Proprietary research from PTI has shown that PET bottle performance may have their root cause in how long preforms are stored and in what environment.
PTI studied two litre and 20 ounce preforms that were more than a year old, with the preforms being dried under vacuum to get them back into a position similar to when they were first moulded.
The preforms were found to perform differently depending on the amount of time they were stored.
The older the preform, the more difficult it will be to process to meet performance criteria.
The time of year the preforms were injection moulded, along with the environmental conditions in which they are kept, can also have an impact on performance.
Sumit Mukherjee, Chief Technology Officer at PTI, said: “Our plant support personnel were frequently being asked what storage duration was acceptable for preforms and what problems can present themselves during longer storage periods.”
“With almost 40 years of experience in this area, we knew that the longer the preform is stored, the greater the impact on performance, particularly if that preform was stored in a high-humidity environment.”