Catalytic degradation of polymers: Part III- Degradation of polystyrene

Silica, alumina, silica-aluminas and zeolites were screened as catalysts for polystyrene degradation in the range 200-550°C. More than 80% of the products in the distillate from the catalytic reactions at T>=350°C comprised eleven main compounds, in contrast to thermal degradation which gave essentially styrene and dimer. This different product distribution, which was obtained by GC-MS analysis, gave helpful indications about the mechanism of degradation.