10 METAL CONTAINERS P.L.Corby and D.A.Dean Although the use of metal in packaging appears to be oa 2 slow decline, the tend towards continuing reduction in weight has ‘meant that more containers are being made from the same overall weight of metal I therefore remains generally competitive with other materials, particularly as it can be manufactured and filled at high speeds. However, metal is being incteasingly challenged by plastics, glass and composite materials which involve a wide range af coating processes such as metallisation, silica oxide and carbon. ‘With phanmaccuticals, metal, particularly tinplate, was at one time widely used for pastill tins, ointment tins and various built-up containers for powders, tablets, capsules, ete. As the early use of tinplate declined, aluminium containers had a period af success, but other than aerusols, are now reducing in usage mainly Because of their high cost compared with plasties and glass. However as raw materials vary significantly across the world and processing equipmest, once installed, has to justify its initial expenditure, metal usage can vary from country to country. ‘The main metals currently in use ate the following. | Tinplate, with various types of base steel and coating weights. Since tin is now a high-cost material, lower coating: weights are frequently supplemented by lacquers, enamels, print coverage to add to protection from potential coerosion. 2 Tie-free sicel where additional protective coatings are essential, ie. enamels and lacquers. 3 Aluminium and various alloys of aluminium, 4 Aluminium as.afol, often laminsted to other materials. 5 Metallisation involving the deposition of aluminium or oxides of aluminium oato other materials such as paper or plastic, 6 Stainlese ste, “The main uses of the ahove in the pharmaceutical industy today include the following. | Tinplate + Built-up containers made from 2 number of companents with a range of possible closure features, eg. ring pall, ‘diaphragm seal, aerosol. + Lidded shallow drawn containers with a rolled edge. 2 Aluminium and various alloys ‘© Impoct extruded rigid containers—especially aerosols, Also used for rigid tubes. ‘© Impact extruded collapsible tubes. + Shallow drawn containers. 3 Aluminium foil, usually as laminations for blister. strip. and sachet packaging. «4 Metallisatioa, often used as a more economical substitute o foil but has lower protective properties. 5 Stainless steel, e- a chromium (12-14%) and nickel (up to 0.74) steel widely used for mixing vessels and manufacturing ‘equipment. {6 Other metals—tin is occasionally used for collapsible tubes, Metal closures are sil in wide use, heing manufactured fromtinplate aluminium and alloys of aluminium, and these cover senew closures, various forms of lidding, aerasol valves, overseals eg. for vials) ete.26 METAL CONTAINERS ‘Metal containers “Metals were first used as containers as early as 4000 BC, and probably before thal. The first metals used were those found in their native state requiring only gathering and hammering inio shape. These included gold, silver, copper, and white gold (cleetrum), Some very early examples of pottery vessels were obvious copies of metal prototypes, as they show simulation of seam lines and rivets, ‘Since the macern era of packaging dates from about the time ef the industrial revolution af the eighteenth and ninetoenth centuries AD, the metals we need concern ourselves with day are almast exclusively steel, tinplate and aluminium, Tinplaed sheet iron was developed in Bohemia in 1200 AD and kept a jealously guarded secret for several hundred years. ‘Aluminium was not isolated until 1825 and remained a rare curiosity until the late 1880s, when a practical method of extraction from bauxite was developed. From that time om its price steadily dropped. Its widespread adoption in packaging came in the mid-I940s, when techniques for rolling and decorating thin aluminium foils were perfected. ‘Metal containers are strong. relatively unbreakable, opaque, and impervious to moisture vapour, z33es, odours and bacteria, providing they are pinhole-free. They are also resistant to both high and low temperatures. However, metals require the pplication of coatings and lacquers to prevent chemical reaction and corrosion from the inside of outside, Special costings ‘and coating techniques have therefore boem developed for this purpose, e.g. tinplate isin facta coated material. ‘Metal containers we available in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles ranging from small elongated collapsible tubes and shallow drawn containers to large built-up containers including steel drums ef up to 110 gallon capacity. Many of these containers are in direct competition with equivalent containers produced in glass ur plastic, eg. collapsible metal tubes compete ‘with laminated and plastic tubes and rigid metal tubes compete with glass or plastic vials. ‘Although metal containers exist in many different styles. most are parallel sided and of relatively simple cross-section, e.g square, rectangular, oval or circular. the majority being circular. This is due to limitations in manufacturing techniques which do not apply to glass o plastic. However, the technique of building-up metal containers from sheet by means of seaming confers one advantage over glass and plastic in that right angles can be easly achieved. Blown glass or plastic containers require ‘adi, particularly atthe base of the containes, in order to avoid excessive thianing (Figure 10.1). ‘The use of sheet material also allows decorating