{"id":5053,"date":"2024-06-18T10:55:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T07:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/?p=5053"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:47:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T09:47:22","slug":"engineers-develop-polystyrene-recycling-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/engineers-develop-polystyrene-recycling-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Chemical Engineers Develop Polystyrene Recycling Process"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A groundbreaking technique for recycling polystyrene (PS) was developed by a team of chemical engineers from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">University of Bath<\/a> in the UK and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpi.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Worcester Polytechnic Institute<\/a> in Massachusetts, USA. Their method could make recycling PS both economically viable and energy efficient, revolutionizing the way this polymer is handled.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/engineers-develop-polystyrene-recycling-process\/#Research_Details\" >Research Details<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/engineers-develop-polystyrene-recycling-process\/#Challenges_with_Current_Recycling_Methods\" >Challenges with Current Recycling Methods<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/engineers-develop-polystyrene-recycling-process\/#The_Polystyrene_Recycling_Process\" >The Polystyrene Recycling Process<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/engineers-develop-polystyrene-recycling-process\/#Policy_Implications_and_Future_Outlook\" >Policy Implications and Future Outlook<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Research_Details\"><\/span><strong>Research Details<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1385894724035666?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">paper<\/a>, published in Chemical Engineering Journal, this new process uses <strong>pyrolysis<\/strong> to decompose PS into its basic components, which can then be reformed into new products. This approach could significantly boost the recycling rate of polystyrene, since <strong>less than 5 %<\/strong> is currently recycled, according to the study.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Challenges_with_Current_Recycling_Methods\"><\/span><strong>Challenges with Current Recycling Methods<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The challenge with Polystyrene recycling has traditionally been the material&#8217;s <strong>degradation<\/strong> <strong>through repeated treatments<\/strong>, which diminishes its strength and flexibility. Most recycling centers do not accept PS due to the specialized facilities it requires to be recycled and the high transport costs due to its bulk.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5054\" src=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/packaging-peanuts-Chemical-Engineers-Develop-Polystyrene-Recycling-Process-1024x728.jpg\" alt=\"packaging-peanuts-Chemical-Engineers-Develop-Polystyrene-Recycling-Process-scaled\" width=\"1024\" height=\"728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/packaging-peanuts-Chemical-Engineers-Develop-Polystyrene-Recycling-Process-1024x728.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/packaging-peanuts-Chemical-Engineers-Develop-Polystyrene-Recycling-Process-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/packaging-peanuts-Chemical-Engineers-Develop-Polystyrene-Recycling-Process-768x546.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/packaging-peanuts-Chemical-Engineers-Develop-Polystyrene-Recycling-Process-1536x1092.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/packaging-peanuts-Chemical-Engineers-Develop-Polystyrene-Recycling-Process-2048x1456.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Polystyrene_Recycling_Process\"><\/span><strong>The Polystyrene Recycling Process<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This study\u2019s pyrolysis method addresses these issues by subjecting PS to temperatures above 450 degrees Celsius in an oxygen-free environment (preventing combustion) and breaking it down into monomers. These monomers can be purified and reformed into new PS. Producing <strong>1 kilogram<\/strong> of new material using this method requires less than 10 megajoules of energy\u2014about the same as powering a microwave for 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With this process, <strong>1 kilogram of used PS can produce 600 grams of 99 % pure monomer-grade styrene<\/strong> for new PS production, thus reducing reliance on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Policy_Implications_and_Future_Outlook\"><\/span><strong>Policy Implications and Future Outlook<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Researchers also highlight the potential for policy measures to incentivize PS recycling, which would further enhance the economic viability of their process. Encouraging consumers to recycle PS or divert it from landfills could provide additional benefits and drive widespread adoption of this innovative recycling technique.<\/p>\n<p>If you are looking for advice on the sustainability of your packaging, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/contact-us\/\">contact<\/a> our team of experts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A groundbreaking technique for recycling polystyrene (PS) was developed by a team of chemical engineers from the University of Bath in the UK and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, USA. Their method could make recycling PS both economically viable and energy efficient, revolutionizing the way this polymer is handled. &nbsp; Research Details In a recent&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-new-tech-en","category-28","category-542","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5053"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5062,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053\/revisions\/5062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}