Flip
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Depolymerization of Styrofoam
How would I go about depolymerizing styrofoam to it's monomer? Would I need to add some kind of inhibitor? A colleague of mine once told me that it
woud have to be done under nitrogen, but i'm no longer in touch with him, and i've no idea how I might go about it.
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runlabrun
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im not sure how to do it, there was a big discussion of this a while back on another board which shall remain nameless. Best bet would be to buy those
fibreglass kits and extract the un-polymerised styrene from the tub in the kit... its just styrene in a solvent and inidcator dye (to see when the
sytrene is polymerising) but this too would have to be done under nitrogen and with very clean glassware, even then it would need to be stabilised in
solution to prevent it polymerising post extraction.
-rlr
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solo
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Someone had the same idea back at the old Hive board.......and here is a reply from an elder bee...........solo
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Osmium
Member posted 05-06-98 04:36 AM
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Thermal depolymerization of styrene doesn't work, because you will get only a small percentage of styrene and lots of other shit.
But styrene is no problem to get, ask chem supplier (expensive), or buy from plastic resin supplier in gallon quantities (used in polyester resins).
It's better to die on your feet, than live on your knees....Emiliano Zapata.
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Flip
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Depolymerization of Styrofoam
Oh, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to place an order for a gallon of styrene monomer. I'm just rather fond of the idea of synthesizing my
compound of interest starting with ordinary styrofoam. Bragging rights, you know. However, I would love to get a viable OTC source.
Speaking of the old Hive board, how can I get my hands on the archive? I mean, the whole forum archive, not the Rhodium archive. Does anyone have it
who would send it to me?
Flip
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Polverone
Now celebrating 21 years of madness
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I've done it on a test tube scale without difficulty. I first added packing peanuts to acetone to "melt" them, then let the compacted material dry. A
small chunk of this material was heated over an open flame in a pyrex test tube. It melted/boiled easily and refluxed within the tube. I was able to
pour the clear, slightly yellowish liquid off to another test tube if I let it cool for a few seconds. It smelled like styrene and was easily enough
oxidized by permanganate like a sample of commercial styrene monomer.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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bio2
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Patent written in Chinese.
Application: CN 94-119654 19941215. CAN 124:316760 AN 1996:285029
CAPLUS
Patent Family Information
Patent No. Kind Date Application No. Date
CN 1110677 A 19951025 CN 1994-119654 19941215
Priority Application
CN 1994-119654 19941215
Abstract
PhCH2CO2H (I) is prepd. from polystyrene (II). Crushed II was distd. at >
340° to give styrene, which was heated with S and NH4OH in EtOH at 93-95°
to give 94% PhCONH2. Hydrolysis of PhCONH2 with HCl in H2O gave 84% I.
This process is efficient and pollution-free.
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