Polystyrene Beads

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and the chances are that they (whoever ‘they are) are right. However, what if you get the chance to combine pictures and words in one stunning whole which will convey the message you’re trying to get across with maximum impact and a deep sense of fun and individuality. Well, that’s what utilising polystyrene letters will enable you to do. 3D letters can be used in a whole host of different situations and mark the ideal choice any time you wish to convey a simple message combined with an impression of exactly the kind of person (or shop, or business) that you are. Select letters of this kind and the flexibility on offer means that you can choose absolutely any size, shape or font, and the way in which you opt to transmit your message is really only limited by your imagination. So who might want to have some fun with a set of polystyrene letters?

Teenager’s room

If you’ve got a teenager then you’ll know that there are few things they value more than the chance to turn their bedroom into somewhere that is genuinely their own place with a few touches of design and decoration. It being your home, however, the chances are that you don’t really want to let them run riot with paint, wallpaper or spray can, which is why these letters offer a fantastic compromise. Your teenager can spell out whatever message they like on the shelves, floor or surfaces of their room (don’t expect to always be complimentary about their poor parents), and a selection of letters will allow them to tweak the message to suit their mood. What’s more, being made of polystyrene, they’re pretty easy to replace should they end up being somewhat the worse for wear after a teenage sleepover.

Message on a Special Day

It’s Valentine’s Day, and you want to let your other half know how much you care without having to opt for one of those stale old clichés. A card? Done it before. Flowers? Too boring. Chocolates? What if they’re on a diet? A message from the heart spelled out in 3D letters? Now, be honest, that’s pretty impressive. It doesn’t have to be confined to Valentine’s Day, of course – Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries could all be enlivened by using  uniquely designed lettering to display the message you want to get across and, unlike flowers or chocolates, your words of love and celebration will stay around for many years to come.

Business

If you run a shop, market stall or other business, then why not replace some of your boring old (flat) signage with a version that literally stands up and grabs the attention of people passing by. The very fact that you’re using 3D polystyrene letters will mark your offer out as being something a little bit different, and that’s before you’ve even begun to consider the size and font of the many types of lettering available.

It’s easy to take polystyrene blocks for granted. In fact, the very convenience they offer, combined with their versatility and thus the ubiquity with which they are put to use,  means that we see so many of them on a day to day basis that they simply become a part of our lives, and not something worth thinking about. Pick up some polystyrene blocks in your hand and hold them for a few seconds, however, and you’ll start to realise just what a fascinating substance it actually is. Light yet durable, capable of being moulded, milled, stretched and carved into a huge variety of shapes and offering protection from heat, cold and the force of impact, it is a substance which was revolutionary when developed and which, as is so often the case, was developed over a prolonged period of time, by several different people and with the aid of more than a couple of happy accidents.

The process began back in 1839 when a German chemist and pharmacist by the name of Eduard Simon, based in Berlin, discovered polystyrene in the form of an oily substance extracted from the resin of a Turkish Sweetgum tree, which he named ‘styrol’.  After a few days, the substance had thickened, which Simon put down to the effects of oxygen. Other 19th century scientists such as John Buddle Blyth and August Wilhelm von Hofmann discovered that this process actually took place without the presence of oxygen and further work led to the creation and discovery of ways to manufacture what would later go on to become polystyrene. The polystyrene blocks used today for wide variety of purposes, as opposed to the fairly brittle polystyrene utilised in the manufacture of items such as CD cases, began to emerge during the Second World War when a chemist at the Dow Chemical Company, named Ray McIntire, was experimenting in an attempt to develop a flexible electrical insulator. Almost by accident he stumbled across a way of mixing styrene, the building block of polystyrene, with a volatile liquid called isobutylene. He discovered that combining the two under pressure resulted in the ‘foam’ version of polystyrene packed with bubbles which we recognise today.   The manufacturing process for the polystyrene blocks which we use today generally runs as follows:

The raw material takes the form of small beads which contain hydrocarbon, an expanding agent.

This is then heated in a steam filled environment, and as the expanding agent reacts to the heat the beads expand to up to 40 times their original size.

