The Process of Styrofoam Recycling

The process of recycling Styrofoam involves feeding the collected expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam through conveyor belts into a machine that first shreds the material.

Foam Densifiers transfer the material to a plastic extruder where the foam is exposed to heat and pressure to be melted into a paste. This densified foam is extruded through a small outlet of the machine, and when cooled, solidifies into what is known as an ingot. This melting process is the most efficient, reducing up to 1/90^th of its original volume and producing no emissions.

Compactors take the shredded material and compress the foam into tight blocks. This process reduces the volume of the foam by up to 1/50^th of its original volume, and turns the Styrofoam into neat and dense blocks. Although not the most efficient, compacting the foam through this method makes for easy transportation of the material.

Another method is using a liquid hydrocarbon known as Limonene, which can be extracted from citrus fruits, to dissolve the foam. On an industrial scale, Sony Corporation of Japan has been using this process as an environment-friendly method of foam recycling.

These forms of EPS can then be easily transported to the required factories for reuse into its new EPS products.

Recycle Tech manufactures foam densifiers, which uses the safest and most efficient Styrofoam recycling method.

Check out this video on the Styrofoam recycling process.