German engineers have developed and demonstrated a process that could dramatically lower the cost of plastic bottle production. Polymer expert Zimmer claimed that its new approach could reduce the cost of manufacturing preforms for polyethylene terepthylate (PET) bottles by as much as 10 per cent. Preforms are injection-moulded bottles that are yet to be blown and stretched into their final shape. With around 10 million tonnes of these 'embryonic' bottles manufactured every year, a 10 per cent saving could represent an enormous economical stride. The process by which plastic bottles are made ― injection stretch-blow moulding ― is relatively simple. Molten polymer is injected into a cavity to produce a preform, which is dropped into a blow-mould area where it is stretched and blown into the desired bottle shape.
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