Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is widely used and has broad industry development prospects.

Expanded polystyrene (EPS), also known as expandable polystyrene and styrofoam, is a polystyrene product made by adding a foaming agent. Expanded polystyrene appears as a white solid and has the characteristics of low water absorption, impact resistance, heat insulation, good dielectric properties, and low thermal conductivity. It is widely used in the field of packaging materials.

The production process of expanded polystyrene includes pre-foaming, curing, molding, drying, cutting, etc. The preparation method includes one-step method and two-step method. The one-step method means that styrene monomer, foaming agent, water and other raw materials are placed in a reactor, and the foamed polystyrene is made into foamed polystyrene through processes such as polymerization, washing, and drying. This method has the advantages of good product resilience and short foaming and penetration time. and other advantages. The two-step method refers to polymerizing styrene monomer into particles first, then placing them in a reactor, heating and cooling, and finally making expanded polystyrene. This method takes a long time, but the product quality is higher.

The raw materials of expanded polystyrene are styrene, butadiene, foaming agent, etc. Styrene accounts for the main production cost. my country is the world’s largest styrene producer. In 2021, my country’s styrene production reached 13.156 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 43.6%. Benefiting from the sufficient supply of raw materials, my country’s expanded polystyrene production continues to grow. According to the “2022-2027 China Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report span>》shows that my country’s expanded polystyrene production reached 1.623 million tons in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. Driven by technological innovation, it is expected that my country’s expanded polystyrene output will exceed 2 million tons by 2025.

Expanded polystyrene has a wide range of applications, including building materials, packaging materials, electronic products, automobile manufacturing, etc. In the field of automobile manufacturing, expanded polystyrene has a uniform closed cavity structure inside, which can be used as a shock-absorbing material, mainly used in the manufacture of car seats. In the field of building materials, expanded polystyrene can be used to produce molded polystyrene insulation boards, which are widely used in roof insulation, building walls, etc. The field of packaging materials is the largest demand end for expanded polystyrene, including express packaging, food packaging, etc.

In terms of market competition, my country’s expanded polystyrene industry is highly concentrated, with leading companies occupying a dominant position in the market. The main manufacturers of expanded polystyrene in my country include Taiwan Chemical, Jiangsu Lishide Chemical, Dongguan Xinchangqiao Plastics, Jiangsu Jiasheng New Materials and Wuxi Xingda Foam New Materials. The above five companies account for nearly 80.0% of the Chinese market. share.

Industry analysts said that my country is the world’s largest producer and consumer of expanded polystyrene. Benefiting from sufficient supply of raw materials, its output constantly improving. Expanded polystyrene has the advantages of impact resistance, heat insulation, and good dielectric properties, and can be used as packaging materials, insulation materials, shock-absorbing materials, etc. As the application fields of expanded polystyrene further expand, its market demand will gradually be released, and the industry will have broad development prospects in the future.