Packaging, beer plastic bottles

Plastic bottles for carbonated beverages are mostly made of PET as it offers high tensile strength and good barrier properties. Blow-molded PET bottles account for 33% of the total carbonated soft drink market. For packaging beer, which is oxygen sensitive, PET bottles are coated with PVDC, while the base cups that support the bottle are usually made of HDPE. 

In contrast to plastics, rubbers are rarely used in the packaging of food products. Exceptions to this rule are the use of rubber in flip top seals on beer bottles and the seal that is present in food cans. However, in the processing of food, there are a number of situations where significant contact with rubber products can occur. This is due to the fact that the unique properties of rubber lead to it being used in a wide range of products (see Table 12.1). It is also the case that the range of contact conditions encountered (i.e. food type, contact temperature, time and area) mean that a wide variety of rubber compounds are employed (see section 12.2). 

Each year, over 100 billion aluminum cans, billions of glass bottles, and thousands of tons of paper and plastic are used in storing and dispensing soft drinks, juices, processed foods, grains, beer and other products. In the United States approximately 5.5 million tons of paper are consumed each year in packaging materials, which represents about 15% of the total annual domestic paper production. 

Styrene (ethenylbenzene) Polystyrene, plastic, burning plastic, styrene. <0.005 Not detectable in normal beer 0.02 Off-flavor produced by contaminant wild yeast during fermentation or a taint from raw materials/packaging. (Styrene has a mechanism of production similar to those of traditional wheat beer phenolics. Related to the POP phenolic off-flavor gene, it may he found in bottle re-fermented beers if POP and strains are present (Schwarz, 2012)). 

Applications that benefit from these improved properties include gas barriers for bottles (beer bottles), food packaging (boil-in bags, stand-up pouches), fuel tanks, automotive applications, electronics and electrical applications (components, printed circuit boards), electrically conductive parts, wires, cables, and many others. Most major plastics companies and compounders are developing, manufacturing, and marketing such products. 

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