Chemical Update
Expanded Polystyrene Produced Using New
Volatile Organic Chemical (VOC) Free Technology
Polystyrene foam is widely used in a variety of applications, including building
insulation, packaging and drinking cups. These different types of foam are all
commercially produced from a single starting material – high-density spherical
beads of expandable polystyrene (EPS).
The beads are expanded and molded by the end product manufacturers using a blowing agent. Currently, pentane is used, but it is an inflammable, volatile organic compound (VOC) and up to half remains in the EPS after processing and is slowly released to the atmosphere during storage and use.
“Concern is growing throughout Europe and the USA about increasing pentane emissions and legislation to limit it is already planned in Switzerland, Austria and Sweden,” says Wolfgang Teubert, Managing Director of the German partner Teubert Maschinenbau GmbH
Analysis
At the
end of 2002 Europe held a 32% market share of world chemicals production.
World Production 2002
1,3 trillion €
However
this share will continue to erode and the highest grow market will be the Far
East.
World Forecast
|
COUNTRY |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
|
United States |
24.20 |
22.75 |
22.52 |
23.20 |
24.12 |
25.33 |
26.34 |
27.40 |
|
Canada |
2.40 |
2.40 |
2.47 |
2.60 |
2.73 |
2.89 |
3.03 |
3.19 |
|
Mexico |
1.14 |
1.11 |
1.13 |
1.17 |
1.22 |
1.27 |
1.33 |
1.40 |
|
Argentina |
0.33 |
0.30 |
0.29 |
0.30 |
0.31 |
0.32 |
0.33 |
0.34 |
|
Brazil |
0.86 |
0.83 |
0.83 |
0.86 |
0.90 |
0.95 |
0.99 |
1.04 |
Revenues
INDUSTRY AND SUBJECT TOTALS
| World Region | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Africa |
4.57 |
4.57 |
4.57 |
4.73 |
4.89 |
5.11 |
5.23 |
5.39 |
| CIS |
5.95 |
6.09 |
6.33 |
6.65 |
6.88 |
7.16 |
7.44 |
7.76 |
| East Asia |
57.04 |
57.30 |
59.12 |
61.03 |
63.13 |
65.38 |
67.79 |
70.31 |
| Eastern Europe |
2.64 |
2.68 |
2.76 |
2.90 |
3.04 |
3.20 |
3.38 |
3.54 |