SUSTAINABILITY OPERATIONS
Efficient packaging machines support source reduction, waste reduction and utility conservation efforts.
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At 6.4 grams, the SixPointFour PET bottle, designed by KHS, ranks as one of the lightest 0.5-liter containers on the market. |
To achieve sustainability goals, end users frequently focus on source reduction, waste reduction and energy conservation. These “green” initiatives not only involve changes in material specifications, but also necessitate careful evaluation of packaging machine capabilities. However, with the right machine, the transition to greener packaging can be seamless or nearly so. In fact, some machines can even monitor performance and minimize demands on plant utilities.
Source reduction downgauges, lightweights or eliminates packaging material and necessitates packaging machines capable of handling thinner gauges or lighter containers.
Co-operative Farms of Manchester, U.K., has installed a GT2 tray sealer from ProSeal UK Ltd. of Adlington, U.K. The tray sealer at the firm’s new fruit packing plant in Longforgan, near Dundee, Scotland, made it possible to switch to film lidstock from a heavier thermoformed lid, reducing material consumption, saving energy and cutting costs. The sealer, which is available in the United States from ProSeal’s office in Richmond, Va., seals 90 punnets per minute (baskets for distributing small berries and other fruits). A standby mode automatically powers down the machine when not in use and reduces energy consumption.
“It’s a matter of environmental responsibility,” explains Rob Hull, head of vegetable operations at Co-operative Farms. “Using film requires considerably less packaging material, which consequently reduces the amount of packaging waste.” Close Cut Technology tooling boosts material savings up to 11 percent more and allows lidstock to be applied faster. “In addition . . . we’re using pre-printed film that is more aesthetically pleasing than labeled lids,” says Hull.
With the success of the unit, Co-operative Farms may upgrade to a GT2 Twin. Developed in association with the Carbon Trust of London, U.K., this model not only is more than 33 percent faster, but also incorporates ProSeal’s Eco Seal System, which can cut energy consumption up to 65 percent.
When it comes to lightweighted containers, Sidel Group of Octeville-sur-Mer, France, Krones AG of Neutraubling, Germany and KHS Corpoplast of Hamburg, Germany, have designed entire lines to produce and handle the lightest polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles with some weighing around 6.5 grams, roughly 50 percent less than traditional 0.5-liter bottles.
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Enercon’s Super Seal™ Touch induction sealer delivers higher throughput, faster setup and easier operation with an integrated cap inspection system, touch screen operator interface, recipe management and expanded networking options. |
The KHS HotFill+ System, for example, makes it possible to lightweight hot-filled PET bottles by eliminating the need for vacuum panels. Purging the headspace with nitrogen after filling prevents the containers from shrinking and deforming.
Source reduction extends beyond primary containers to multipack innovations like the Grab Pack from Hartness International of Greenville, S.C., and the Nest Pack from Polypack of Pinellas Park, Fla. Both concepts replace corrugated cases, trays and pads with film.
The Grab Pack multipack consists of a honeycomb of 2 mil (508-micron) reverse-printed polyethylene (PE) shrink film that is applied over the foot and shoulder of each container in a collation. This offers a potential replacement to plastic neck rings. Perfs allow containers to be removed without disturbing the integrity of the pack. The shrink-sleeve concept requires less material and cuts costs $0.05 to $0.09 per pack. To reduce packaging costs another 40 percent, four six-count Grab Pack multipacks can be shrink wrapped together to create a tight, corrugate-free distribution pack.
The Nested Pack option on Polypack’s Clearprint wrapper staggers rows of containers to create a dense unsupported pack and fit more product in the same space as a traditional collation. Patent-pending belt drive film application and perforation systems make it possible to run clear or print-registered films less than 1 mil thick.
Application systems from Nordson Corp. of Duluth, Ga., and Liquid Polymer Corp. of Lorain, Ohio, conserve both adhesive and energy. Nordon’s PatternJet™ Plus Hot Melt Applicators dispense adhesive in a stitched rather than continuous bead. Retract-on-close (snuff-back) actuators prevent adhesive stringing, even at high line speeds. A pattern controller can be set to cut adhesive consumption up to 50 percent. “However, optimizing the stitching pattern will require some testing [to confirm performance],” says Rick M. Pallante, marketing development manager, packaging in Nordson’s Adhesives Division.
Nordson's Liquamelt system combines a hot-on-demand, closed TurboActivator dispenser with a foam adhesive that is liquid at room temperature and reduces sealant requirements up to 50 percent. With no hot tank or heated hoses, energy consumption can drop by 70 percent compared to traditional hot-melt systems. In addition, the adhesive consists of nearly 50 percent bio-based ingredients. Installed at Tastykake of Philadelphia, Pa., on a 330TF tray former from Wepackit of Orangeville, Ontario, a Liquamelt system has cut machine stops to clean adhesive strings from once every 15 minutes to once per shift. In addition, "we have dramatically reduced the number of line jams [and waste] . . . due to open flaps," reports Monty Wood, maintenance manager at the Tastykake plant in Oxford, Pa.
A variety of direct-printing technologies eliminate the need for labels. For example, digital systems from Iconotech of Clinton, Conn., print cases or bags on-demand, replace printing plates with a film stencil and prevent the scrap and obsolescence associated with pre-printed labels.
