What is polystyrene?
Polystyrene is a type of polymer with thermoplastic properties produced from the petroleum-derived monomer, styrene. In solid form, polystyrene is a colorless and rigid plastic. However, this material may also be returned to a liquid state by heating and used again for molding or extrusion. It is used to produce many products for industrial and consumer use. In fact, its presence as a plastic in everyday life is second only to polyethylene. The chemical structure of polystyrene allows it to be classified as a liquid hydrocarbon, meaning that it is composed exclusively of hydrogen and carbon. Like its precursor, polystyrene is an aromatic hydrocarbon that participates in covalent bonding with every other carbon atom being attached to a phenol group. It is produced via free radical polymerization, which means that the reaction involves breaking the bonds between electrons and leaving them “free” to form new bonds. When burned, polystyrene yields black carbon particles, or soot. When comp
Even if you don’t know it, you’ve heard of Polystyrene before. Known to most as Styrofoam, the Dow Chemical Company’s patented name, this product can be found in packaging “peanuts”, cafeteria food and fruit trays, egg cartons, cups and the list goes on and on. Polystyrene is technically a plastic polymer that is useful in industry because of its ability to act as a solid, be melted down, reshaped and then cooled making it a solid again. This makes a plastic that’s easily molded and fitted with great versatility. Currently, there is little infrastructure in place to recycle the large amounts of polystyrene created annually. The reason for this is the cost of recycling polystyrene and the lack of value in it.
