Mechanism studies on the catalytic degradation of waste polystyrene into styrene in the presence of metal powders

In the present article, the effects of Al, Zn, Fe, Ni, and Cu powders on th e thermal degradation of waste polystyrene were studied. The results show t hat the catalytic effects of metal powders have a relationship with their a ctivities. The catalytic effects increase with the increasing activities of metals. It is suggested that polystyrene degrades through a transient inte rmediate in the presence of metal powders, and the degradation of the trans ient intermediate is the rate-determining step. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.