What if…a collapsing bottle could maintain carbonation in soft drinks?
enlarge One of the greatest drawbacks in buying large volumes of soda is that the carbonation level of the product changes throughout the lifespan of the product. A 2-liter bottle of sparkling soda quickly becomes a mediocre 1-liter bottle of flat, unappetizing syrupy water that is destined to be poured down the kitchen sink. Conventional thought is that the opening and closing of the package causes the soda to go flat. While this is a contributing factor, the main problem lies in the volume of headspace that is created in the package as the product is consumed. Carbon dioxide quickly migrates to the vacant space, causing the beverage to lose its sparkle. Ideally, the package should reduce in size as the product is consumed to minimize vacant space inside the bottle. However, the high pressures that carbonated soft drinks (CSD) reach made this unfeasible—until now. Our idea is for a PET component (depicted in the accompanying illustration) that fits inside the finish of the bottle, and
