What is EPE Foam?

EPE foam, or Expanded Polyethylene foam, is one of the most widely used plastics in production. What is polyethylene foam? It is a thermoplastic resin, which means that it can be melted by heating and cooled to form different shapes and objects.

Is Polyethylene Foam Environmentally Friendly?

Polyolefin materials (Polypropylene and Polyethylene) have the lowest environmental impact compared to other material, traditional or synthetic products. 

Polyolefin is formed from natural polyolefin resins. It has good electrical properties, acids, alkalis, good chemical resistance to solvents, resistance to environmental stress and good durability.

Whenever you hear of plastic and environment, what comes in your mind is a picture of PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) binder lying in a landfill, toxic and unscathed, for a hundred years. 

However, all plastics are not equal in this perspective. Fifty years ago, two new members of the polyolefin family were born: Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene (PE). The two plastics can do all the functions of the traditional glass, metal, paper, or PVC. 

They can be die-cut for presentations and packaging, printed on; foil embossed as well as perform all the functions of binders and other traditional types of information packaging. 

PP and PE have a significant wear resistance and increased durability compared to traditional products such as paper. A distinct factor remains that Polyethylene Foam products are environmentally friendly. 

These are the environmental benefits of plastics Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene (PE):

● They are widely recycled

● They are biodegradable (they break down to hydrogen and carbon).

● They generate fewer waste products in disposal and production.

Is EPE Foam Recyclable?

Yes! This is probably one of the most important characteristics of foamed polyethylene due to the huge potential impact it can have on the environment.

Expanded polyethylene foam can be melted and reshaped into various shapes multiple times. This is due to its high thermal resistance properties that enable it to maintain its chemical structure even when subjected to high temperatures and turned into molten plastic.

This is a very important property of EPE material that allows it to be reused and recycled, reducing the amount of plastic in the environment.

However, there are very limited number of companies who offer recycling EPE, contributing to a very low global recycling rate. It is crucial to either melt and recycle EPE or compact the plastic in order to prevent burning of EPE waste or adding to landfills.

Recently, GREENMAX machines have a breakthrough in technology as the series of PE foam recycling machines have been produced. But the market condition is that most of people do not know whether waste polyethylene foam could be recycled and reused.

So now GREENMAX machines will be introduced to you and we hope more people could recycle waste PE foam. As a result, waste foam pollution could be reduced. GREENMAX machines could be divided into two parts, including EPE foam compactor and EPE foam hot melt machines. Both two kinds of machines could recycle waste PE foam and compact them into blocks or melt them down to blocks.

Both two types of machines could handle waste PE foam and the difference is that PE foam compactor is a kind of cold compression. But PE foam hot melt machines need heat to melt waste PE foam and waste melted PE foam could be extruded into machine slot. Finally, waste PE foam could be melted down to blocks.

Unluckily, most people only know PE foam and they are not clear whether PE foam could be recycled, and they never even know that waste PE foam could be recycled by foam recycling machines. Polyethylene foam recycling have been mentioned much, but we haven’t mentioned PE foam. In fact, PE foam is a new kind of recycling and environmental protection material.

In a word, PE foam have so much usage and people know little about waste PE foam recycling. So, we hope more people could know that waste polyethylene foam could be handled and recycled by plastic foam recycling machines.

If you want to know more about PE Foam recycling or GREENMAX EPE Foam Recycling machine, Pls contact us.

What Are the Advantages of Polyethylene Foam?

There are multiple advantages of Polyethylene Foam, which we will be listing down in this section:

1. Extremely Flexible:

Polyethylene Foam is a very flexible material compared to other forms of foam. EPE thus gives most protection for oddly shaped objects.

2. Superior Shock Absorbency:

The closed cell structure of Polyethylene Foam makes it able to withstand and absorb high amounts of shock or stress and provide good cushioning to the object it is covering.

3. Regains Form Easily:

Another advantage of expanded polyethylene is that it quickly regains its original shape after the source of stress or shock has been removed. It cannot be broken, fractured, crumbled, or shattered.

4. Resistance to Chemicals:

Polyethylene Foam is highly resistant to strong corrosive chemicals like solvents, acids and alkalis. This makes it suitable for providing a barrier or shield for extra protection while storing and handling these chemicals.

5. Resistance to Water/ Moisture:

The chemical structure of expanded polyethylene foam makes it almost impermeable. EPE therefore does not absorb water or allow it to pass through. It is thus used as water protection for materials.

6. Resistance to Static:

Some forms of EPE are highly resistant to static and thus do not attract dust and other tiny particles to its surface.

7. Insulation Properties:

Polyethylene Foam has very low thermal conductivity and thus offers the best insulation against heat.

8. Non-Toxic And Food Safe:

Polyethylene Foam is nontoxic, and thus can be used for food packaging. It is also resistant to the growth of microbes and fungi on its surface. It is odorless.

10. Extremely Light Weight:

Although quite tough, Polyethylene Foam is very lightweight, thus making it easy to transport and handle. It can be used for a wide variety of applications due to this property.

11. Usable Temperature Range:

Polyethylene Foam can be used within the temperature range of 40 to 70 degrees without affecting its structure or any of its properties thus making it very suitable for a wide variety of applications that require heat or electrical insulation.

What Are the Applications of EPE?

Expanded polyethylene can be used for a large variety of applications such as the ones listed below:

Shock Absorption:

EPE foam can be used for the protection of fragile and breakable items such as glass and glassware, scientific instruments, delicate parts of machinery, scratchable materials such as marble and granite, etc.

Insulation:

Expanded polyethylene is widely used for insulating air conditioners, pipes, heaters, etc.

In Construction:

EPE can be used for many applications in construction such as in joint fillers, water proofing, etc.

Buoyant Applications:

EPE is used in the making of life vests and other floatation devices.

Sports:

EPE is used for making sports mats, yoga mats, shin guards, thigh guards, etc.

Conclusion

Every individual must research on the products they use for packaging goods and other uses to ensure they are not harmful to the environment. They do not produce toxic when burned. EPE foam is environmentally friendly as it can be recycled and degraded under certain conditions.