Advanced Thermoforming, 2nd Edition

Chapter 38The Production of Drinking Cups

Written in cooperation with Paul de Mink, Borealis AG, Austria, and Norbert Hufnagl, Kiefel GmbH, Germany

Drinking cups made from plastic are used all over the world. The reasons for their use are quite different. Organizers of big events appreciate the safety aspect of plastic cups compared with glass containers to avoid the possibility of breakage. Plastic cups thus prevent accidents. Their one‐time usage also eliminates cleaning of cups. Some regions of the world do not have decent working water pipelines. This makes the supply of water a hygienic problem. The solution could be water in thermoformed and sealed containers. These containers could be packaged in transport trays and delivered directly to the consumer.

Plastic containers are being used for millions of items. The item described in this chapter is the drinking cup made of polypropylene (Figure 38.1).

There has been great innovation in the manufacture of polypropylene in the recent years.¹ Because of the recycling trend promoted by an environmentally conscious public, and also economic factors, the use of PP has greatly increased. In particular, extruded PP applications—mostly in the packaging industry—are the motivation for continual development of the entire group of this material. The extensive research that is being done has brought much variability to the characteristics and properties of PP (better catalytic converters, better polymerization technology, compounding, ...