Published June 1968
This report is concerned with the process economics of producing polystyrene. Commercial polystyrenes are a family of thermoplastic materials that possesses a wide range of properties suitable for many diversified applications. These properties depend on the recipe for the polymerization of styrene, the additives or impurities present in the polymer, and the fabrication methods that give the polymer its final form.
Four polymerization processes and three foaming methods are included in this study. The former is mass suspension, emulsion, and solution polymerization. The latter are closed mold foaming of expandable polystyrene, extrusion of expandable polystyrene, and direct-injection extrusion of general-purpose polystyrene.
A large amount of work has been reported on the copolymerization of styrene with other materials and on the polymerization of substituted styrenes. Only the graft copolymerization of polystyrene with rubber to produce impact polystyrene polymer is considered, in addition to the homo-polymerization of styrene. The major commercial copolymers of styrene not considered are SAN (styrene-acrylonitrile) and ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), which are evaluated in PEP (Process Economics Program) Report No. 20. Cross-linking of unsaturated polyesters by styrene is reported in PEP Report No. 28.
Other PEP Related Reports:
