A beverage can is a metal container designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Beverage cans are made of aluminium (75% of worldwide production) or tin-plated steel (25% worldwide production). Worldwide production for all beverage cans is approximately 370 billion cans per year worldwide.
History
The first commercial beer available in cans began in 1935 in Richmond, Virginia. Not long after that, sodas, with their higher acidity and somewhat higher pressures, were available in cans. The key development for storing beverages in cans was the interior liner, typically plastic or sometimes a waxy substance, that helped to keep the product's flavor from being ruined by a chemical reaction with the metal. Another major factor for the timing was the repeal of Prohibition in the United States at the end of 1933.
In 1935, the small brewery at Felinfoel was the first brewery outside the USA to commercially can beer. Prior to this time, beer was only available in barrels or in glass bottles. From this time, lightweight tin cans could be used. Felinfoel Brewery was a major supplier to British armed forces abroad in the Second World War - cans saved a great deal of space and weight for wartime exports compared to glass bottles, and did not have to be returned for refilling. These early cans did not have a 'pull tab', instead they had a 'crown cork' (beer bottle top). All modern UK canned beer is descended from these small, early cans which helped change the drinking and beer-buying habits of the British public. From the 18th century until the early 20th century Wales dominated world tinplate production, peaking in the early 1890s when 80% of the world's tinplate was produced in south Wales.
Canned beverages were factory-sealed and required a special opener tool in order to consume the contents. Cans were typically formed as cylinders, having a flat top and bottom. They required a can piercer, colloquially known as a "church key", that latched onto the top rim for leverage; lifting the handle would force the sharp tip through the top of the can, cutting a triangular hole. A smaller second hole was usually punched at the opposite side of the top to admit air while pouring, allowing the liquid to flow freely.
In the mid-1930s, some cans were developed with caps so that they could be opened and poured more like a bottle. These were called "cone tops", as their tops had a conical taper up to the smaller diameter of the cap. Cone top cans were sealed by the same crimped caps that were put on bottles, and could be opened with the same bottle-opener tool. There were three types of conetops: high profile, low profile, and j-spout. The low profile and j-spout were the earliest, dating from about 1935. The "crowntainer" was a different type of can that was drawn steel with a bottom cap. These were developed by Crown Cork & Seal (now known as Crown Holdings, Inc.), a leading beverage packaging and beverage can producer. Various breweries used crowntainers and conetops until the late 1950s, but many breweries kept using the simple cylindrical cans.
The popularity of canned beverages was slow to catch on, as the metallic taste was difficult to overcome with the interior liner not perfected, especially with more acidic sodas. Cans had two advantages over glass bottles. First for the distributors, flat-top cans were more compact for transportation and storage and weighed less than bottles. Second for consumers, they did not require the deposit typically paid for bottles, as they were discarded after use. Glass-bottle deposits were reimbursed when consumers took the empties back to the store.
By the time the United States entered World War II, cans had gained only about ten percent of the beverage container market; this was drastically reduced during the war to accommodate strategic needs for metal.
In 1959, Ermal Fraze devised a can-opening method that would come to dominate the canned beverage market. His invention was the "pull-tab". This eliminated the need for a separate opener tool by attaching an aluminium pull-ring lever with a rivet to a pre-scored wedge-shaped tab section of the can top. The ring was riveted to the center of the top, which created an elongated opening large enough that one hole simultaneously served to let the beverage flow out while air flowed in. In 1959, while on a family picnic, Mr. Fraze had forgotten to bring a can opener and was forced to use a car bumper to open a can of beer. Thinking there must be an easier way, he later stayed up all night until he came up with the pull tab. Pull-tab cans, or the discarded tabs from them, were also called "pop-tops" colloquially. In Australia these were colloquially known as "ring-pull". Into the 1970s, the pull-tab was widely popular, but its popularity came with a significant problem, as people would frequently discard the pull-tabs on the ground as litter, or drop them into the can and risk choking on them. These problems were both addressed by the invention of the "push-tab". Used primarily on Coors Beer cans in the mid-1970s, the push-tab was a raised circular scored area used in place of the pull-tab. It needed no ring to pull up. Instead, the raised aluminium blister was pushed down into the can, with a small unscored piece that kept the tab connected after being pushed inside. Push-tabs never gained wide popularity because while they had solved the litter problem of the pull-tab, they created a safety hazard where the person's finger upon pushing the tab into the can was immediately exposed to the sharp edges of the opening. An unusual feature of the push-tab Coors Beer cans was that they had a second, smaller, push-tab at the top as an airflow vent â€" a convenience that was lost with the switch from can opener to pull-tab. The "push-tab" was introduced into Australia in the early 1980s and was locally known as "pop-tops".
