ABSTRACT
PS is a colorless, transparent thermoplastic material that was successfully commercialized [1-3] by Dow Chemical Co. in 1938 as “STYRON™ PS resins.” PS joined polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as one of the substitute or alternative materials for glass. PS enjoyed a tremendous growth rate during the WWII era due to the U.S. military “synthetic rubber program.” Large numbers of plants were required to make styrene monomer, one of the constituents for SBR. PS currently enjoys world leadership for its excellent performance in a variety of applications in automotive, packaging and food service, large appliances, portable appliances, consumer electronics, building and construction, films and foams, health and hygiene, pipes and fittings, wire and cable, and others. Global production consumption of PS was 0.2 × 106 lb in 1938, 2.5 × 106 lb in 1940, 6.0 × 106 lb in 1942, 200 × 106 lb in 1950, 20.6 × 109 lb in 1998, 18.9 × 109 lb in 2000, 20.4 × 109 lb in 2005, and 22.5 × 109 lb
in 2010 (projected) [4]. The 2006 global market for PS was 15.3 million metric tons or 27.8 billion pounds (Figure 13.1); this includes general-purpose and high-impact grades (Table 13.1) [5,6].
