The Story of Plastic Foam
- At first, chemists tried to make polymer materials, such as PS and PU plastic foam through chemical reactions.
- Otto Bayer invented polyurethane foam, and thus, the first synthetic foam material was born! Due to its lightweight, insulating, and soundproofing properties, it was quickly adopted for use in the construction and home industries.
- Dow Chemical of the United States developed extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) and named it Styrofoam.
- With the development of technology, there are more and more kinds of plastic foams invented.
Secrets to Recycling Foam
Waste conversion technology
By definition, waste conversion technology is a method of converting waste into other useful materials. For example, through pyrolysis, gasification, and other decomposition processes, plastic foam is broken down into smaller molecules, ultimately turning into gas and oil.
- Generated gas: During the depolymerization process, some polymer molecules will decompose into gaseous components such as methane and ethylene, which can be used as fuel or further processed.
- Generated oil: The liquid by-products produced during the decomposition process are a mixture of hydrocarbons that can be further refined into products such as crude oil.
Recycling Plastic Processing Technology
It’s a method of recycling waste foam plastic and processing it into new plastic materials, which is more common in our daily lives. Foam recycling technology is beneficial for promoting plastic recycling and reducing resource waste.
- Cold Press Regeneration: Using a cold compressor, the collected waste foam is compressed into dense ingots for subsequent transportation and recycling. Then, the foam blocks are crushed and cleaned, resulting in reusable recycled granules.
- Thermal Recycling: By using melting technology, the foam is melted, extruded, cut, and finally formed into plastic pellets that can be used for recycling.
Recycle and dispose of plastic foam properly
Sort plastics according to their properties and intended use. Separate recyclable foam plastic and other plastics for further processing.
tips
- Plastic recycling requires long-term persistence. We should start with the little things in our daily lives and recycle plastic to protect the environment.
- It is important to pay attention to the classification and recycling of plastic waste to protect the environment.
Recommend plastic foam recycling machines
As a plastic foam recycling specialist, Shuliy is dedicated to researching efficient EPS, and EPE recycling machines. If you’re interested, please feel free to contact us.