Press release

PRESS RELEASE
More efficient production of PET bottles
IKV and industry partners jointly researching energy and resource efficiency
The stretch blow moulding process has now become established in the production of highquality PET bottles. Against the background of climate change and the ever-greater scarcity
of resources worldwide, the focus of business and public interest is increasingly moving
towards acting in a sustainable manner. Experts from different points along the stretch blow
moulding process chain have thus come together, within the framework of a research project,
in a bid to increase the energy and resource efficiency of PET bottle production on a
sustainable basis.
The investigations are focused on a detailed energy balance of the stretch blow moulding
process, from which methods are derived for assessing the efficiency of industrial stretch
blow moulding machines and components. Employing these methods, different approaches
are being adopted to increasing the energy efficiency of the heating process and to
increasing the resource and energy efficiency of the forming operation.
One of the partners is stretch blow moulding machine manufacturer KHS Corpoplast,
Hamburg, and the company is channelling its extensive know-how on process engineering,
mechanical engineering, material properties and bottle design into the project. Working
together with AdPhos Innovative Technologies, Bruckmühl-Heufeld, a company specialised
in thermal processes, approaches are being worked out to improving energy efficiency. The
findings obtained then go to Okertaler Mineralbrunnen, Goslar (Weydringer Group), to be
supplemented from the application-technology angle. The results are subsequently
implemented on an industrial stretch blow moulding machine at this company, which
produces alcohol-free beverages, and evaluated in energy terms.
Responsibility for coordinating the research activities and providing scientific supervision lies
with the Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University. The IKV is also
supporting the project through the consistent simulation of all the different process stages.
This research and development project, which is especially tailored to small and mediumsized companies, is being financed with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and
Research (BMBF) as part of the research programme on "SME-innovative production
research" and is being supervised by the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (PTKA) which is
running the project.
www.ikv-aachen.de
INSTITUT FÜR KUNSTSTOFFVERARBEITUNG · LEITER: PROF. DR.-ING. DR.-ING. E.H. W. MICHAELI
RWTH Aachen · 52056 Aachen · Germany · Telefon +49 (0) 241 80-93806 · Fax +49 (0) 241 80-92262 · www.ikv-aachen.de
About the IKV
The IKV Institute of Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University is one of the biggest institutes engaged in
this field of research. The Institute has more than 300 employees working on the problems encountered during
the processing of the many different types of plastics that are now available. The IKV's excellent contacts with
industry, together with its outstanding facilities, ensure that students benefit from a comprehensive, practicallyoriented course of study. Plastics engineering graduates from the IKV are thus sought-after experts in industry.
Around 50 percent of German plastics engineers with a university degree have received their education at the
IKV. In organisational terms, the IKV is divided up into the four specialist departments of Injection Moulding and
PU Technology, Extrusion and Further Processing, Part Design and Materials Technology, and Composites. The
Institute also takes in the Centre for Analysis and Testing of Plastics, and the Training/Skilled Crafts department.
It is run by an Association of Sponsors, which currently has a membership of more than 250 plastics companies
from all over the world. The members of the Association of Sponsors exploit their cooperation with the Institute to
ensure that they benefit from new developments at a particularly early stage. Professor Dr.-Ing. Dr.-Ing. E.h.
Walter Michaeli is Head of the Institute and Managing Director of the Association of Sponsors. He also holds the
Chair of Plastics Processing at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University.
Contact for the topic
Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV)
at RWTH Aachen University
Dipl.-Ing. Thorsten Leopold
Extrusion blow moulding
Pontstr. 49
52062 Aachen
phone: +49 (0) 241 80-28348
fax: +49 (0) 241 80-22316
email: [email protected]
www.ikv-aachen.de
Pressekontakt
Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung (IKV)
at RWTH Aachen University
Ulla Köhne
Public relations
Pontstr. 49
52062 Aachen
phone +49 (0)241 80-93672
fax +49 (0)241 80-92660
email: [email protected]
www.ikv-aachen.de
The following picture is available in a printable resolution.
KHS Corpoplast's latest stretch blow moulding machine: InnoPET Blomax Series IV (Photo: KHS
Corpoplast)
INSTITUT FÜR KUNSTSTOFFVERARBEITUNG · LEITER: PROF. DR.-ING. DR.-ING. E.H. W. MICHAELI
RWTH Aachen · 52056 Aachen · Germany · Telefon +49 (0) 241 80-93806 · Fax +49 (0) 241 80-92262 · www.ikv-aachen.de