Polystyrene and EPS
Polystyrene and expandable polystyrene (EPS): the rigid and foamed plastics of food packs, appliance liners, insulation boards and protective packaging.
Pseudo-commodities · Commodity plastics · No. 51
- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Oil, gas or coal
- about 15 Mt a year of PS and EPS (2024, indicative: styrene tile basis of 42% x 35 Mt styrene); roughly 8-9 Mt GPPS and HIPS and 6-7 Mt EPS (indicative split)
- 3.0 t CO₂e per t
- HS 390311, 390319
Foamed polystyrene is about 98% air, which makes it a superb insulator and a bulky, hard-to-recycle waste.
Chart: Illustration: Polystyrene and EPS
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Styrene is polymerised in bulk for clear GPPS or rubber-toughened HIPS, or in water as beads soaked with pentane that later puff up into EPS foam.
Three things to know
- About 42% of the world's roughly 35 Mt of styrene becomes polystyrene and EPS, around 15 Mt a year.
- At about 3 t CO2e per tonne, PS is among the most carbon-heavy commodity plastics.
- India banned thermocol decoration items and several single-use PS products in 2022.
The journey
- 1 Styrene0.79 t benzene, 0.28 t ethylene
- 2 Bulk polymerisingGPPS and HIPS at 110-180 C
- 3 EPS beadsSuspension beads soaked with 4-7% pentane
- 4 ConversionThermoformed, moulded or steam-expanded foam
- 5 End of lifeFood packs minutes, insulation decades