PET plastic bottles are widely used in beverage, food, daily chemical, pharmaceutical and other industries due to their light weight, transparency, chemical resistance and recyclability. PET bottles can be divided into multiple categories according to different uses, production processes, material modifications and functional characteristics.
Classification by uses
(1) Beverage bottles
Mainly used for packaging of various liquid beverages, requiring good transparency, mechanical strength and sealing.
Carbonated beverage bottles
Need to withstand internal pressure to prevent CO₂ from escaping, the bottle wall is thicker, and the bottom is often designed as a petal shape or reinforced rib structure to improve pressure resistance.
The material usually uses high-viscosity PET to improve anti-explosion performance.
Mineral water, purified water bottles
Emphasis on lightweight design, thin bottle body, high transparency, usually produced by one-step injection stretch blow molding process.
Some high-end products will use anti-UV treatment to prevent light from causing water quality changes.
Tea and juice bottles
Some products need to be heat-resistant, with thicker bottle walls and may use heat-setting technology.
Juice bottles may have an oxygen barrier layer added to extend shelf life.
(2) Edible oil bottles
Used to package edible oil, need to be resistant to oil penetration and prevent oil oxidation.
Transparent PET is generally used, and some products use amber PET to reduce the impact of light on the oil.
The bottle mouth is designed to be wide for easy pouring, and some use anti-drip bottle mouths.
(3) Food packaging bottles
Used for condiments, sauces, etc.
Some bottles need to be acid-resistant and salt-resistant, and the PET material must meet food-grade safety standards.
Sauce bottles may use a wide mouth design and be equipped with a squeeze-type bottle cap.
(4) Daily chemical product bottles
Used for shampoo, shower gel, cosmetics, detergents, etc.
Opaque or dyed PET is usually used to protect the contents from light.
Some high-end cosmetic bottles use PETG to improve gloss and toughness.
Pharmaceutical bottles must meet pharmaceutical grade standards, and some use child-resistant caps.
Classification by production process
(1) Injection stretch blow molded PET bottles
Produced through an integrated process of injection molding, stretching, and blow molding, suitable for large-scale standardized bottle types.
Single-stage molding method: Injection molding, stretching, and blow molding are completed on the same equipment, with high efficiency, suitable for lightweight products such as mineral water bottles.
Preforming and blow molding method: First produce PET preforms, then heat and blow mold, with high flexibility and suitable for a variety of bottle types.
(2) Hot-filling PET bottles
For beverages that require high-temperature filling, with a temperature resistance of 80~95℃.
Use crystallization treatment or heat setting technology to improve heat resistance.
The bottle wall is thicker, and the bottle body may be designed with reinforcement ribs to prevent thermal shrinkage and deformation.
(3) Aseptic cold-fill bottles
For beverages that require low-temperature filling, aseptic processing is required.
The inner wall of the bottle may be coated with an antibacterial layer.
Use a high-cleanliness production environment to ensure that microorganisms meet the standards.
(4) Multi-layer co-extrusion bottle
Through co-extrusion technology, barrier layers are added between PET layers to improve freshness preservation performance.
Used for oxygen-sensitive products such as beer and functional beverages.
The structure is usually PET, barrier layer, and PET to take into account both transparency and barrier properties.
Classification by material modification
(1) Ordinary PET plastic bottle
Made of standard PET resin, with high transparency and good rigidity, used for room temperature beverages.
(2) Modified PET bottle
Heat-resistant PET (CPET): Through crystallization treatment, the temperature resistance is increased to above 90°C, suitable for hot-filled beverages.
Recycled PET (rPET): Recycled PET chips are used, which is environmentally friendly but requires strict cleaning to ensure compliance with food safety standards.
Bio-based PET: Some raw materials come from plants (such as sugarcane), reducing carbon emissions, but the cost is relatively high.
(3) PETG bottle
PET is modified with cyclohexanedimethanol to improve toughness and processing performance.
Suitable for products that require complex shapes, such as cosmetic bottles and pharmaceutical bottles.
Higher transparency and better impact resistance than ordinary PET resin.
Classification by special functions
(1) Lightweight bottles
Reduce the amount of material by optimizing the bottle structure (such as from 28g to 18g).
Use thin-wall design, but still need to maintain compressive strength (such as carbonated beverage bottles).
(2) Degradable PET bottles
Add biodegradable additives (such as PLA blending), but are still in the research and development stage and have not yet been widely used.
(3) Transparent and opaque bottles
Transparent bottles: Used for mineral water and juice, emphasizing product visibility.
Opaque bottles: Add titanium dioxide or masterbatch, used for dairy products and daily chemical products.
Attention: Different types of PET bottles have their own characteristics in terms of heat resistance, barrier properties, environmental protection, appearance, etc. Please select the appropriate type according to specific needs during production.
Key factors in selecting PET bottle raw materials
| Bottle types | IV Value | Specification requirements | Models |
| Water Bottles | 0.72~0.78 | High transparency and pressure resistance | WK-801, CZ-302, YS-W01, CR-8816, TH102, BG80 |
| Carbonated beverage bottles | 0.78~0.85 | High tensile strength, high compressive resistance | WK-851, WK-881, CZ-318, CZ-328, CR-8828, YS-C01, TH104, BG85 |
| Hot filling bottles | 0.80~0.90 | High-temperature resistant and anti-deformation | WK-811, CR-8839, TH105, BG801 |
| edible oil bottles | 0.78~0.85 | Oil resistance and oxidation resistance | WK-821, TH102C, CR-8863, BG802 |