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Abstract: Mass transfer and related shelf life assessment is an important issue in the beverage industry. Product change due to mass transfer is at stake and, with it, its consumer value and consideration. Carbonation loss takes place at the product/package interface, and to the environment through the package itself. In this paper a joint experimental/computational approach has been exploited: the loss through the polyethylene terephthalate barrier has been computed by means of a multidimensional finite element code, while actual measurements have been carried out to validate the computations. Residual carbonation histories are validated and presented for a variety of thermal regimes and for two different bottles carrying the same capacity. The paper highlights on the combination of bottle weight, initial carbonation and storage temperature, indicating the operational set for the longest shelf life within the explored cases. Lighter bottles can be used with no inference on shelf life, while the carbonic loss depends non-linearly on initial carbonation and temperature increment. The associated concentration maps help infer on the importance of polyethylene terephthalate thickness uniformity. It is then demonstrated that the model carries the flexibility of a general tool, applicable to any carbonated beverage at any storage condition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the British Hamilton soda bottle found during a salvage excavation in Morasha, Jerusalem in 1991. Topics include the Armenian monastery discovered in the excavation that dated to the Late Byzantine era, the description of the bottle, and the identification of the bottle as a Hamilton, named after William Hamilton, who patented a bottle in 1809.

Abstract: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a ubiquitous high volume industrial chemical that is an estrogen and an environmental endocrine disrupting chemical. Bisphenol A is used extensively in the production of consumer goods, polycarbonate plastics, epoxy resins and coatings used to line metallic food and beverage cans. There is great concern regarding the possible harmful effects from exposures that result from BPA leaching into foods and beverages from packaging or storage containers. The objective of this study was to independently assess whether BPA contamination of water was occurring from different types of reusable drinking bottles marketed as alternatives to BPA-containing polycarbonate plastics. Using a sensitive and quantitative BPA-specific competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay we evaluated whether BPA migrated into water stored in polycarbonate or copolyester plastic bottles, and different lined or unlined metallic reusable water bottles. At room temperature the concentration of BPA migrating from polycarbonate bottles ranged from 0.2 to 0.3mgL−1. Under identical conditions BPA migration from aluminium bottles lined with epoxy-based resins was variable depending on manufacturer ranging from 0.08 to 1.9mgL−1. Boiling water significantly increased migration of BPA from the epoxy lined bottles. No detectable BPA contamination was observed in water stored in bottles made from Tritan™ copolyester plastic, uncoated stainless steel, or aluminium lined with EcoCare™. The results from this study demonstrate that when used according to manufacturers’ recommendations reusable water bottles constructed from “BPA-free” alternative materials are suitable for consumption of beverages free of BPA contamination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present a material flow analysis (MFA) for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a synthetic polymer, in the United States for the years 1996–2007. We model the industrial metabolism of PET as a network of flows linking stocks and processes. The most common worldwide use of PET is in textile production, but in the US it is increasingly used to make disposable beverage containers for transporting water, carbonated soda, and other beverages. Bottles made from PET are the most-recycled plastic product in the US by mass and by recovery rate, and thus the PET material flow system constitutes an ideal case study of polymer recycling. We find that total consumption of PET resin grew at 2.7% per year over the period of the study, reaching 5.01 million metric tons in 2007. This growth was driven largely by the beverage packaging market, which accounted for 55% of consumption in 2007. About a quarter of PET bottles are collected for recycling, a number that has fluctuated widely but kept pace with consumption. However, domestic capacity for reclamation of post-consumer PET has not grown as quickly, leading recyclers to export increasing amounts of post-consumer material. Manufacturers have also imported secondary PET in increasing amounts. Reclaimed PET accounted for 6–9% of total resin demand throughout the study. While polymer recycling appears to be viable, efforts to improve material efficiency are confounded by low collection rates and a lack of reclamation infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A recently described bottle test method was used to evaluate the dependence of stress crack failure of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) carbonated soft drink bottles on water hardness. Although the industry belief is that water hardness is irrelevant to stress cracking, it was found that hardness ions exert a tremendous positive impact by deactivating water alkalinity through precipitation as harmless carbonate minerals. This mitigating effect of hardness means that no complete understanding of stress cracking as a function of alkalinity is possible without also considering water hardness. A useful concept is that of excess alkalinity, which is defined as alkalinity that is not precipitated during solution evaporation. Limiting excess alkalinity by using water with sufficient hardness is an effective means of stress crack prevention in PET soft drink bottles. Evaluation of compositions which are typical of those used for lubricating PET bottles on production conveyors showed that the role of these compositions in stress cracking was that of spectators, that is, they neither cause failure if water does not otherwise cause it, nor stop failure if water otherwise causes it. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A contamination of soft drinks in sealed bottles by organic solvents is reported: closed bottles full of soft drinks were accidentally placed on a cardboard soaked with thinner and the organic fluid subsequently fissured the bottom of the bottles and penetrated into the soft drinks without any apparent leakage of the soft drinks. Experiments were carried out to simulate the process: the penetration of different organic solvents into soft drinks through the bottom of closed bottles was tested. The penetration occurred only when the closed bottles contained carbonated soft drinks (CSD), indicating that inner pressure is a necessary condition for the fissuring of the bottles. This paper discusses environmental stress cracking of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles by organic solvents and migration of chemicals to CSD. Experiments were conducted to determine the conditions in which PET can be permeable to poisoning organic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the packaging materials that is widely used for packaging of soft drinks. PET may contain acetaldehyde which is a thermal degradation product, and hence acetaldehyde may migrate into the product in the package. In this study, the migration of acetaldehyde from PET bottles into soft drinks containing carbonic acid was determined by gas chromatography without headspace instrument. Carbonated beverage samples obtained from four different firms following the filling process were stored at 5, 20 and 40 °C for 6 months and analysed periodically at 0 day, 2, 4 and 6 months. As a result, it was seen that the acetaldehyde concentrations of all samples were quite different from each other and also related to the storage temperature, and an increase in storage time raised acetaldehyde concentrations in beverages. Especially, storages at 40 °C had very serious effect on acetaldehyde concentrations in the beverages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the judgments of the European Court of Justice in Commission v. Germany and Radlberger GmbH & Co., S. Spitz KG v. Land Baden-Württemberg, concerning the German preference for reusable beverage packaging and the way in which Germany givest it preferential treatment. Relevant provisions of the Packaging and Waste Packaging Directive; Opinion of the Advocate-General in the Danish bottles case; Criticism of Europe on Germany's quota system.

