Controlled degradation of polystyrene

摘要

AbstractFor the purpose of efficient utilization of waste polystyrene, the recovery method of a styrene oligomer having a molecular weight of 1000–3000 was studied. Thermal and catalytic degradations were carried out. It was impossible to obtain a styrene oligomer with a molecular weight less than 5000 by thermal degradation in the temperature range of 300–500°C. Catalytic degradation in the presence of silica–alumina catalyst in the temperature range of 190–230°C made it possible to control the decrease in molecular weight and to obtain a styrene oligomer having a molecular weight of 500–3000. Simultaneously, the molecular structures of the reaction products from thermal and catalytic degradations were determined by N