Sorption–desorption of aromas on multi‐use PET bottles. A test procedure

A test procedure has been developed to test the efficiency of the washing of PET bottles intended for the reuse with sodium hydroxide solutions in order to ­remove products which were sorbed during the first use. The pollutants of the packaging were aqueous solutions of three aromas: limonene, linalool and linalyl acetate. Plastic materials were analysed after the first storage (T ₁), after processing (T ₂), and after a second filling and a further storage (T ₃). Limonene ­was the only pollutant sorbed in a significant manner into the walls of the bottles, ­and was always found after washing. Migration of this aroma from the processed bottles into water was also examined, and the distribution coefficients ­compared at times T ₁, and T ₃. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.