PROCESS ECONOMICS
PROGRAM SRI INTERNATIONAL
Menlo Park, California
94025
Abstract
Process Economics Program Report No. 141
POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE BOTTLES AND BOTTLE RESINS
(October 1980)
This first PEP report on the subject presents technical and
economic information on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for
carbonated soft drinks and on bottle grade PET made from two competing
raw materials.
In the United States, 2 liter bottles made of PET, the second
largest volume blow molding resin, have essentially captured the market
for 2 liter (67.6 fl oz) and 2 quart (64 fl oz) soft drink bottles.
The market is expected to grow for other sizes of soft drink bottles
and also for non-soft drink applications.
Technology and economics are presented for making:
l Bottle grade PET:
- Fran purified terephthalic acid and fiber grade ethylene glycol
- Fran dimethyl terephthalate and fiber grade ethylene glycol
l Two liter biaxially oriented PET bottles for carbonated soft drinks.
PEP '79 MS
Report No. 141
0 0 POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE BOTTLES
AND BOTTLE RESINS
by MAX SACKS
I 1 a
October 1980
A private report by the
PROCESS ECONOMICS PROGRAM
Menlo Park, California 94025
For detailed marketing data and information, the reader is
referred to one of the SRI programs specializing in marketing
research. The CHEMICAL ECONOMICS HANDBOOK Program covers
most major chemicals and chemical products produced in the
United States and the WORLD PETROCHEMICALS Program covers
major hydrocarbons and their derivatives on a worldwide basis.
In addition, the SRI DIRECTORY OF CHEMICAL PRODUCERS services
provide detailed lists of chemical producers by company, prod-
uct, and plant for the United States and Western Europe.
ii
CONTENTS
1
2
3
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
SUMMARY............................ 3
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG. ............... 6 Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG ................ 6 PTA Compared with DMT for PET Production. ........... 7 Production of Two Liter Biaxially Oriented PET Bottles. .... 7
INDUSTRY STATUS. ....................... 9
United States ......................... 9 Bottles for Carbonated Products ............... 10 Bottles for Noncarbonated Products. ............. 14 Producers .......................... 15 Two-Layer Bottles ...... + ............... 19
Western Europe. ........................ 20 Canada ............................. 22 Japan ............................. 22 South Korea .......................... 24 Legislation .......................... 24
4 BOTTLE GRADE PET ........................ 27
Chemistry ........................... 27 Direct Esterification .................... 28 Transesterification ..................... 29 Polycondensation. ...................... 30 Acetaldehyde by Thermal Degradation of PET. ......... 32
Process Technology. ...................... 32 Process Description, PET from PTA and EG. ........... 37 Section100 ......................... 37 Section200 ......................... 39 Section300 ......................... 40 Section400 ......................... 41 Section500 ......................... 44 Materials of Construction .................. 44 Waste Streams. ....................... 45
Process Description, PET from DMT and EG. ........... 54 Section100 ......................... 54 Materials of Construction .................. 56 Waste Streams ........................ 56
Process Discussion. ...................... 64 PET from PTA and EG ..................... 65
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CONTENTS
4 BOTTLE GRADE PET (Continued)
Section 100. ....................... 65 Section 200. ....................... 66 Section 300. ....................... Section 400. ....................... ii Section 500. ....................... 69
PET from DMT and EG ..................... 70 Section 100. ....................... 70 Sections 200, 300, and 400 ................ 70 Section500 ........................ 71
Cost Estimates ........................ 71 Capital Costs. ....................... 71 Production Costs and Product Value ............. 72
Discussion of Costs. ..................... 72 Capital Costs. ....................... 72
Effect of Production Costs and Product Values on Selling Price ...................... 73
Net Production Costs .................... 73 Effect of PTA and DMT Costs on Net Production Costs. .... 74
Effect of Capital Costs on Net Production Costs. ...... 74
5 BIAXIALLY ORIENTED PET BOTTLES ................ 89
Review of Processes. ............. ........ 90 One Stage and Two Stage Stretch-Blow Molding ........ 90 Base Cups and Petalite@ Bottom ....... ........ 92
Du Pont Patents (450131) .......... ........ 93 Stretch-Blow Molding Machinery ....... ........ 94
Machinery Used in United States. ...... ........ 95 Cincinnati Milacron. ........... ........ 95
Nissei America .............. ........ 96 Corpoplast ................ ........ 97
tpT ................... ........ 97
Emhart Corporation ............ ........ 98
IMCO Container Company .......... ........ 98
Dynaplast SA ............... ........ 99
Machinery Used in Europe .......... ........ 99
Machinery Used in Japan. .......... ........ 99
Process Description. ............. ........ 100
Section 100. ................ ........ 102 Section 200. ................ ........ 104 Section 300. ................ ........ 105 Section 400. ................ ........ 106
Section 500. ................ ........ 107
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a
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a IV
CONTENTS
l -
5 BIAXIALLY ORIENTED PET BOTTLES (Continued)
Section 600. ....................... Buildings ........................
Process Discussion ..................... Selection of Processing Scheme .............. Section lOO--PET and HDPE Unloading, Storage, and Blending; PET Drying ................. Section 200 Preform Injection Molding; Bottle Stretch-Blow Molding. ............... Section 300--Base Cup Injection Molding, Storage, and Orienting .................. Section 400--Base Cup Application; Bottle Leak Testing and Labeling. ................ Section 500--Case Assembly and Packing; Palletizing and Stretch-Wrapping ............. Section 600--Recycle Scrap and Sales Scrap Grinding. ... Uses for Scrap PET Bottles ................ Waste Streams. ......................
Cost Estimates ....................... Capital Costs. ...................... Production Cost and Product Value. ............
Discussion of Costs. .................... Capital Costs. ...................... Onstream Factor. ..................... PET Cost ......................... Percent Scrap. ......................
APPENDIX A DESIGN AND COST BASES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
APPENDIX B PROPERTIES OF PRINCIPAL RAW MATERIALS FOR PET BOTTLE RESINS AND OF PET BOTTLE RESINS . . . .
APPENDIX C SAFETY AND HANDLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
CITED REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
PATENT REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
108 108 115 115
115
116
117
117
118 118 119 120 121 121 122 122 123 123 123 123
139
V
ILLUSTRATIONS
4.1 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Flowsheet.......................... 161
4.2 Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization, Section 100 only Flowsheet.......................... 169
4.3 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG or from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Effect of Operating Level and Plant Capacity on Production Cost.................................... 86
5.1 Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Flowsheet.......................... 171
5.2 Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Effect of Operating Level and Plant Capacity on Production Cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
a
Vii
I-
2.1
2.2
3.1
3.2
Production of Bottle Grade PET Summary of Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Production of Biaxially Oriented Two Liter PET Bottles Summary of Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Historical and Projected Growth of Soft Drink Market. . . . .
Projected Conversion of PET Bottles for Noncarbonated Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3
3.4
3.5
4.1
U.S. Manufacturers of PET Barrier Resin Bottles as of January 1, 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
U.S. Producers of PET Barrier Resin as of July 1, 1980. . . .
Oriented PET Bottle and Container Production in Europe. . . .
