Performance Assessment of Mechanically Recycled EPS

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Sustainable Engineering
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is a common thermal insulation material.
• Incorporating recycled EPS into new composites is crucial for sustainability and circular economy principles.
• Understanding the impact of recycled content on EPS properties is essential for its effective reuse.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the mechanical and thermal performance of EPS composites containing varying percentages of mechanically recycled EPS.
• To compare the effects of recycled EPS from construction and packaging waste.
• To determine if existing industry standards (EN 13163) can predict the properties of recycled EPS composites.

Main Methods:

• EPS composites were fabricated with 5%, 10%, 25%, and 50% recycled EPS from two sources.
• Key properties including density, compressive strength, bending strength, and thermal conductivity were measured.
• Results were analyzed against predictive models from EN 13163:2016.

Main Results:

• Increasing recycled EPS content reduced composite density, especially above 10-25%.
• Compressive strength correlated strongly with density, consistent with virgin EPS models.
• Thermal conductivity showed minimal changes, with slight increases at 50% recycled content.
• Bending strength decreased with higher recycled content, particularly for packaging EPS.

Conclusions:

• EPS composites with moderate recycled content (up to 50%) can meet performance requirements for thermal insulation.
• Density remains the primary factor for predicting mechanical and thermal properties, as per EN 13163.
• Further research into microstructure is needed to understand property degradation at higher recycled levels.