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cover of episode How Styrofoam Works

How Styrofoam Works

2025/6/10
logo of podcast Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know
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People
C
Chuck
J
Josh
著名财务顾问和媒体人物，创立了广受欢迎的“婴儿步骤”财务计划。
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Josh: 我认为近年来泡沫塑料的名声越来越差。我们通常所说的泡沫塑料实际上是发泡聚苯乙烯（EPS），而真正的Styrofoam是挤塑聚苯乙烯，主要用于绝缘。EPS是一次性用品，造成了越来越严重的问题。尽管回收困难，我的妻子Emily还是会收集所有泡沫塑料，并送到特定的回收地点。但是，泡沫塑料的回收利用可能并不靠谱，因为重新制造的成本很低。 Chuck: 我将讨论泡沫塑料的科学原理，制造过程，澄清一些误解，并强化一些概念。Styrofoam是一个品牌名称，我们通常认为的泡沫塑料实际上是EPS。真正的Styrofoam是挤塑聚苯乙烯，主要用于绝缘。Styrofoam和EPS基本上是相同的产品，只是用途不同。挤塑聚苯乙烯非常防水、轻便且具有浮力，适用于水上应用。发泡聚苯乙烯的应用非常广泛，可以模制成任何形状。泡沫塑料的运输需要更多的运输工具，因此其碳足迹可能并不小。泡沫塑料中可能含有颜料和阻燃剂，以及食物污染，使其难以回收。泡沫塑料的制造成本很低，因此公司缺乏回收的动力。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The term "Styrofoam" is a brand name for extruded polystyrene, mostly used for insulation. What most people think of as Styrofoam is actually expanded polystyrene (EPS), used in disposable cups and containers. They are very similar but have distinct applications and recycling challenges.
  • Styrofoam is a brand name, not a generic term.
  • Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is used for disposable items.
  • Extruded polystyrene (XPS) is used for insulation.

Shownotes Transcript

All those to-go cups and food containers aren’t actually Styrofoam but those cups and Styrofoam are both forms of foam polystyrene, one of the rare materials that isn’t biodegradable. Which is a problem, because we make – and throw away – so much of it.  

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