After cooling for a while, the mixture is inserted into a mould and heated again. The presence of the mould means that when the beads expand this time, they do so to an exact shape and size. As this expansion takes place, air, in the form of ‘bubbles’ is trapped within the foam, and it is this which accounts for much of the substances versatility – the fact that it is now 98% air means that it is extremely light, very resistant to conducting heat or cold, and waterproof.

While it may seem sensible to simply not care particularly how and why expanded polystyrene came to be around, it helps to take a step back and realise just how much time, effort and ingenuity went into creating a substance which we all probably take for granted. A story which begins with a Sweetgum tree back in 19th century Germany, and advances through the technological hot house of World War Two, ends with a packing, building, insulating and modelling material which plays a vital part in the day to day life of literally millions of people.  

There are some steps the average person can take in an effort to be more environmentally friendly which seem pretty clear cut and obvious. Ditching your car for a bike, or jogging into the office every day – both of these will have an obvious impact on your carbon footprint and come with very few, if any,

environmental downsides. Sometimes, however, things can get a little bit more complicated, and we’re all doubtless acquainted with the dispiriting ‘greener than thou’ friend who will point out the planet destroying downside of even the most seemingly benign course of action. Driving to an organic supermarket? You do realise you’ve caused more damage than your pesticide free potatoes manage to avoid, don’t you? 

Sometimes, the organic, recycled boot is on the other foot, however, and things which might come with a less clear cut environmental profile can, when inspected more closely, boast genuine green credentials of their own.  Take polystyrene beads, for example, the tiny objects you’ll find being used as the filling in beanbags, or turned into expanded polystyrene itself and utilised for a wide variety of purposes. At first glance, they might not seem particularly green at all, being non-biodegradable, but a closer examination of their manufacture, their uses and the details of the many benefits they offer, demonstrates that taking such things at face value is not always the wisest course of action.

Take, for example, the issue of how we utilise resources. The fact that a polystyrene bead is actually made up of 95% pure air marks it out as being supremely efficient in this regard. When you hold it in your hand your holding something which can fulfil a wide variety of uses whilst, in real terms, hardly being there at all. The fact that neither CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) nor HCFCs (hydro chlorofluorocarbons) are utilised in the manufacture of this product means that it doesn’t do the damage to the ozone layer so prevalent in many of the alternatives.

The environmental profile of items such as polystyrene blocks is all too often focussed upon what happens to the individual items after they’ve completed the task for which they were intended and, whilst this aspect is actually down, in large part, to the attitude and behaviour of the end user, it is also only the end of a long and more complex story. The manufacturing process behind polystyrene, for example, produces little if any waste and uses only a small amount of energy, meaning that whatever you do with them after they arrive in your hands, they reach you, at the very least, with a clean environmental bill of health. Beads which are utilised in cavity wall insulation, what’s more, play a large part in heating or cooling buildings, something which drives huge indirect savings in both the cost of energy and the production of harmful gasses such as CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide), and therefore plays a huge part in the ongoing drive towards a carbon emission free society. 

On a less direct level, the protection offered by polystyrene beads used in packaging offers a double environmental advantage – the high level of protection afforded reduces wastage through damage, whilst the lightweight nature of the packaging lowers the consumption of fuel used in shipping, and with it any harmful emissions. 

Finally, there is the fact which ultimately places responsibility in the hands of the consumer of polystyrene items, and that’s the fact that it is 100% recyclable. Whether you seek out a recycling or refuse centre capable of dealing with it, or turn to one of the many options open for reusing this versatile material on your own behalf, you’ll be ensuring that, once produced, polystyrene protects the environment by going on and on and on. 

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Think of a shape. Picture it in your mind,holding it up to the light and turning it over and round in an effort toappreciate the play of its’ surfaces, curves and angles. This being an imaginary shape it can be as large or as small as you like, as complex or as simple. The only problem, of course, is that imaginary shapes are far easier to create than those which have to exist out here in the real world, and that turning the ideas in your head – whether you’re an artist, designer, decorator or inventor – into real word creations can often be extremely difficult. The answer is to find the right material, one that’s easy to work with, lightweight, flexible and yet still strong, and expanded polystyrene ticks every single one of these boxes.

If you think about  expanded polystyrene at all then the chances are that you imagine it being used for packaging purposes, keeping goods safe whilst in transit in a manner which won’t add significantly to their weight (and therefor any handling charges). It’s ideally suited to this purpose, yes, but the fact that it can be simply mounded, cut and sculpted makes it the perfect choice of material for a wide range of situations.