The safety and litter problems were both eventually solved later in the 1970s with Daniel F. Cudzik's invention of the non-removing "Stay-Tab". The pull-ring was replaced with a stiff aluminium lever, and the removable tab was replaced with a pre-scored round tab that functioned similarly to the push-tab, but the raised blister was no longer needed, as the riveted lever would now do the job of pushing the tab open and into the interior of the can.
In 2008, an aluminium version of the crowntainer design was adopted for packaging Coca-Cola's Caribou Coffee beverage. In 2004, Anheuser-Busch adopted an all-aluminium bottle for use with Budweiser and Bud Light beers.
Standard sizes
Capacity in countries
Various standard capacities are used throughout the world.
- Australia
In Australia the standard can size for alcoholic and soft drinks is 375Â ml. Energy drinks are commonly served in 250Â ml and 500Â ml sizes.
- Brazil
In Brazil the standard can size is 355Â ml.
- New Zealand
In New Zealand the standard can size is 355Â ml, although Coca-Cola Amatil changed it's canned beverages to 330 ml in 2017.
- China
In China the most common size is 330Â ml.
Can dimensions may be cited in metric or imperial units. Imperial dimensions for canmaking are written as inches+sixteenths of an inch (e.g. "202" = 2Â inches + 2 sixteenths).
- Europe
In Europe the standard can used to be 330Â ml but since the 1990s the 250Â ml size has slowly become about just as common. In European countries the 500Â ml can size is second standard. It's often used for beer, cider and energy drinks.
In the UK 440Â ml is commonly used for lager and cider.
In Austria energy drinks are usually sold in sizes 200 to 300 ml. In 2014 for beverage cans in general, already much more aluminium is used than steel. There are even steel cans with alu-lids and vice versa.
- Hong Kong
In Hong Kong most cans are 330Â ml.
- India
In India standard cans are 330Â ml.
- Japan
In Japan the most common sizes are 350Â ml and 500Â ml. Larger and smaller cans are also sold.
- South Korea
In South Korea 250Â ml cans are the most common for soft drinks. However, when accompanying take out food (such as pizza or chicken), a short 245Â ml can is standard. Recently, some 355 ml cans which are similar to North American cans are increasingly available, but limited mostly to Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper. Finally, beer cans also come in 500Â ml forms.
- Malaysia and Singapore
In both Malaysia and Singapore, the most commonly found cans are 300Â ml for non-carbonated drinks and 325Â ml for carbonated drinks. Larger 330Â ml/350Â ml cans are limited to imported drinks where it would usually cost a lot more than local ones.
- Pakistan
In Pakistan the most common sizes are 250Â ml and 330Â ml. 200Â ml cans are also sold.
- North America
In North America, the standard can size is 12 US fl oz or 355 ml. The US standard can is 4.83 inches high, 2.13 inches in diameter at the lid, and 2.60 inches in diameter at the widest point of the body. Also available are 16oz cans known as pounders, and 24oz cans or larger are referred to as tall boys.
In Canada, the standard size was previously 10 Imperial fluid ounces (284Â ml), later redefined and labeled as 280 ml in around 1980. This size was commonly used with steel beverage cans in the 1970s and early 1980s. However, the US standard 355Â ml can size was standardized in the 1980s and 1990s, upon the conversion from steel to aluminium. Some beverage such as Nestea are sold in 341Â ml cans. In Quebec by the year 2015, a new standard for carbonated drink have been added as many important grocery store now only sell 6-packs (with plastic holds) with 222Â ml cans instead of the original 341Â ml (for the same price) and that from every major carbonated drinks. Many convenience stores began selling "slim cans" with a 310ml capacity as of late 2015
- South Africa
South African standard cans are 330Â ml (reduced in the early 2000s from the up-until-then ubiquitous 340Â ml) and the promotional size is 440Â ml. There is also the 500Â ml can. A smaller 200Â ml can is used for "mixers" such as tonic or soda water. It has a smaller diameter than the other cans.