Some clinicians advocate using metered-dose inhaler (MDI) spacers prepared from common household bottles. We evaluated the in vitro aerosol characteristics of fluticasone from the MDI alone and through spacers fashioned from 237-, 500-, 1000-, and 1500-mL polyethylene terephlate plastic cold drink bottles using a cascade impactor. Ten 110-µg actuations of fluticasone were sampled into the impactor during each of five runs with each configuration. The primary outcomes were the respirable dose (i.e., quantity aerosol 1.1–4.7 µm in size) and the quantity trapped in the oropharynx. The mean fluticasone respirable dose from the MDI alone (46.2 µg/actuation) was no different (p>0.05) compared with the same MDI mated to any of the bottle spacers, regardless of volume. The mean quantity of fluticasone trapped in the oropharynx from the MDI alone (39.2 µg /actuation) was greater (p < 0.001) than the same MDI mated with any bottle spacer (range 1.5–3.5 µg/actuation). These data suggest that any of the bottle spacers tested would be an acceptable method to decrease the quantity of fluticasone that would deposit onto the oropharynx and thereby diminish the risk of topical adverse effects. Among the range of volumes tested, there was no relationship between spacer volume and respirable dose of fluticasone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the musical properties of the Coke bottle as an acoustic resonator, with focus in physics. Methodology used in the exploration process; Indications of the findings; Scientific description of the Coke bottle.

A laboratory activity for high school students that demonstrates LeChatelier's principle through the use of the Fizz Keeper is described. The Fizz Keeper is a device designed to enhance carbonation in soft drink bottles that have been previously opened. The premise of the manufacturers' claim, however, may result in misconceptions of LeChatelier's principle.

We report a case of barotraumatic esophageal perforation caused by the explosion of a carbonated beverage containing plastic bottle into the mouth. A 6-year-old girl presented with sudden sharp pain in her mouth and upper abdomen after outburst of the plastic bottle. A computed tomography scan showed massive pneumomediastinum with diffuse edematous esophageal wall thickening and subcutaneous emphysema primarily in the neck. An esophagogram revealed a perforation of the middle portion of the esophagus with extravasation of contrast on left side. Surgical repair was performed successfully. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 15 after an uneventful postoperative course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an overview of the regulation of toxic substances in the U.S. Ban issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration against plastic soda bottles made of acrylonitrile; Test developed by scientists in the University of California at Berkeley for detecting toxic substances; Procedure for testing substances.

Presents case reports on the incidence of injuries in children from exploding glass bottles containing carbonated beverages. Incidents which resulted to the glass explosions; Clinical condition of patients who experienced bottle explosions.