If, for example, you need to create a stage set or shop display which looks stunning but doesn’t cost a fortune to create, then expanded polystyrene represents the only sensible choice. No matter how large the final display has to be, its’ component parts will be lightweight and easily manipulated and shifted, and the inexpensive nature of the raw material will positively encourage you to experiment. Need an ornate decorative column, but one which you can tuck under your arm and move around whenever the mood takes you? Get chopping and scoring and before you know it you’ll have created something stunning. And if not then don’t worry – it’s recyclable, environmentally friendly and quickly replaced, so the pressure its’ impossible to avoid when working with expensive materials such as wood, stone or metal simply won’t be present. 

The ultimate embodiment of this freedom from pressure will, of course, be simply artistic expression – creating shapes and patterns simply for the sake of it and in order to create something beautiful to look at. Over and above this, however, a construction material this flexible can boast a host of eminently practical applications. Need to craft a prototype of an object without investing in expensive materials? Want to create a scale model of something such as a vehicle or item of furniture, in order to test the practicality of the concepts you’re working with? Like the idea of doing all of this and of doing it with a material which is waterproof and offers insulating properties? If you answered yes to any of those questions then the chances are you might already be aware of just how versatile Styrofoam, as it’s also known, can be.

To give one more positive example of the way in which imagination and the right materials can combine to stunning effect, just think about the last time you had to create signage for a location or event. Pencil, paper, ink and paint are all very well, but imagine how much more eye-catching the message you need to convey will be if you opt to spell it out, quite literally, in purposely crafted, solid, three dimensional letters, crafted in a shape and style which, as well as simply conveying the facts, catches something of the flavor of the message you’re putting across. It’s all about effort and imagination, and combining the two through a medium which can be used to make virtually any shape you can imagine.  

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Even as the chill of winter itself beginsto fade, the memory of those huge heating bills remains as sharp and unpleasantas ever. Once spring and summer arrive, the thought of working on your home in order to make it more energy efficient will naturally seem superfluous, but before you know it the nights will be drawing in again and the meter readings mounting up. If you’re smart, you’ll shop around for a new deal and take advantage of price comparison sites, but despite how carefully you play the market, there are still few courses of action more effective, or for that matter satisfying, than ensuring that your home is as energy efficient as it can be. Not only will you be saving money, you’ll be doing your bit for the planet and creating a warmer, more welcoming environment for yourself and the rest of your family.

Cavity Wall Insulation

Up to a third of the heat which escapes your home does so through the actual walls themselves, so having cavity wall insulation fitted is an investment which will pay for itself many times over. Polystyrene beads are the perfect material for doing the job, since they are waterproof, supremely flexible and boast thermal properties which mean they are super-efficient at trapping the warmth of your heating system inside your home. Throw in the fact that polystyrene beads are flame retarded and its’ clear that they represent the perfect material for filling the cavity between the inner and outer walls of your home.

Loft Insulation

The heat which can no longer sneak past the polystyrene beads lining your walls will, instead, drift upward and try to escape through the loft.  If you haven’t got insulation laid down in your loft then invest in some today, and if you already have then have a professional check to make sure it’s still in good enough condition to offer optimum performance. At its best, loft insulation could save the average household £150 per annum.

Tank and Pipes

The heat given off by your hot water tank, and by the pipes carrying the water around your home, is wasted heat, drifting off in the atmosphere like the smoke of a stack of five pound notes merrily blazing away. Simple lagging placed around the tank and pipes will keep up to 75% of that heat where it belongs, and keep the money paid to generate it sitting in your bank account.

These are three fairly simple and permanent steps which anyone can take to turn their home into a more energy efficient dwelling. On a day to day basis, small gestures can also make a big difference, such as the following:

Turning your thermostat down slightly, something which will probably be prompted by the effect of the insulation you’ve fitted.

Turning off appliances left on standby.

Unplugging laptops, phones and tablets when they’ve finished charging.

Always filling the washing machine or dishwasher completely before using it.

Simple steps like these will save you pennies which soon mount up to become pounds. Whether you want to save the planet, or just enough money to treat the family to a takeaway every now and then, being clever about your energy use really is a simple but effective means of getting the job done.