PET major Eastman Chemical has launched new resins for both the still and carbonated beverage markets.
The company claims Aqualor is the first reheat-enabled PET for still water bottles on the market.
Lower energy consumption and faster line speeds are said to be the key advantages of the new resin.
Eastman said that up to 30% less energy is required to reheat the preforms, and the resin’s low viscosity (0.72 IV) improves injection speeds and produces high definition for bottle imprints.
“While other reheat resins often produce unattractive haze, Aqualor PET results in unsurpassed neck and sidewall clarity…”, read the Eastman announcement.
Eastman has also launched two new grades for carbonated soft drinks and bottled beer. The Vorcalor PET is also said to provide energy savings when reheating preforms (up to 60%) and offer high optical clarity.
Vorcalor CB11E has an elevated viscosity of IV 0.82, which the company said improves stress crack resistance and reduces creep. Eastman also said this elevated viscosity makes it suitable as the base resin for blending with recycled PET, which has a lower IV, in bottle-to-bottle recycling.