Polymer Foams for Building Insulation (STYROFOAM and beyond)

Thermoplastic foams have been used in buildings for over 75 years, since the initial introduction of STYROFOAM™ extruded polystyrene foam. Significant progress has been made to improve the product performance and its sustainability, through the use of more environmentally-friendly blowing agents and optimized foam structure. Yet,

the process itself has remained relatively unchanged, and the levers used to control cell structure still rely on empiricism. An examination of mechanisms involved in the foaming process of thermoplastic polymers points to the difficulty of predicting cell nucleation density, as well as the quantitative influence of cells interactions during expansion and stabilization. These limitations are particularly apparent now that the foam community has turned its attention to air-filled nanocellular foams, which are expected to demonstrate superior properties but are very difficult to produce by known commercial processes. [ STYROFOAM™ Brand XPS Insulation is a trademark of DuPont Inc. ]