Air systems are also available as turnkey systems enclosed in a
container.
c) Reliably high air quality
The Sigma PET Air system achieves the following air qualities at
both pressures: pressure dew point approx. +3 C (class 4 to
ISO 8573-1), oil content <0.003 mg/m (class 1 to ISO 85731), and solid particle content <0.01 mg/m (class 1 to ISO
8573-1). This quality level exceeds the purity demanded by the
Norm for this particular application, a fact that is certified by a
TV certificate.
In contrast to air supplies with oil-free multi-stage compressors
that were normally used in the past, the tailor-made system
solution described above offers high energy-efficiency and maximum possible operational reliability at low cost for investment,
operation and maintenance.
Author: Michael Bahr, press officer Kaeser Kompressoren
GmbH, Coburg
