Sidel releases StarLite-R Still 100% rPET bottle for still products
Using Sidel’s unique technology, a new bottle base StarLite-R Still ensures 100% recycled PET (rPET) integration, light-weighting, and high-speed production for water, juices, milk, and edible oil in sizes ranging from 0.25L to 2.5L.
With mainstream food and beverage manufacturers seeking designs that range from simple, lightweight options to more aesthetic shapes with optimised weights, they must be compatible with high-speed production, notes Mikael Derrien, manager packaging innovations at Sidel.
“They aim to reduce production costs through light-weighting, lower blowing pressures, and reduced energy consumption, while also striving to minimise their carbon footprint in response to regulatory pressures and consumer demand,” Derrien said.
“Today there are bottle bases on the market suitable for lightweight designs and high production speeds, however, they’re designed for virgin PET bottles. Sidel’s StarLite-R Still is the only solution on the market specifically developed to address recycled PET that achieves the high performance necessary in this competitive market space.”
StarLite-R Still’s precise bottle base shaping and efficient material distribution means manufacturers can balance production speed, material type, and bottle weight. The design can also be retrofitted onto existing production lines ensuring versatility and the solution requires a low blowing pressure.
The StarLite-R Still bottle base features Sidel’s patented technology which includes smooth material stretching and precise distribution; optimised venting for easy shaping; and an efficient base cooling circuit ideal for rPET which is likely to be processed at higher temperatures.
The new design ensures the base does not deform or break, crucial for maintaining the bottle’s integrity during production, conveying, storage, transportation, and use.
The mould base’s rounded-edge design makes it easier to shape during blow moulding, which increases the bottle base resistance to defects such as bursts during the blowing process. This feature is particularly important for lightweight bottles, which are more prone to such issues due to the use of thinner material.
With a high base clearance, the structural design prevents deformation, ensuring functionality and stability even in high-temperature conditions.
The bottle base also performs reliably during high-speed production, thanks to an efficient cooling. This cooling process prevents deformation and defects, maintaining consistent quality at rapid manufacturing speeds.
The bottle production process can use up to 20% less blowing pressure due to improved mould venting of the StarLite-R Still mould base. The carefully designed grooves and venting holes in the mould ensure that air escapes efficiently, allowing the bottle base to take its desired shape perfectly, even at lower pressures. This reduces energy consumption and production costs while maintaining quality.
By switching from virgin PET to 100% rPET thanks to StarLite-R Still, manufacturers can benefit from a reduction in 2,400 tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year. The calculation is based on a 11g, 0.5L bottle, 270M bottles produced yearly | comparing Virgin PET bottle to 100% rPET bottle | Environmental footprint reference data: 2.44 t CO2 eq / ton of virgin PET | 1. 64 t CO2 eq/ ton of rPET | Data source: Ecoinvent, Method IPCC 2013, Category climate change, Indicator GWP 100a
This bottle base can also be blown at lower pressure, only requiring 16 bars – a reduction of up to 20% on standard air blowing operations, translating to a further saving of 51 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and to €205,000 saved each year.
The bottle base is also compatible with a wide range of weights, including very lightweight bottles as low as 7g for 500ml format.
Sidel’s latest StarLite-R bottle base provides manufacturers with increased versatility as it is compatible with round, square-round and rectangular shaped bottles as well as suitable for single or multi-serve sizes from 0.25L up to 2.5L. It can also be used with transparent or white PET.
