Polystyrene is a versatile material for various consumer products. Let’s explore the applications of this polymerizing styrene plastic right now!
Polystyrene is a transparent, rigid, brittle, and fairly strong unmodified polymer created through polymerization. The material comes in various forms, including hard plastic, foam, and film. Its applications are various since each type has unique physical characteristics and uses.
Let’s dig into this article to learn more about this material and its applications!
1. Definition Of Polystyrene
Polystyrene, or polyphenylene, is a thermoplastic polymer made of repeating styrene molecules. It resists chemicals, such as bases and acids, and acts effectively as an electrical insulator.
Since it lacks crystalline structures, solid polystyrene is transparent but has a low UV resistance. The material has a low glass transition temperature (100ºC) and can be melted and repurposed in a variety of shapes.
Combining polystyrene with other compounds can create products with excellent properties. For example, PSMMA (polystyrene-co-methyl methacrylate) offers greater chemical and UV resistance along with increased clarity.
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), another well-known plastic, is created by co-polymerizing butadiene and acrylonitrile with polystyrene. This process produces a material with excellent tensile strength, weldability, moldability, and dimensional stability.
2. Three Types Of Polystyrene Plastic
Let’s dig into the details of the most common types of polystyrene:
- HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene)
HIPS is a thermoplastic polymer that blends polystyrene and elastomers for increased impact strength. It contains 5% to 10% butadiene rubber.
The material inherits the GPPS’s dimensional stability and offers improved impact strength, stiffness, high gloss, and ease of painting.
HIPS is an excellent choice for many applications due to its strong impact strength and capacity for thermoforming. It’s perfect for tanks, yogurt cups, toilet seats, refrigerator liners, and disposable items.
- GPPS (General Purpose Polystyrene)
GPPS (also known as General Purpose Polystyrene) is a homopolymer made from styrene, a crystal-clear polymer. It is translucent, glossy, tasteless, odorless, and colorless.
The material is made by ionic or free radical polymerization and has low water absorption, good electrical qualities, radiation resistance, and high transparency. However, it breaks easily, has little impact resistance, and is not resistant to hot temperatures like boiling water.
Due to its low cost and ease of processing, GPPS is widely used in toys, CD cases, and food packaging.
- EPS (Expanded Polystyrene)
The process of suspension polymerization of styrene monomer combined with impregnation with a blowing agent such as pentane results in expanded polystyrene (EPS). It’s a closed-cell white foam with an average density of 11 to 32 kg/m3.
EPS provides low heat conductivity, vibration and impact resistance, soundproofing, shock absorption, and resistance to moisture.
The material is suitable for food packaging, industry packaging, automotive, and building and construction.
3. Properties Of Polystyrene
3.1. Physical properties
- Lightweight: Polystyrene is a substance that is easy to handle and transport due to its lightweight.
- Transparency: Light may easily travel through polystyrene since it’s transparent.
- Stiffness and rigidity: These properties give its products structural stability.
- Dimensional stability: Polystyrene retains its size and shape under typical circumstances thanks to its good dimensional stability.
- Low heat conductivity: The material offers a low thermal conductivity and is a good insulator.
- Electrical insulation: Polystyrene acts as an electrical insulator since it effectively blocks the flow of electrical current.
- Moisture resistance: The material does not effectively absorb moisture due to its poor affinity for water. This indicates that polyethylene items have little molding shrinkage and don’t require drying during the molding process.
3.2. Chemical properties
- Chemical inertness: Polystyrene is resistant to a wide range of substances and does not easily react with them due to its chemical inertness.
- Acid and alkali resistance: Although the material is normally resistant to weak acids and weak alkali, it can be damaged by concentrated acids or strong solvents.
- Stability: Under normal circumstances, the material is stable and won’t deteriorate noticeably over time.
- Solubility: Polystyrene can be dissolved in a wide range of organic solvents, including ethyl acetate, toluene, and benzene.
- Flammability: The substance is easily ignited and combustible. Its fire resistance can be increased, though, by adding flame retardants.
4. Applications Of Polystyrene To Life
Polystyrene finds its uses in various industries, including:
- Appliances: Thanks to its inertness, affordability, and long-lasting durability, polystyrene is frequently used in appliances such as blenders, ovens, microwaves, air conditioners, and refrigerators.
- Automotive: Solid and foam polystyrene are used in many automotive components, including trim, door panels, knobs, instrument panels, sound-absorbing foam, and child safety seats.
- Foodservice and other packaging: Popular foodservice packaging uses polystyrene since it usually insulates better, preserves food longer, and is less expensive.
- Common applications include egg cartons and meat/poultry trays. Besides, both solid and foam versions of polystyrene are ideal choices for protecting consumer products, such as CD and DVD cases.
- Insulation: The material is lightweight, strong, and water-resistant. Thus, it’s used in building walls, freezers, refrigerators, and industrial cold storage facilities.
- Electronics: Many housing and other components of televisions, computers, and other IT equipment require polystyrene because the substance can meet the requirements for form, function, and aesthetic harmony.
- Medical: Polystyrene is well-known for its clarity and ease of sterilization. Therefore, it’s a common material in many medical devices and applications, such as diagnostic components, test tubes, tissue culture trays and petri dishes.
5. Conclusion
Polystyrene is lightweight, odorless, durable, and non-toxic, making it suitable for a wide range of applications, including food packaging, automotive components, and medical devices. Since the material comes in various types, understanding each type will help businesses decide which contributes the best to their productions.
6. About EuP Egypt’s HIPS Products
EuP Egypt, a member of EuP, offers a high-quality HIPS flame retardant compound with excellent properties to meet customer needs. It’s a mixture of flame retardant and HIPS resin that provides different UL94-standard flame retardancy levels according to end-product specifications.
HIPS is a cost-effective, multipurpose plastic with outstanding electrical, dimensional stability, and impact resistance. Due to its superior stiffness, smooth processing, and attractive look, the HIPS-FR compound can be used in various applications. This all-function-in-one material is appropriate for electronic components, keyboards, and mobile chargers.
If you have any questions about our products, don’t hesitate to contact us right now!
