A new foamed polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle technology will give carbonated beverages, wine, spirits, cosmetics, personal care and other applications, physical and visual properties not previously available in a monolayer bottle. It is also suitable for certain aseptically packaged products.

The Fi-Cell (fine cellular) foamed PET bottle is being made available to the U.S. marketplace under the recently announced representation agreement between Plastic Technologies, Inc. (PTI) and Toyo Seikan Co. Ltd. The technology has already been commercialized by Toyo Seikan in Japan for a line of coffee drinks.

One of the Fi-Cell’s key attributes is that the process produces monolayer bottles with a smooth inner and outer wall surface (Other foamed bottle technologies require an overmolded bottle to achieve a similar result.).

The introduction is particularly significant for carbonated beverage applications that require a smooth inner wall for an accurate fill. A rough interior surface subjects the liquid to mechanical action. This causes the CO₂ to come out of the liquid and turn into gas or froth. Tricked by the froth into thinking that the correct volume has been filled, the filler stops the process resulting in an underfilled container. Fi-Cell bottles have smooth inner walls which prevents that from happening.

Secondly, the Fi-Cell process produces a visually exciting metallic finish without the use of expensive metallic colorants.

“Fi-Cell foamed PET bottle technology is an exciting way for companies to create strong shelf impact for their brand. It offers significantly improved visual attributes, while still having the properties required to accommodate barrier requirements and high speed filling lines,” says Scott Steele, president.

Fi-Cell is the latest addition to PTI’s PET foam bottle technology platform. The company has previously announced its oPTI foamed bottle technology that offers both monolayer and overmolding options, depending on the application.