Expandable polystyrene (EPS)

Expandable polystyrene (EPS) is used in many areas due to its excellent thermal insulation properties, relatively low cost and ease of processing.

Main application: packing of goods, production of disposable tableware, containers for food products, thermal insulation and, of course, construction. Expandable polystyrene is intensively used to winterize facades for over 40 years.

The use of this material allows to reduce power costs for heating buildings. In view of its low thermal conductivity (0.04 W/m·K), EPS is used as thermal insulation in domestic refrigerators and hot-water boilers.

High thermal conductivity allows to reduce the insulation thickness required to achieve the desired heat level and, thus, reduce material costs. For example, to provide the same level of thermal conductivity, the EPS wall shall be 5 times thinner compared to a timber wall and almost 50 times thinner compared to a concrete wall.

The main ‘disadvantage’ of this material is its fire-holding capacity. In order to prevent this, special fire retardants (flame retardants) are added to the raw material. When used in construction, relevant application rules shall be followed.

Starting from the beginning of 2018 Remichem is an official representative of Versalis S.p.A. in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.