Polystyrene beads, expandable

POLYSTYRENE BEADS, EXPANDED, MIXTURE UITH FLAMMABLE LIQUID 2211 ... 

POLYMERIC BEADS, EXPANDABLE (POLYSTYRENE or POLYSTYRENE BEADS, EXPANDABLE) (9003-53-6) (CgHg), (flash point 644 to 662°F/340 to 350°C autoignition temp 801°F/427°Cf "l). Incompatible with strong oxidizers, hydrocarbon solvents. Decomposes above 572°F/300°C, producing toxic styrene, benzene, carbon monoxide, and other hydrocarbon fumes. On small fires, use alcohol-resistant foam, dry chemical powder, water spray, or CO extinguishers. Note This material may be shipped in a flammable solvent. Check MSDS and refer to solvent carrier. 

Polymeric Beads, Expandable Polystyrene Beads, Expandable Plastics Moulding Compound A moulding material in bead or granular form consisting predominantly of polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate) or other polymeric material and containing 5% to 8% of a volatile hydrocarbon which is predominantly pentane. During storage a small proportion of this pentane is released to the atmosphere this proportion increases at elevated temperatures. IMO 9036... 

Poisonous Liquids, which in contact 3123 40 Polystyrene Beads, expandable. 2211 32... 

Other Plastics Uses. The plasticizer range alcohols have a number of other uses in plastics hexanol and 2-ethylhexanol are used as part of the catalyst system in the polymerization of acrylates, ethylene, and propylene (55) the peroxydicarbonate of 2-ethylhexanol is utilized as a polymerization initiator for vinyl chloride various trialkyl phosphites find usage as heat and light stabHizers for plastics organotin derivatives are used as heat stabHizers for PVC octanol improves the compatibHity of calcium carbonate filler in various plastics 2-ethylhexanol is used to make expanded polystyrene beads (56) and acrylate esters serve as pressure sensitive adhesives. 

Economics. Rigid foam systems are typically in the range of 32 kg/m (2 Ibs/fT) and, in 1992, had a foam price of about 3.63/kg ( 1.65 per lb) with hquid foam systems at about 2.75/kg. Unit prices for pour-ia-place polyurethane packaging systems fall between the competitive expandable polystyrene bead foam at 3.30/kg and low density polyethylene foams at 5.80/kg. 

Expanded polystyrene bead mol ding products account for the largest portion of the drinking cup market and are used in fabricating a variety of other products including packaging materials, iasulation board, and ice chests. The iasulation value, the moisture resistance, and physical properties are inferior to extmded boardstock, but the material cost is much less. 

Roofiag panels have been made from polyisocyanurate foams, both foam- and felt-reiaforced with glass fiber. PhenoHc resias are used especially for decorative laminates for paneling. The substrate may be fiberboard or a core of expanded polystyrene beads. In one case the beads are coated with phenoHc resia, then expanded ia a mold to form a stmctural foam panel. 

The approximately round shape and small size of the suspension beads is useful for some applications such as expandable polystyrene or as an intermediate for further compounding with pigments, other polystyrene beads, etc. Being round, however, they tend to roll, not only causing a safety hazard when spilled on floors but more importantly causing difficulties in some fabricating extruders and molding machines. Except for expandable polystyrene, beads are seldom sold as such but are extruded into pellets. 

Suspension Polymerization. Water is the suspending phase. Inorganic salts and vigorous agitation prevent coalescence and agglomeration. The reaction mode is batch. The largest use of suspension polymerization is for the manufacture of expandable polystyrene beads. 

Figure 4.35 Thermal conductivity of expanded polystyrene beads as a function of density. Reprinted, by permission, from The Dow Chemical Company. Copyright 1966.

A wide variety of polymers have been analyzed by gel-permeation, or size-exclusion, chromatography (sec) to determine molecular weight distribution of the polymer and additives (86—92). Some work has been completed on expanding this technique to determine branching in certain polymers (93). Combinations of sec with pyrolysis—gc systems have been used to show that the relative composition of polystyrene or acrylonitrile—polystyrene copolymer is independent of molecule size (94). Improvements in gpc include smaller cross-linked polystyrene beads having narrow particle size distributions, which allow higher column efficiency and new families of porous hydrophilic gels to be used for aqueous gpc (95). 

While unaffected by water, styrofoam is dissolved by many organic solvents and is unsuitable for high-temperature applications because its heat-distortion temperature is around 77°C. Molded styrofoam objects are produced commercially from expandable polystyrene beads, but this process does not appear attractive for laboratory applications because polyurethane foams are much easier to foam in place. However, extruded polystyrene foam is available in slabs and boards which may be sawed, carved, or sanded into desired shapes and may be cemented. It is generally undesirable to join expanded polystyrene parts with cements that contain solvents which will dissolve the plastic and thus cause collapse of the cellular structure. This excludes from use a large number of cements which contain volatile aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, or esters. Some suitable cements are room-temperature-vulcanizing silicone rubber (see below) and solvent-free epoxy cements. When a strong bond is not necessary, polyvinyl-acetate emulsion (Elmer s Glue-All) will work. 

The reaction engineering aspects of these polymerizations are similar. Excellent heat transfer makes them suitable for vinyl addition polymerizations. Free radical catalysis is mostly used, but cationic catalysis is used for non-aqueous dispersion polymerization (e.g., of isobutene). High conversions are generally possible, and the resulting polymer, either as a latex or as beads, is directly suitable for some applications (e.g., paints, gel-permeation chromatography beads, expanded polystyrene). Most of these polymerizations are run in the batch mode, but continuous emulsion polymerization is common. 

In Contact with Organic Vapors. Finely divided polystyrene beads (22-48 mesh) supported on a screen suspended above the surface of pentane in a closed vessel absorb as much as 9.2% in 2 days at 30°C. In the same way, a styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer is rendered expandable by exposure to vapors of a 90/10 mixture of pentane and methylene chloride (5). 

Foam molding operations are those in which a liquid mixture of foam components is used. It is poured into a mold cavity to form a cellular shaped product. The molded product is later removed after setting or curing. As reviewed in the case of expandable polystyrene beads the preexpanded or virgin beads are poured into a mold and heated to form the desired object. In this case, liquids are not used, although the free-flowing beads might be considered a fluid. 

Low-density polystyrene foam sheet was first produced by the extrusion of expandable polystyrene beads or pellets containing pentane as blowing agent [81,82]. Currently, polystyrene foam is extruded in a single-screw tandem line or in a twin-screw extruder. 

Cross-linked polystyrene beads (Section 25-1) are most commonly used in conjunction with organic solvents for the separation and characterization of polymers. Like the rigid gel Styragel, it is available with pore sizes that have exclusion limits for molecules ranging from 4 to 10 nm (expanded chain length), corresponding to molecular weights from 200 to 5 x 10 . 

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