Conversion of expanded polystyrene waste to nanoparticles via nanoprecipitation

Effect of laser irradiated silver doped polystyrene/polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thin film for solar cell applications

In the current research, the resist action of silver-doped polystyrene/polyethylene terephthalate (PET) solar thin film towards laser irradiation was observed.

Implementation of the emulsification-diffusion method by solvent displacement for polystyrene nanoparticles prepared from recycled material

From an integral perspective, nanotechnology can be used to care for the environment by improving current preparation methods and facilitating industrial scale-up. This article discusses the implementation of techniques for obtaining polystyrene nanoparticles (PSN), as an added value, using an emulsification and solvent displacement method (EDSD); the solvent displacement is a novel modification to the emulsion-diffusion methodology, where the diffusion is done directly on the emulsion, which allows concentrated dispersions that facilitate direct use to be obtained, eliminating the dilution with water and the recovery of water by additional processes. The solvent was recovered by reduced pressure, which is class 3, conforming to ICH, and making this method sustainable. The optimization of this process has not been reported elsewhere. This approach made it possible to obtain highly-concentrated nanoparticles while allowing the reuse of the solvent. A scaling proposal is presented that integrates the conditioning of the solid urban waste material called expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam that constitutes a serious environmental problem both nationally and globally. Hence, the article presents an alternative to the recycling of EPS, and a methodology in the context of green chemistry, because solvent is recovered to prepare other batches. The PSN obtained from this waste material had a minimum particle size of 225.8 nm, with a polydispersion index of 0.158. Process performance was 97.1%, and the solvent was recovered at a maximum rate of 85%. The morphology of the PSN was spherical and uniform, with a smooth surface.

Optimising Parameters for Expanded Polystyrene Based Pod Production Using Taguchi Method

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is used in the building and construction industry for insulation and under flooring purposes. The objective of the study is to investigate the impact of the application of the total quality management (TQM) technique on the significant parameters of the pod production process in a New Zealand based EPS manufacturing facility. In this work, Taguchi’s L27 orthogonal array (OA) is considered for conducting experiments through three input parameters i.e., weight of untreated beads, batch duration, and temperature is investigated. Based on the results, the analyses are carried out while using statistical approaches, such as analysis of the means (ANOM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results from confirmatory experiment indicate that, at optimal parameters setting (17 kg of untreated bead, 130 s of batch duration and 155 °F of temperature), a reasonably streamlined pod manufacturing process can be achieved for sustainable operations.