Bottle Grade PET Patent References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.2 Bottle Grade PET Summary of Other Sources of Information . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.3
4.4
Correlation Between Intrinsic Viscosity and Melt Viscosity for PET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Stream Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.5 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Major Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.6 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Utilities Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.7 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Bases and Assumptions . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.8
4.9
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Waste Stream Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Stream Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TABLES
4
5
11
16
17
18
21
36
46
48
51
52
53
57
IX
TABLES
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
4.16
4.17
4.18
4.19
4.20
4.21
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Major Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Utilities Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Bases and Assumptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Waste Stream Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Total Capital Investment . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Capital Investment by Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Total Capital Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Bottle Grade PET from MDT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Capital Investment by Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Production Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Direct Operating Costs by Section (Thousand $/Yr). . . . . . 81
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Production Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Direct Operating Costs by Section (Thousand $/Yr). . . . . . 83
4.22 Production of Bottle Grade PET Capital Cost Comparison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.23 Production of Bottle Grade PET Production Cost Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
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X
TABLES
2.1
2.2
3.1
3.2
Production of Bottle Grade PET Summary of Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Production of Biaxially Oriented Two Liter PET Bottles Summary of Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Historical and Projected Growth of Soft Drink Market. . . . .
Projected Conversion of PET Bottles for Noncarbonated Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3
3.4
3.5
4.1
U.S. Manufacturers of PET Barrier Resin Bottles as of January 1, 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
U.S. Producers of PET Barrier Resin as of July 1, 1980. . . .
Oriented PET Bottle and Container Production in Europe. . . .
Bottle Grade PET Patent References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2 Bottle Grade PET Summary of Other Sources of Information . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3 Correlation Between Intrinsic Viscosity and Melt Viscosity for PET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Stream Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.5 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Major Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.6 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Utilities Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.7 Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Bases and Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.8
4.9
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Waste Stream Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Stream Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
5
11
16
17
18
21
33
35
36
46
48
51
52
53
57
ix
TABLES
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
4.16
4.17
4.18
4.19
4.20
4.21
4.22
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Major Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Utilities Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and BG, Solid State Polymerization Bases and Assumptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Waste Stream Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Total Capital Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET frm PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Capital Investment by Section. . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Total Capital Investment . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from MDT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Capital Investment by Section. . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Production Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from PTA and EG, Solid State Polymerization Direct Operating Costs by Section (Thousand $/Yr).
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Production Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bottle Grade PET from DMT and EG, Solid State Polymerization Direct Operating Costs by Section (Thousand $/Yr).
Production of Bottle Grade PET Capital Cost Comparison. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 58
. . . . . 61
. . . . . 62
. . . . . 63
. . . . . 76
. . . . . 77
. . . . . 78
. . . . . 79
. . . . . 80
. . . . . 81
. . . . . 82
. . . . . 83
. . . . . 84
4.23 Production of Bottle Grade PET Production Cost Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
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a X
4.24
4.25
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10
5.11
5.12
5.13
TABLES
Production of Bottle Grade PET Net Production Cost as a Function of PTA or DMT Cost. . . . . 87
Production of Bottle Grade PET Net Production Cost as a Function of Capital Costs . . . . . 88
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Design Basis and Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Using Cinc Milacron RHB-V Major Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Using Cinc Milacron RHB-V Utilities Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Stream Flows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Using Cinc Milacron RHB-V Total Capital Investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Using Cinc Milacron RHB-V Capital Investment by Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Using Cinc Milacron RHB-V Production Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Using Cinc Milacron RHB-V Direct Operating Costs by Section (Thousand $/Yr) . . . . . . 128
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Production Cost Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Net Production Cost as a Function of Capital Costs. . . . . . 131
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Net Production Cost as a Function of Onstream Factor. . . . . 132
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Net Production Cost as a Function of PET Cost . . . . . . . . 133
Two Liter PET Biaxially Oriented Soft Drink Bottles Net Production Cost as a Function of Percent Scrap. . . . . . 134
xi
TABLES
B.l Specifications and Typical Properties for Purified Terephthalic Acid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
B.2 Specifications and Typical Properties for Dimethyl Terephthalate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
B.3 Typical Sales Specification for Fiber Grade Ethylene Glycol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143.
B.4 Specifications for Fiber Grade Antimony Oxide . . . . . . . . 144
B.5 Specifications and Typical Properties for Reagent Grade Zinc Acetate Crystal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
B.6 Specifications for Bottle Grade PET . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
xii
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