Marine food chain will be influenced by plastic products

Earlier, biologists have found remains in the whales, sea turtles and other large marine body Plastic products . The study found that due to plankton wrong eating marine litter, causing the digestive system is blocked, and as a major food source for marine life, marine litter can not be decomposed marine organisms into the body , affecting the marine food chain.

Scientists first discovered copepod plankton would devour plastic particles, they mainly feed on algae, chemical and tactile sensors cannot distinguish the food is eaten. Video data captured display, copepods biological paddling leg toward the microscopic level of polystyrene microspheres swim, and swallowed them, these polystyrene microspheres gradually deposited in their bodies.

When a large plastic garbage into the marine environment, wildlife and this will have serious implications for the ecosystem. Scientists assessment shows that every year about 800 tons of plastic is poured into the sea, fishing nets and plastic bags for some large marine life brings threats to survival.

However, even after these plastic garbage decomposition, still constitute a hazard to the marine environment. Plymouth Marine Laboratory researcher Matthew – Cole (Matthew Cole) Dr. depth study of the marine ecosystem , ” miniature plastic ” , study pointed out that until now miniature plastic substances harmful plankton still being ignored. The study, published in “Environmental Science and Technology” magazine recently published.

Plankton is an important part of the marine food chain, it is located at the bottom of the food chain, is a lot of marine life food source. As more and more marine litter, increasing the likelihood of plankton eating plastic material. Marine debris plastic plankton will have a negative impact, followed by a further impact on the marine food chain. We must accelerate the pace of polystyrene recycling to protect the environment.

Molded polystyrene foam board demand increased

Our insulation materials market started late, especially in market development of organic insulating material is lagging behind. Over the past decade, the state actively promote the development of energy-efficient buildings, reduce energy consumption, so that the expanded polystyrene board thin plaster exterior insulation technology has been widely used for thermal insulation molded polystyrene foam board (hereinafter referred to as EPS) demand continues increase, leading to the rapid development of EPS production enterprises.

At present, China EPS manufacturers are about 2000, mainly in the northeast, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding, Shandong, Hunan, Hubei and other places.Industrial concentration area to the northeast, Jiangsu and Zhejiang and Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei. A small part of the sheet, the company is also the packaging material manufacturers and mold makers, there are some enterprises also produce raw materials . Overall, companies lower the threshold, a small number of large enterprises, mostly small and medium enterprises.

In 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, five were molded polystyrene foam insulation with plastic state checks, product qualification rate supervision were 95.1%, 96.3%, 97.5%, 97.5%, 97.8%.Product quality steadily, but there are still some problems. The main questions focused on the apparent density, oxygen index, burning grading. The spot checks found that the Hongshan District of Wuhan Xingda insulation material factory apparent density of a batch project failed. Polystyrene recycling in China will have a new prospect.

EPS packaging product characteristics and use

Light: The space is part of natural gas instead of EPS packaging products, each volume contains CDM 3–6 million unique hermetic bubble. Than other plastic volume several times a few times.

Insulation properties: Weighted average EPS thermal conductivity and the thermal conductivity of pure air.

Soundproofing performance: EPS insulation products mainly through two ways, one acoustic energy, reduce reflection and transmission; the second is to eliminate resonance and reduce noise.

Deputy Performance: In addition to your anti-aging for a long time outside the high-energy radiation, no significant aging products. It can be a lot of chemicals, such as acid, alkali, methanol, limestone, asphalt.

Load capacity: EPS packaging products in the impact load, bubble through stagnation and compression make energy consumption, dispersion, foam small negative acceleration, gradually ending the impact load, so it has good shock effect.

Antistatic: EPS guidance due to reduced performance of the product and, therefore, the triboelectric changes in their products do not affect the average user. High-precision electronic products, especially modern appliances manifold structure surrounding elements, anti-static EPS packaging products. Of course, EPS recycling is more important in our daily life.

EPS was widely used in the production

EPS packaging is currently the more common form of packaging, it was widely used, and some have been familiar to people, while others are little known. The new use of EPS will continue to emerge. Currently we mainly use EPS summarized as follows:

1. EPS packaging can be made from various molded cushion. Some cushion, we can use EPS sheet cutting made directly. EPS cushion packaging with good cushioning properties, can play a large part in preventing damage to the product effect.

2. made from a variety of EPS liner. Since the EPS plates with insulation, noise characteristics, together with its relatively low price, light weight, it is often used as various liner. Of course, there is still strength in itself is not high, poor sealing performance and other weaknesses, so you can compound it with other materials in order to learn from each other. Composite materials are common with plaster, paper, metal sheet or the like. The composite sheet can be widely used in the construction industry and as decoration materials. Such as ceilings, wall panels, etc., are particularly useful as cold storage, refrigerated trucks insulation barrier.

3. Directly whittled into all kinds of containers. Such as fish boxes, freezers crates, have utility insulation, preservation, the loss prevention.

