Polystyrene world production

In 2002, the world production of polymers (not including synthetic libers and rubbers) was ca. 190 million metric tons. Of these, the combined production of poly(ethylene terephthalate), low- and high-density polyethyelene, polypropylene, poly(vinyl chloride), polystyrene, and polyurethane was 152.3 milhon metric tons [1]. These synthetic, petroleum-based polymers are used, inter alia, as engineering plastics, for packing, in the construction-, car-, truck- and food-industry. They are chemically very stable, and can be processed by injection molding, and by extrusion from the melt in a variety of forms. These attractive features, however, are associated with two main problems ... 

Economic Development. In terms of output, polystyrene experienced a dramatic development in the postwar years. Whereas in 1940 world production was under 10,000 tons per year, by 1950 consumption in the western world had risen to 138,000 tons. The U.S.A. alone accounted for 85% of this. In 1960 550,000 tons and in 1970 2.1 million tons were used. 

World consumers used 215 billion lb of the five most commonly used plastics in 1996.119 This included 41% polyethylene, 23% polyvinyl chloride, 21% polypropylene, 11% polystyrene, and 4% styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers. The world production of polyethylene tereph-thalate in 1996 was 9.8 billion lb. The United States plastics use in 1995 was 71.2 billion lb, of which 27% was used... 

The most important application of nylons is as fibers, which account for nearly 90% of the world production of all nylons. Virtually all of the rest is used for plastic applications. Because of their high cost, they have not become general-purpose materials, such as polyethylene and polystyrene, which are available at about one-third the price of nylons. Nylons have nevertheless found steadily increasing application as plastics materials for specialty purposes where the combination of toughness, rigidity, abrasion resistance, reasonable heat resistance, and gasoline resistance is important. 

Polystyrene is one of the most common commercial polymers. Its basic properties can be modulated by copolymerization and by the varied presentations of its semi-finished products. The level of its annual world production and that of its derivatives exceeds 18 million tons, and its growth rate remains high. From a scientific point of view, polystyrene homopolymer is regarded as the reference polymer by physicists as well as by chemists and physical chemists. Thus it was comprehensively studied, and its properties are particularly well known. 

Capacity. Estimated ABS capacity worldwide in 1989 is given in Table 3. Accurate ABS capacity figures are difficult to obtain because significant production capabiHty is considered "swing" and can be used to manufacture polystyrene or SAN as weU as ABS. The United States has the largest ABS nameplate production capacity of any country at 867 x 10 tons accounting for approximately 25% of the world s capacity. Three producers... 

Styrene—butadiene elastomers, emulsion and solution types combined, are reported to be the largest-volume synthetic mbber, with 28.7% of the world consumption of all synthetic mbber in 1994 (38). This percentage has decreased steadily since 1973 when SBR s market share was 57% (39). The decline has been attributed to the switch to radial tires (longer milage) and the growth of other synthetic polymers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, and polystyrene. Since 1985, production of SBR has been flat (Table 3). 

World polystyrene production in 1997 was approximately 10 million tons. The demand is forecasted to reach 13 million tons by 2002. The 1997 U.S. production of polystyrene polymers and copolymers was approximately 6.6 billion pounds. ABS, SAN, and other styrene copolymers were approximately 3 billion pounds for the same year. 

During 1930s, the commercial interest of polystyrene started due to its good electrical insulation characteristics. During the second world war, two companies, namely, I.G. Farben-industries (Germany) and Dow Chemical Company (USA) started the large scale production of polystyrene. 

Polystyrene will in the coming years have to show that it can master this situation by further process rationalization and the development of even more sophisticated products. In spite of unfavorable cost trends, polystyrene has up to now continued its march. Production and sales have risen steadily - except for a brief decline in 1975 - and for 1980 we are expecting, in spite of the second price explosion in 1979, a doubling of 1970 sales in the western world to 4.2 million tons. If the estimated 1980 consumption of ABS/SAN polymers and EPS is added to this figure, an amount of 6.1 million tons of styrene polymers is obtained. 

Phillips catalysts for linear polyethylene and polypropylene and the graft copolymerizations for impact polystyrene and ABS are even younger and have not yet spread into the less industrialized countries of world. The production of polyolefins, poly (vinyl chloride), and styrene resins on a worldwide basis as well as of all synthetic polymers is shown in Figure 3. A comparison of the U.S. production in Figure 1 and in Figure 3 demonstrates the effect of age and dissemination of technology. It shows that relatively more poly (vinyl chloride) but less polyolefins and styrene resins are produced worldwide than in this country. 

The RoHS procedure has now combined with European Union Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH), which is a new European Union Regulation (EC/2006/1907 of 18 December 2006). Four additional substances are listed that will be assessed as a priority, among these substances is hexabromocyclododecane, a brominated flame retardant widely used in expanded polystyrene for which no alternatives have been found so far. REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment it has been described as the most complex legislation in the Union s history and the most important in the last 20 years. It is the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and will impact industries throughout the world. REACH entered into force in June 2007, with a phased implementation over the next decade. 

During World War II several authors resumed the investigations. G. B. Bachman and his co-workers [40] nitrated polystyrene with nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.50) and obtained products of various degrees of nitration depending on the nitration temperature at 50°C a product containing 10.0% of N was obtained, while at 150°C the product contained 11.2% of N. 

In 2001 it was estimated that the world merchant market for catalysts was worth ca. US 25 billion, divided roughly equally between refining, petrochemicals, polymers, environmental (20-25% each) and with about 11% being used in fine chemicals. Refining is about the production of fuels (Chapter 3, Box 2), petrochemicals cover many of the basic commodity chemicals and the monomers required for the polymer industries fine chemicals include pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, as well as flavours and fragrances and environmental is about exhaust gas and waste product clean-up. Vehicle catalytic converters use catalysts, as does the production of the main tonnage polymers polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene terephthalate. 

About 50% of the present world-wide plastics production (>200 Mt/a) is based on polyethylene and polypropylene. When polystyrene is included, this percentage rises to 60%. With regard to their total production volumes, polyolefin materials thus are among the top 10 of all products generated in chemical industry. Major producers of polyethylene and polypropylene are shown, together with their production capacities, in Figure 4. 

The first organic polymers, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene, were first introduced in the 1930s. We have been literally surrounded by synthetic polymers for a long time. The world annual production of polymers is approximately 200 x 109 kg. In the... 

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