Expanded polystyrene (EPS), sometimes known as Styrofoam, has long been used as a packing material to cushion a wide range of items, including furniture, laptops, and cosmetics, and to keep them safe throughout transportation. Additionally, because of the difficulties in recycling it, environmentalists have long denigrated it.The latest research reports that a current solution for expanded polystyrene has successfully polymerized EPS with minimal defects and high efficiency while using a mild sulfonating agent. Their method also found an efficient way to convert plastic waste into PEDOT:PSS.

More importantly, in this report, the interviewee said that before recycling expanded polystyrene, people are usually accustomed to compressing the expanded polystyrene first and evacuating the air in the material. This compressed waste Expanded polystyrene will not affect subsequent chemical recycling. This can also be regarded as an important linkage between chemical recycling methods and mechanical recycling methods in the recycling field. So how exactly is discarded expanded polystyrene compressed?

There are three main ways to compress waste expanded polystyrene, namely cold pressing, hot melt and hydraulic pressure. Devices with higher compression ratios are currently more popular. Because many people use machines to save transportation costs, naturally the higher the compression ratio, the better. The compression ratio of GREENMAX polystyrene densifier can reach 90:1, which is currently the highest compression ratio among all single GREENMAX machines. Another significant advantage is the polystyrene densifier comparison operation, which requires less manual labor to complete the compression. At present, labor costs are increasing year by year, and it is very important to be able to save labor costs.

Creating a circular economy for expanded polystyrene relies on finding high-value secondary uses for discarded plastics. "This study is an exciting example of a newly discovered high-value secondary use of waste foam," he said. "As foam recycling infrastructure grows, we're pleased that this research has uncovered additional ways to convert old polystyrene into valuable material again."