64

Polystyrene

importance and will be discussed further in the chapter on

specialties.

Manufacture of Modified Polystyrenes

^Blends with Rubber. Modified or "impact" polystyrenes

may be made by blending polystyrene with rubber in an

internal mixer such as the one shown in Figure 4.3. Very high

horsepower is required for mixing polystyrene in this type of

equipment. A mixer which handles a 150-pound batch must

have at least a 300-horsepower motor.

The original form of polystyrene and rubber used in this

process may be latices, blended and dried before being put

into the mixer. On the other hand larger particles such as

polystyrene chips and pieces of solid rubber can be added

directly to the machine. The mixing operation not only blends

the rubber and polystyrene but also permits simultaneous

addition of other ingredients such as colorants and flow pro-

motors.

The material is dropped from the mixer into an extruder.

Usually a special short-barreled unit, it forces the material

through a multi-orifice die to produce strands which are first

water cooled and then chopped into pellets. This process for

making modified polystyrene is relatively simple and can be

used to produce materials with special properties?

Graft Polymers. Most impact polystyrenes on the market

today are based on graft copolymers of styrene and rubber;

they are made by dissolving a rubber, usually a styrene-

butadiene type, in styrene, the mixture then being polymer-

ized. Some of the styrene adds or grafts onto the rubber

chains, hence the name graft copolymers. A large portion of

the styrene polymerizes with itself; consequently the so-called

graft impact polystyrenes are mixtures of polystyrene and

grafted copolymers of rubber and styrene.

Graft copolymers of styrene on rubber were first made by

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