Another direct-print technology, inkjet, prints alphanumeric characters, logos and barcodes. One recent introduction, the 5600 High Resolution Liquid Inkjet Printer from Markem-Imaje of Keene, N.H., relies on quick-drying glycol-ether ink to print on porous substrates like corrugated cases/trays. With superior opacity at ambient temperatures of 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the printer achieves maximum contrast with minimum ink consumption at line speeds of up to 182 meters per minute.
Label-free primary containers are possible with Uvaclear technology from Hartness. The ultraviolet-based inks can be spray-coated to color clear glass containers or screen-printed to apply product information without the volatile organic compounds, heavy metals or high energy requirements of applied ceramic labeling. Since the coating is easily removed during the recycling process, the direct-decorated containers can be recycled as clear glass.
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Direct decorating process using Uvaclear technology from Hartness replaces labels. |
No Film Break technology on stretch wrappers from Lantech.com of Louisville, Ky., minimizes waste by preventing film breaks even if the stretch wrap contains a hole or sharp objects are being wrapped. The mechanical film handling system also wraps at a higher tension without distorting the load so pallets previously wrapped with 22 to 24 revolutions now need only 12 spins to provide the same level of containment. Fewer wraps per load reduces film usage and waste up to 50 percent.
Another waste reduction technique involves converting to nondestructive leak testing equipment such as the PakScan from Sepha Ltd. of Belfast, Northern Ireland, or the VeriPac 325/D from Packaging Technologies and Inspection, LLC of Tuckahoe, N.Y. Equipped with noncontact laser scanning technology, the PakScan leak tester simultaneously tests up to four nonporous pouches, bags or modified-atmosphere packs and detects flaws as small as 10 microns.
Like the PakScan tester, the VeriPac 325/D system replaces the traditional (and destructive) blue dye test. It uses a vacuum decay method and is sensitive to 10 microns.
To support conversions to short-skirt closures, the portable TorqTraQ® Device from Plastic Technologies, Inc. (PTI) of Holland, Ohio, measures the torque of closures and cappers in pounds per inch or newtons per meter. With the lighter designs, “if the closure is applied too tightly, you run a higher risk of distortion,” explains Ron Puvak, new business development at PTI. “If it’s too loose, you won’t get the proper seal.”
Integrated quality control systems reduce waste by identifying flawed product or packages before more value is added. For example, a built-in cap inspection sensor on the Super Seal Touch induction sealer from Enercon Industries Corp. of Menomonee Falls, Wis., rejects any unsealable container before it reaches the sealing head.
The Pro Vision Series from CIVision of Aurora, Ill., helps contract packagers and original equipment manufacturers integrate waste-eliminating machine vision inspection. The 600-pack-per-minute system clamps to the conveyor frame on a universal mounting bracket and consists of up to four cameras, a touch screen operator interface, trigger assembly, strobe light, blow-off reject mechanism, software and computer control. With numerous options and camera choices, “the system is 100 percent à la carte so integrators can pick and choose features,” says Tom McLean, president of CIVision.
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Nordson’s PatternJet Plus applicators allow the end user to save adhesive by changing adhesive patterns. |
Conserving utilities is not only environmentally positive, but also greens the bottom line. As a result, there’s an increased interest in packaging machines that require less water for cleaning, monitor utility consumption and operate at higher levels of efficiency.
The Predis FMm Combi line from Sidel conserves resources several ways. The Predis dry decontamination system on the integrated blowmolding, filling and capping line reduces energy, chemical and water consumption by using hydrogen peroxide vapor and sterilizing the smaller preform rather than the larger bottle. The system can run 36 hours between sterilization cycles and is compatible with lightweighted containers.
With motors and drives consuming an estimated 68 percent of all energy used in industrial settings, Bosch Rexroth Corp. of Hoffman Estates, Ill., takes a multifaceted conservation approach it calls 4EE: energy-efficient components, energy recovery, energy on demand and energy-efficient design. Supporting products include digital servo-amplifiers on motors that eliminate the need for air conditioning in machine cabinets and regenerative power supplies that use up to 20 percent less electricity by capturing energy generated during braking then supplying it to other devices, storing it in a buffer for the next cycle or feeding it to the grid.
Higher levels of efficiency can be found in many machine components. For example, COAX vacuum cartridges from PIAB Vacuum Products of Hingham, Mass., consume significantly less energy than conventional ejectors. Integrating components of a multi-stage vacuum pump into a cartridge doubles speeds, triples flow with the same air consumption and produces vacuum as soon as the pressure valve is turned on.
The Ambiance Hot Air Shrink Tunnel from PDC International Corp. of South Norwalk, Conn., also boosts energy saving features. The Ambiance tunnel duplicates the effect of steam shrink tunnels with a combination of dry heat technologies: recirculating hot air, blown hot air and PDC’s proprietary SPAF system, which injects cool air to control shrink rates. To minimize energy consumption, the self-monitoring tunnel features low-watt heating elements and tight control and only warms recirculated air as needed. Double-skin construction also helps reduce energy use by minimizing heat loss.
Hallie Forcinio has been covering packaging industry trends for more than 20 years.
