A4BS Nova Pack 09 Feb 2010

A Breakthrough PET Processing Technology for Top- and Bottom-line growth

Alliance For Business Solutions

Nova-PackFlorida

Feb 9-10, 2010

Johan Robbrechtdirector

Set-up • 100% privately owned company under Belgium law

Mission• Patent Portfolio & Development Company• Conceive, develop & reduce-to-practice proprietary positions

Scope• Diverse end applications requiring applied polymer science• Covering manufacturing processes and finished products

Approach

• Adhering to principles of Open Innovation• Establish case-based collaboration alliances• Control over IPR ownership, collaborative merit distribution model• Progressive industrialization with established market players• Based on royalty bearing licensing agreements

Positions

• WO 2008/145746: Modified Hot Runner Systems for ISBM • EP08170314.2-1253 (Not Published): Induced polymer segregation for

injection blow molding process • ...

Alliance For Business Solutions

Modified Hot Runner System for Injection Blow Moulding

Pre-aligning PET Macromolecules

To Increase Performance Characteristics

Multi Faceted Discovery Processyielded PET Processing Breakthrough

• PET widely appreciated material across diverse consumer applications • Increasing technical & commercial performance for continued adoption

The Opportunity

Meeting Essential

Requirements

The Solution

The Challenge

• Selective control over crystallinity formation inside final blown bottle• Control amount, location & morphology of obtained crystallinity• Introduce spatial orientation of obtained crystallinity

• Create and/or re-allocate existing and/or new industry profit margin• Maximum utilization of existing in-market industrial supply chain assets• Broad patent coverage potential on technical solution identified• Solution based on robust underlying scientific principles

• Induce PET macromolecular pre-alignment in polymer flow path• Controlled pre-alignment pattern yields controlled crystallinity pattern• Works with standard or performance engineered PET resins• Utilizing relatively non-complex, inexpensive profiled insert pieces

Internal

orientation structure

Spatial pattern with

macromolecules

Local shear

within melt flow

Melt Flow

Orientation

Macromolecular

Pre-alignment

Changed

crystallization

kinetics & morphology

Higher # crystals

Smaller crystals

Spatially oriented

crystallization structure

Hot Runner / Preform Blown Bottle

• Pre-alignment distorts the most probable molecular conformation of PET matrix• Reduced conformational ‘disorder’ leads to substantial increase in nucleation rate• Flow induced orientation leads to oriented structure development in final container

How it works: Spatially Oriented Crystallization

Insert

Technical

Challenges

Substantial enhancement of nucleation rate to:• Obtain high amount of small to medium sized crystals in PET bottle wall• Enhance the crystallization pattern and its spatial orientation

According latest W.W. technical researches several parameters influence the application of flow induced crystallization:

• Amount of shear applied is more important than its duration • Nucleation rate depends on energy difference between melt and crystalline phases• Macromolecular orientation reduces conformational entropy

• increases free energy difference• provides driving force for nucleation rate enhancement

• Higher shear rates lead to formation of smaller sized spherullite crystals• Further crystal growth rate and maturity is mainly driven by temperature• Higher sheared polymers show enhanced nucleation memory effect during relaxation

Flow Induced Orientation Leads To Oriented Structure Development In Final Container

Residual macromolecular orientation is:

• Low after preform injection & reheat blow moulding

• If present, then mainly close to the preform surface

• Single directional along axis of hot runner and preform

Geometrically profiled hot runner inserts:

• Substantially increase residual macromolecular pre-alignment due to increased local shear

• Create predefined spatial structure of oriented macromolecules in preform and bottle

Profiled Hot Runner Inserts Create Macromolecular Pre-Alignment

Conventional hot runner

A4BS hot runner

Succesfull Reduction To Practice For Heat Set Applications

Proof-of-concept test on PTI Europe ISBM machinery • Arburg injection machine, Sidel SBO blower• Commercial grade standard PET IV 0.80, no additives• Preform: 28 mm PCO, 24.5 g, 3 mm thick • Bottle: generic straight wall 500 ml (16.9 fl oz) CSD

Macromolecular pre-alignment is clearly visible on preform• Preform cross section shows zones of increased crystallinity• Volume shrinkage measured with boiling water:

• Freshly produced bottles: < 3%• Aged 18 months: < 6%

DSC On PET Bottle Confirms Heat Set Performance

Broad Patent Coverage Established

Global IP position provides global strategic competitive advantage

• Extensive literature and prior art search

• IP Potential defined through BIIP® Patent Landscape Mapping

• Technology has been covered with very broad claims on• Preform• Bottle• Process

• EPO search report reflects outcome of patenting process applied

• WO 2008/145746 provides global IP coverage

Technology

Fu

nc

tion

A Breakthrough PET Technology Platform

Ability to create and/or re-allocate existing and/or new industry profit margin

Maximum utilization of existing in-market industrial supply chain assets

Global IP position provides global strategic competitive advantage

Solution based on robust underlying scientific principles

New applications based upon this technology platform still to be discovered

www.a4bs.be