Expanded Polystyrene or EPS is a lightweight, rigid, plastic foam insulation material produced by expanding solid beads of polystyrene. It performs as an acoustic and thermal insulator, is moisture resistant, recyclable and environmentally sound.
According to an article in Forsat-e Emrooz daily, despite the fact that investment in all branches of EPS production would prove profitable, it is advisable to put money into production of EPS ceiling panels, thanks to their high demand in Iran.
Anyone who needs to thermally and acoustically insulate roofs will find EPS an ideal material for all types of buildings, from houses and offices to factories and schools.
To set up a medium-sized EPS producing workshop, you need 800 square meters of land and an initial investment of about 7 billion rials (approximately $194,444 at market exchange rate) plus 10 workers.
A license should be secured from the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, which is not a time-consuming process. Once the license is acquired, one can apply for banking facilities. A factory with a capacity of 3,500 tons of EPS would create jobs for 40 people.
EPS beads are formed by steam-heating small amounts of pentane gas dissolved in the polystyrene base material during production. The beads are then molded into appropriate forms suited to their application such as insulation boards, blocks or customized shapes for the building and packaging industry.
One of the biggest commodity polymers produced in the world, EPS has many applications like thermal insulation board in buildings, lightweight fill in road building, architecture models, packaging, cushioning of valuable goods and food packaging, actual signage, movie sets and airplane construction.