before container fabrication instead of after, with fewer limitations than for processes applicable to finished contaiaers. Furthermore this enables the decoration to be cagried right up to junctions and around curvatures Which would otherwise be difficult, if mot impssible, to decarate. cis in the field of nerosols that metal containers have predominantly established themselves. Although glass, plastic and plastic-coted glass aerasols are finding their own specialised applications, metal aerosols are Likely to retain the bulk af the ‘market as loag a8 cost advantages are offered, In common with glass and plastic containers, the performance of « metal container is partly governed by the nature af the closure involved. Some of these closures are similar to those used on lass and plastic containers. e.g. plastic and metal screw closures and fictional closures such. as plug or slip lids. Others. which are mainly used om metal (or metal composite) containers, are lever lids and permanent mechanically seamed-on closures. “Modern packaging metals Tinplate and associated materials ‘Tinplate is mild or low-carbon steel sheet or stip which is coated on both sides with commercially pure tin. Other steel-based materials which are occasionally used in packaging are stcel itself, blackplate, galvanised and stainless steel. Blackplate is uncoated steel which is highly susceptible to corrosion and is of Ieited application, Galvanised steel is produced by coating the steel with zine by bot-dipping or elecwoplating. The materials in this group are mainly restricted to making, larger containers, e.g. deumns fur bulk chemicals. Stainless steel finds wide usage in the pharmaceutical industry, mainly as types 316 sand 304. ‘Within the past three decades tinsfree steel (TES) has been developed. This material consists of 2 mild steel base—exactly ‘as used for tinplato—but with a coating of chromium-chromium oxide only about 1/30 as thick as an average tinplate coating. ‘The function of this coating is merely to protect the steel base from corresian prior to Fabrication. TFS containers need to be coated on the inside and outside with one of many organic coatings in order to make them at least as corvesion-resistant as ‘uncoated tinplate containers. To date the main usage of TS has been for can ends. Manufacture of tinplate The stee! base, which contains small amounts of carbon (also known asa law exiboa steel with a carbon content of less than 0, 2254), sulphur, phosphorus, copper, manganese and silican is rolled from ingots into-slabs and then into continuous strip arPLCORBY ANDDADEAN 287 TWREE-PIECE CANS, CT S-acs Peay mean cupping: - aja — = = Plus top end =? -8 Leos Co -S-8-8 Figure 10.1 Some methods of can manafactare sheets of from 0.20110 0.25 mm thickness. The process is known as “continuous cold reduction’ and involves pickling in hot dilute sulphuric acid, oiling. rolling, electrolytically degreasing, annealing and tempering to the required hardness. ‘The tin coating is then applied either by electroplating or by the older process of hotdipping in molten tin, to a coating thickness less than 0.002 mm for electro-tinplate but higher far hot-dipped tinplate. Electro-tinplate is produced in a continuous sirip form and may include a flow-brightening operation whereby the newly applied coating is momentarily ‘melied and then allowed io cool, giving a bright surface and better eorresion resistance by improving the continuity of the tin coating, Hot-dipped tiaplate is noemally produced in sheet form although occasionally strip is used, and does not require flow brightening. Unlike hot-dipped tinplate, electo-tinplate may be produced with a different coating weight om each side, known ac differential tinplate. Electotinplate has almost enticely superseded hot-dipped tinplate for can manufacture. ‘Thinner sheets down to shout 0.15 mm may be achieved by an additional coldreduction (known as double reduced tinplate) bofore tinning. Thicknesees down to 0,12 mm may be achieved by col-reduction after tinning (i. re-olled tinplate), but the brightness and protectiveness are reduced. Specification of tel an tinplate Steel contains a small percentage of otber elements, the quantity and proportion of which can be varied to produce four chemical sets of steel: MC, MR, L and D, The degree and type of cold-reduction and annealing or tempering affect the formabiity ofthe steel sheet Inthe USA, as many as nine different Bardness of temper classifications ave avallable, Tere are five recognised commercial finishes of tinplate, namely bright, matt, silver, stove, and shot blast, all of which are achieved by the use of textured work rolls during the final tages of temper rolling. With the exception of matt finish, each requires flow tightening fer electo tinning. Several different systems are used ta express the thickness of see! and these vuty according ta whether iti being used with ‘or without atin coating. The thicker sheets of steel which are used for drum manufactuce age specified in terms of gauge rather than thickness, the gauge being defined in terms ofthe area covered per unit weight. A comparison of the US and UK systems is given in Table 10.1. ‘Thinner gauges of tinplate are specified in terms of their nominal thickness, which ranges from 0.31 mm down to 0.12 mm_ jin 0.01 mm steps. In practice the thickness is calculated from the weight per unit area divided by the density rather than by direct measurement, Although tinplate is a combination of steel and tin, the actual difference in density is relatively small (0.5