Treatment of Polystyrene in Sub- and Supercritical Media

Resumo

The treatment of polystyrene in sub- and supercritical (SC) freons was studied in comparison with processes in supercritical carbon dioxide. Subcritical freon R22 was shown to be much more effective in saturating polystyrene than subcritical R410a and SC R23 and CO₂. Subsequent thermal treatment of the samples saturated with R22 gave a polymer with a developed porous structure and an average pore size of up to 250 μm. The results of this study can be used to develop new technologies for the preparation of porous polystyrene.