4. Because of its light weight (specific gravity of about 0.015-0.20g / cm3), it can be proud of into all kinds of life-saving appliances, also can be made into all kinds of floating debris, these materials floating on the water aquaculture come in handy.

5. Because of easy processing, low cost, it can partly replace the wooden mold, casting, construction and other industries can flourish.

In addition to the above uses, it can also be used directly filter as material; can also be mixed with cement, the light is used as building materials.

Polystyrene foam plastics in China has many years of production history. With the rapid development of the national economy, EPS recycling will be more and more popular in the future.

Features of expanded polystyrene foam sheet

Expanded polystyrene foam sheet performance characteristics:

1. polystyrene foam board light. Adoption of standards for the EPS board density 18 ~ 22kg / m3, the European EPS board using only 15kg / m3 of;

2. low thermal conductivity of polystyrene foam board. Due to its mission pore structure filled with air, preventing the spread of air to the thermal conductivity of about 0.039;

3. since the polystyrene foam sheet in 98% of the space is filled with air, have the ability to respond by changing the shape of the outside world and to buffer the impact, good impact resistance;

4. low water absorption. Studies have shown that humidity will affect the thermal and mechanical properties of materials, low water absorption materials help to maintain these properties;

5. recyclable polystyrene foam board. The degree of recovery is the plastic in the highest;

6. the energy consumption in the whole life cycle of plastic products in the lowest.

Expanded polystyrene foam sheet, also known as foam board, EPS board is a white object by the expandable polystyrene beads containing a volatile liquid blowing agent, by heating after an advance in the mold thermoformed, having a fine closing the structural characteristics of the hole. Polystyrene foam board surface was smooth, with full obturator internal honeycomb structure, excellent thermal insulation (thermal conductivity 0.043W / MK), noise, moisture resistance, and high pressure, light, non-absorbent, airtight , wear-resistant, non-degradable characteristics; sheet with a knife can easily cut, widely used in roof, walls, floors, cold storage and other projects. Polystyrene has a wide application in many fileds,  it is worth for us to develop polystyrene recycling industry.

Foam plastic problems should be paid more attention

Disposable foam plastic tableware is made ​​of polystyrene , because the characteristics of the material itself, there are still caveats lifted after use. Flammable polystyrene, foamed plastics save tableware should consider fire safety issues in the product package description should express.

In addition, the poor heat resistance of polystyrene, exceed 70 ℃will be deformed, and the release of harmful low-molecular substances. Polystyrene resin as raw foam plastic disposable tableware made ​​of, because they can not obtain the "white pollution" notoriety via biodegradation and photolysis.

Recently, the International Food Packaging Association is currently in Beijing announced in the east and southern part of the companies are still not using hazardous sources that even imports of waste plastics production of polystyrene foam plastic tableware, in order to reduce costs, these companies use in production or added outsourcing and multiple recycling waste recycling fee standard plastic material produced foam plastic tableware lunch boxes.

Due to the current disposable foam plastic tableware is no national standard, even if companies use outsourcing even toxic recycled waste plastics containing carcinogens, in addition to the company and love, according to "Food packaging polystyrene products standard "(GB9689-1988) also cannot be detected out.

For this reason, many enterprises use outsourcing flagrant waste production, great technical difficulty of law enforcement. The disposable foam plastic tableware because of its large volume, low density, light weight, oil absorption disaster cleaning and other issues, no one currently recovering after the lifting of the ban face of environmental pollution and waste of resources and other issues. We should accelerate the pace of polystyrene recycling, but also we should take care of the environment.

Polyurethane has become superiority in the construction

In recent years, polyurethane is an important and widely used polymer material, and its demand showed a sharp upward trend, especially in the construction industry applications. As the countries in the world on environmental protection, greenhouse effect, the energy consumption of all laws and regulations more complete, requiring more strict, rigid polyurethane superiority in terms of building applications can also increasingly prominent. We are often in contact with the insulation material, typically EPS, XPS, PU three, we have respective characteristics and trends to make an analysis.

EPS is made ​​of polystyrene , is a thermoplastic plastic , the advantage of low cost and good thermal insulation properties, but poor flame retardant properties, adhesive properties in general, it can only be a transitional product.

XPS is also known as extruded polystyrene foam board, which is the process of re-melting scrap polystyrene particles, high temperature and high pressure extrusion process of injecting Freon and other foaming agent, so as to form a cell-like structure, also have some insulation properties. Because this material is reasonable recycling polystyrene waste, so it is environmentally friendly, its outstanding advantage is the cost in general, good water resistance, high strength, shape stability, even as a runway material, in recent years a wide range of for external wall insulation fields. The disadvantage is the poor adhesion properties, thermal insulation properties in general.

Currently building energy consumption has become a major obstacle to sustainable development in the world, in China, building energy consumption is close to 30 percent of the total energy consumption of new and existing buildings, high energy consumers were 99% and 95% . Building energy efficiency is imminent. Essential for thermal insulation of buildings, the core problem is the insulation material of choice. EPS recycling industry is gradually mature today.