Abstract
The percentage contents of styrene (St) and α-methylstyrene (α-MSt) in St-based polymers such as polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-St (SAN) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-St (ABS) products were determined by pyrolysis-gas chromatography.
St-based polymers were dissolved in dichloromethane and 4μl of 5% polymer solution was used for the determination. The calibration curves from 40 to 200μg of PS and poly α-methylstyrene (Pα-MS) were linear.
Suitable pyrolysis temperatures for PS and Pα-MS for the formation of St and α-MSt were 500-640°C and 420-600°C, respectively. Moreover, the repeatability was found to be 1.61 and 2.22% for 0.2mg of the polymers, respectively.
Commercial St-based polymer materials such as containers, trays, lids, cups, sheets, ladles and graters were analyzed, and most of the samples were found to contain more than 50% St and/or α-MSt.