Middle East
In the Middle East standard cans are 330Â ml.
Composition
Most metal beverage cans manufactured in the United States are made of aluminium, whereas in some parts of Europe and Asia approximately 55 percent are made of steel and 45 percent are aluminium alloy. Steel cans often have a top made of aluminium. The aluminium used in United States and Canada are alloys containing 92.5% to 97% aluminium, <5.5% magnesium, <1.6% manganese, <0.15% chromium and some trace amounts of iron, silicon and copper according to MSDS from aluminium producer Alcoa. Alloys used include 3004, 3105, or other 3xxx/5xxx series aluminium.
An empty aluminium can weighs approximately half an ounce (14.2Â grams). There are 34 empty 12 ounce aluminium cans to a pound or 70 to a kilogram.
In many parts of the world a deposit can be recovered by turning in empty plastic, glass, and aluminium containers. Scrap metal dealers often purchase aluminium cans in bulk, even when deposits are not offered. Aluminium is one of the most cost-effective materials to recycle. When recycled without other metals being mixed in, the canâ€"lid combination is perfect for producing new stock for the main part of the canâ€"the loss of magnesium during melting is made up for by the high magnesium content of the lid. Also, reducing ores such as bauxite into aluminium requires large amounts of electricity, making recycling cheaper than producing new metal.
Aluminium cans are coated internally to protect the aluminium from oxidizing. Despite this coating, trace amounts of aluminium can be degraded into the liquid, the amount depending on factors such as storage temperature and liquid composition. Chemical compounds used in the internal coating of the can include types of epoxy resin.
In order to achieve primary aluminium for manufacturing, bauxite is converted to alumina through the Bayer process. After this process, aluminium can be extracted from alumina. Subsequently, it goes through a process called aluminium smelting and ingot casting. Simply, these two stages require alumina to undergo an extremely hot temperature and high-energy bath. Following this process is hot rolling and cold rolling. This is ultimately done to cast the aluminium can into shape for further processing. Finally, the process of “ironing†is performed which forms the shape of the can.
Filling cans
Cans are filled before the top is crimped on. The filling and sealing operations need to be extremely fast and precise. The filling head centers the can using gas pressure, purges the air, and lets the beverage flow down the sides of the can. The lid is placed on the can, and then crimped in two operations. A seaming head engages the lid from above while a seaming roller to the side curls the edge of the lid around the edge of the can body. The head and roller spin the can in a complete circle to seal all the way around. Then a pressure roller with a different profile drives the two edges together under pressure to make a gas-tight seal. Filled cans usually have pressurized gas inside, which makes them stiff enough for easy handling.
Fabrication process
Modern cans are generally produced through a mechanical cold forming process that starts with punching a flat blank from very stiff cold-rolled sheet. This sheet is typically alloy 3104-H19 or 3004-H19, which is aluminium with about 1% manganese and 1% magnesium to give it strength and formability. The flat blank is first formed into a cup about three inches in diameter. This cup is then pushed through a different forming process called "ironing" which forms the can. The bottom of the can is also shaped at this time. The malleable metal deforms into the shape of an open-top can. With the sophisticated technology of the dies and the forming machines, the side of the can is significantly thinner than either the top and bottom areas, where stiffness is required.
Plain lids (known as shells) are stamped from a coil of aluminium, typically alloy 5182-H48, and transferred to another press that converts them to easy-open ends. This press is known as a conversion press which forms an integral rivet button in the lid and scores the opening, while concurrently forming the tabs in another die from a separate strip of aluminium.
Opening mechanisms
Early metal beverage cans had no tabs; they were opened by a can-piercer or churchkey, a device resembling a bottle opener with a sharp point. The can was opened by punching two triangular holes in the lidâ€"a large one for drinking, and a second (smaller) one to admit air.
As early as 1922, inventors were applying for patents on cans with tab tops, but the technology of the time made these inventions impractical. Later advancements saw the ends of the can made out of aluminium instead of steel.
Cans are usually in sealed paperboard cartons, corrugated fiberboard boxes, or trays covered with plastic film. The entire distribution system and packaging need to be controlled to ensure freshness.
