Polystyrene is a widely used thermoplastic that can be molded into various shapes and colors. Its properties were first identified in 1839, and it became widely produced in the 1930s. It is often used for packaging and insulation, but it can leach carcinogenic compounds into food. While it is easily recyclable, it is not biodegradable and can last for hundreds of years in the environment.
The material properties of polystyrene make it one of the most heavily produced and used plastics in the world as of 2011. This includes the main fact that the structure of polystyrene is thermoplastic, which means that it becomes soft and pliable at a temperature of about 212° Fahrenheit (100° Celsius) without degrading its chemical bonds, allowing the plastic to be molded into many useful shapes and products. Because it’s also a naturally transparent petroleum-derived plastic compound, it can be given many different permanent colors by mixing pigments into it when it’s in its liquid state, which allows it to be used for everything from trinkets to plastic lettering and toys to machine parts.
The nature of polystyrene properties was first identified in 1839 by a German named Eduard Simon who refined it from the natural resin taken from the Sweetgum tree, or Liquidambar orientalis. The plastic wasn’t widely produced until nearly a century later, however, with German companies dominating the market in the early 1930s and US companies getting involved in 1937. Because the properties of expanded polystyrene for most products include that the plastic is quite rigid, it is sold globally from a softer but related plastic known as polyethylene.
Both polystyrene and polyethylene are in the class of compounds known as vinyl polymers. A vinyl polymer shows the chemistry of polystyrene with the connection of long chains of small compounds of vinyl monomers which are single carbon atoms doubly bonded to two hydrogen atoms. While polyethylene is considered the simplest of the vinyl polymers, others in the group share many properties of polystyrene, such as polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
The properties of expanded polystyrene, in which air or carbon dioxide can be mixed with the plastic during heating, also make it an ideal packaging and insulating material for oddly shaped goods, which can be shaped to prevent breakage during shipping. The chemistry of polystyrene also makes the compound inert for storage of many industrial chemicals and foods at normal room temperatures, but it is not designed to hold heated materials as it can leach carcinogenic styrene compounds into food in the process. These properties of polystyrene led to its more visible use in the consumer market as a material that has come to be known as Styrofoam.
The thermoplastic nature of the polystyrene chemical compound has led to its use for many types of food containers and plastic parts such as kitchen utensils which are considered disposable items. This is because the properties of polystyrene include that it can be easily recycled by compacting, sterilizing and melting it to reform into other products. However, it is not a biodegradable product and can withstand exposure to sunlight and the natural environment for hundreds of years before it begins to degrade naturally.
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