South Asian Petrochem Limited

As IV shifts lower following are the effects on the bottle. 1. Lower IV resin or higher IV drop in processing will yield hazy preform. While increasing temperature will usually reduce or eliminate the problem, it is not a suggested as this will further reduce the IV of the preform. Lower preform IV will result in narrow blow molding process window. Such performs eventually yield defective bottles. a. Uneven wall thickness distribution. b. Thick shoulder and base, with thin sidewall thickness. c. Brittleness in shoulder and gate area. d. Bottles failing in drop test. 2. Lower burst strength of the bottle.3. Inconsistent blowing, need to frequently change the blowing parameters. Preform IV less than 0.68 dl/g is difficult to blow consistently. Resin IV less than 0.70 dl/g, is difficult to process, in normal injection molding. 8.3: Use of Regrind: Though use of hot runner molds in PET has greatly reduced the generation of regrind material, from runners and sprue. There is need to consume small quantity of regrind generated from start up and testing. Critical aspects of using regrind. 1. The maximum allowed regrind is 10 %. Any higher dosage can reduce the mean IV of the mix due to lower IV of the regrind. The mean IV should always be maintained above 0.76 dl/g. 2. Essential to maintain constant mixing ratio for uniform blow molding performance, as variation in IV due to variation in level of regrind will affects the consistency of preform blowing.

3. Proper feeding screw should be used in the hopper for uniform feeding, in case of using bottle flakes as these flakes tends to separate. Any separation of flakes in dryer or feed hopper will result in inconsistent preforms. 4. The effect of IV drop in the molding system (Dryer + Molder) also plays a critical role in the processing of regrind. If the system has very low IV drop, then higher dosage of regrind can be safely done. In no case the IV of the preforms should be allowed to drop less than 0.68 dl /g. 5. Some studies suggest that the use of 2 ~ 3 % regrind can reduce the AA level in preforms. But higher regrind dosage has always resulted in higher AA in preforms due to the higher AA content in the regrind and also the higher end groups. 6. As regrind do not have smooth corner, they tend to generate more fines while transportation to hopper and in the hopper. Thus process air filters need to be cleaned frequently. May be even once a shift. 7. Precautions to be taken, while using regrind in following aspects. a. Cleanliness of regrind. b. Moisture content of the regrind. Flakes can have higher moisture content and thus a cause for hydrolytic degradation during processing. Monsoon and high humid environments needs special care to avoid haziness and low IV preforms. c. The bottle and preform regrinds needs to be thoroughly sieved before loading into hopper dryer, as higher fines content can i. Choke the drier filters. ii. Dust marks in the preforms, as fines are difficult to melt under normal processing conditions. Thus, use of regrind even though financially rewarding, can open up a big box of rejection, if not handled with care. Primary Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/80803985/PET-Processing-V4-1