Pop-tab
Mikolaj Kondakow and James Wong of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada invented the pull tab version for bottles in or before 1951 (Canadian patent 476789). Then, in 1962, Ermal Cleon Fraze (1913â€"1989) of Dayton, Ohio, United States, invented the similar integral rivet and pull-tab version (also known as ring pull in British English), which had a ring attached at the rivet for pulling, and which would come off completely to be discarded. He received US Patent No. 3,349,949 for his pull-top can design in 1963 and licensed his invention to Alcoa and Pittsburgh Brewing Company, the latter of which first introduced the design on Iron City Beer cans. The first soft drinks to be sold in all-aluminium cans were R.C. Cola and Diet-Rite Cola, both made by the Royal Crown Cola company, in 1964.
The early pull-tabs detached easily. In 1976 the Journal of the American Medical Association noted cases of children ingesting pull-tabs that had broken off and dropped into the can.
Full-top pull-tabs were also used in some oil cans and are currently used in some soup, pet food, tennis ball, nuts and other cans.
Stay-on-tab
In 1975, Daniel F. Cudzik, an engineer with Reynolds Metals, filed a design patent application for a "End closure for a container." This later became known as a "Sta-Tab." When the Sta-Tab launched in 1975, on Falls City beer and, quickly, other beverages, there was an initial period of consumer testing and education. Cudzik later received patents for this "Easy Open Wall" (US 3967752, issued 1976-07-06Â US 3967753, issued 1976-07-06Â ). The validity of these patents was upheld in subsequent litigation.
The similarly designed "Easy-open ecology end" was invented by Ermal Fraze and Omar Brown. Its patent application was also filed in 1975. This design, like Cudzik's, uses a separate tab attached to the upper surface as a lever to depress a scored part of the lid, which folds underneath the top of the can and out of the way of the resulting opening, thus reducing injuries and roadside litter caused by removable tabs.
Such "retained ring-pull" cans supplanted pull-off tabs in the United Kingdom in 1989 for soft drinks and 1990 for alcoholic beverages.
Wide Mouth
One of the more recent modifications to can design was the introduction of the "wide mouth" can in the late 1990s. The American Can Company, now a part of Rexam, and Coors Brewing Company have owned wide mouth design patent (number D385,192) since 1997. Other companies have similar designs for the wide mouth. Ball Corporation's from 2008 has a vent tube to allow direct airflow into the can reducing the amount of gulps during the pour.
Sustainable Beverage Ends
The SuperEnd from Crown Holdings launched in 2000 was designed to use 10% less metal in production than standard beverage ends.
One variation was the press button can, which featured two pre-cut buttonsâ€"one small and one largeâ€"in the top of the can sealed with a plastic membrane. These buttons were held closed by the outward pressure of the carbonated beverage. The consumer would open the can by depressing both buttons, which would result in two holes. The small hole would act as a vent to relieve internal pressure so the larger button could then be pressed down to create the hole used for drinking the beverage. Consumers could also easily cut themselves on the edges of the holes or get their fingers stuck.
Press button cans were used by Pepsi in Canada from the 1970s to 1980s and Coors in the 1970s. They have since been replaced with pull tabs. Used in Australia, locally known as "pop-tops", for soft drinks during the early 1980s.
Full Aperture End
Another variation on the beverage can is the "full aperture end", where the entire lid can be removed â€" turning an aluminium can into a cup. Crown Holdings first designed the "360 End" for use by SABMiller at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It has been used by Anheuser-Busch InBev in China and Brazil and by the Sly Fox Brewing Company in the United States.
Re-Sealable Lid
Another variation on the beverage can is to have a re-sealable lid. A version patented by Cogito Can in France has been used by Groupe Casino, the French grocery chain for its private label energy drink.
Collecting
Beer can collecting was a minor fad in the late 1970s and 1990s. However, the hobby waned rapidly in popularity. The Beer Can Collectors of America (BCCA), founded in 1970, was an organization supporting the hobby, but has now renamed itself Brewery Collectibles Club of America to be more modern.
As of late 2009, membership in the Brewery Collectibles Club of America was 3,570, down from a peak of 11,954 in 1978. Just 19 of the members were under the age of 30, and the members' average age had increased to 59.
See also
- Beer Can Museum
- Beer Can Printing
- Beer koozie
- Beverage-can stove
- Self-heating can
- Six pack rings
- Widget (beer)
Notes
References
External links
- Beer can history
- Pull tab fundraiser myth
- Steel packaging (Steeluniversity)