Feasibility of Expandable Polystyrene in the Construction of Housing of Social Interest in the City of Azogues

The lack of decent housing to settle down and have a family is one of the most relevant problems in Ecuador, currently the demographic expansion has made the population look for alternatives that are often limited by the lack of economic resources to acquire a house or apartment, it is thus that housing solutions financed and built by the State are so|ught to reduce the index of homelessness, however the construction costs that arise are high, before which alternatives are sought in terms of the materials of manufacturing, thus, the use of expandable polystyrene (EPS) in civil construction is giving great results in terms of comfort, energy reduction, price and other benefits. That is why the objective of this research work is to analyze the feasibility of the use of EPS in the construction of social housing (VIS) in the city of Azogues - Ecuador, and which are planned by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MIDUVI). For which a bibliographic-documentary research methodology was used with a cross-sectional approach to studies about the use of EPS in construction. The results show that the quality of this material is highly reliable for its use in the construction of houses, so it must be used in the VIS projects executed by MIDUVI, which will generate great benefits for all the actors involved; In conclusion, there are several studies that give credit to the functionality that EPS offers, especially because it offers the possibility of being used with other traditional materials and giving a finished work of high quality in a short time.

Blend Modified Polymers (Polyethersulfone, Expandable Polystyrene, Polyvenylidinefluride) as a Membrane for Microbial Fuel Cell

In this work membrane (proton exchange membrane) by using the blend polymers (polyethersulfone (PES), Expandable polystyrene (EPS), polyvenylidinefluride polymer (PVDF)) were prepared. This membrane was modified by adding organic sulfonic acid to the blend solution precasting process, and sulfonated by dipping it in diluted sulfuric acid (H2SO460%) post casting process. The sulfonation was confirmed via FTIR spectra. The sulfonated membrane was characterized by proton conductivity, ion exchange capacity (IEC), (SO3H)content, and water uptake. Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is characterized by electrochemical polarization tests and power densities obtained from it used to evaluate the efficiency of the membrane in the cell.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Multi-Phase Epoxy Syntactic Foam (CFR-Epoxy-Hardener/HGMS/Aerogel-R-Hollow Epoxy Macrosphere(AR-HEMS))

Because the aerogel has ultra-low density and good impact resistance, the aerogel material, epoxy-hardener system, and expandable polystyrene beads (EPS) were used to prepare the lightweight aerogel reinforced hollow epoxy macro-spheres (AR-HEMS). The multi-phase epoxy syntactic foam (ESF) was manufactured with the epoxy-hardener system, HGMS (EP-hardener-HGMS), and AR-HEMS by “the compression modeling method.” In this experiment, in order to enhance the strength of the ESF, some different kinds of the carbon fiber (CF) were added into the EP-hardener-HGMS system (CFR-EP). The influence of the volume stacking fraction, inner diameter, and layer of the AR-HEMS and the content and type of the CF in the EP-HGMS (CFR-EP) system on the compressive strength of the ESF were studied. Weighing the two factors of the density and compressive strength, the ESF reinforced by 1.5 wt% CF with 90% AR-HEMS has the better performance. This kind of the ESF has 0.428 g/cm3 nd 20.76 Mpa, which could be applied in 2076 m deep sea.

Insights into the Bead Fusion Mechanism of Expanded Polybutylene Terephthalate (E-PBT)

Expandable polystyrene (EPS) and expanded polypropylene (EPP) dominate the bead foam market. As the low thermal performance of EPS and EPP limits application at elevated temperatures novel solutions such as expanded polybutylene terephthalate (E-PBT) are gaining importance. To produce parts, individual beads are typically molded by hot steam. While molding of EPP is well-understood and related to two distinct melting temperatures, the mechanisms of E-PBT are different. E-PBT shows only one melting peak and can surprisingly only be molded when adding chain extender (CE). This publication therefore aims to understand the impact of thermal properties of E-PBT on its molding behavior. Detailed differential scanning calorimetry was performed on neat and chain extended E-PBT. The crystallinity of the outer layer and center of the bead was similar. Thus, a former hypothesis that a completely amorphous bead layer enables molding, was discarded. However, the incorporation of CE remarkably reduces the crystallization and re-crystallization rate. As a consequence, the time available for interdiffusion of chains across neighboring beads increases and facilitates crystallization across the bead interface. For E-PBT bead foams, it is concluded that sufficient time for polymer interdiffusion during molding is crucial and requires adjusted crystallization kinetics.

Expandable polystyrene without any embedded blowing agent

In this research, in-situ suspension polymerization of styrene in the presence of graphene, without any blowing agent, was investigated. Steam used in the expansion process of graphene-filled expandable polystyrene (GEPS). The dispersed graphene nano-sheets in the polystyrene matrix may absorb water in high temperatures, which evaporates by lowering the pressure and expansion precedes. The effects of graphene type and loading and steam temperature on the expansion ratio evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) used to reveal the cross-section morphologies before and after expansion. The effect of graphene on the polymerization kinetics evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that by increasing the graphene loading, the rate of polymerization decreased, and the expansion ratio increased. The highest expansion ratio of about 4.8 was for particles containing 0.4% of graphene. Therefore, it was shown that by using graphene as a dispersed phase, polystyrene particles expanded without any organic blowing agents. Here, the idea of expandable polymers without any embedded blowing agent is introduced, which eliminates the release of volatile organic compounds and makes the process environmentally friendly.