3 ms·
Solvent-based methods have some unfortunate side-effects, and are difficult to scale [1]. Low and slow heat appears to work. I'm still trying to find reports of
by yourapostasy 6y ago
Solvent-based methods have some unfortunate side-effects, and are difficult to scale [1]. Low and slow heat appears to work. I'm still trying to find reports of anyone who takes end user styrofoam and turns it back into desired styrofoam shapes with carbon dioxide as a foaming agent, entraining it into the closed cells. I've yet to hear of people who reduce styrofoam into polystyrene being able to turn it back into styrofoam again, but can't tell if that is an outcome of the chemistry/thermochemistry (very difficult to address), or lack of foaming equipment (addressable with enough expertise, space and capital).
Ideally, I'd like to figure out a way to take all styrofoam entering say a neighborhood as end user packing gets continuously turned into standardized insulation interlocking blocks that is continuously, incrementally installed into buildings that are pre-built with say, 2-4 meter thick wall cavities for incrementally build up the insulation over time. The styrofoam that enters our lives as packing material for a brief period and becomes unwanted detritus ends up in multi-decade and hopefully multi-century building insulation.
I want to do the same with the polyethylene used for most bags, though for those I'd want to turn them into sheets and use them for endlessly making Kaizen foam to organize, protect and store my tooling.
[1] https://davehakkens.nl/community/forums/topic/has-anyone-tried-polystyrene-d-limonene/ https://davehakkens.nl/community/forums/topic/has-anyone-tri...
- throwaway201103 6y agoStyrofoam isn't safe for household insulation. It's very flamable and produces heavy black toxic smoke.
- mikeklaas 6y agoIs it not the same thing as ubiquitous foam board insulation? https://www.homedepot.com/b/Building-Materials-Insulation-Foam-Board-Insulation/N-5yc1vZbaxx https://www.homedepot.com/b/Building-Materials-Insulation-Fo...
- korethr 6y agoSomewhat. There's multiple types of foam board used for insulation in buildings. The most common types are EPS, XPS, and polyisocyanurate. EPS and XPS are Expanded and eXtruded PolyStyrene, respectively. Both are closed-cell foams. EPS is styrofoam, and is made by putting a bunch of polystyrene beads in a container, and then heating it up so they expand into a big block either in the desired final shape, or later cut into the desired size and shape. XPS is foamed up with a blowing agent, previously an hyrdoflourocarbon gas (I don't know what's used currently), and then extruded into its desired shape. Polyiso is its own animal, but I know little about it, other than it's not polystyrene.