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Environmental Impact of a Foam Cup

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Submitted By g0402566
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A foam cup, also referred to as a styrofoam cup is a disposable drinking cup made of plastic, expanded polystyrene (EPS) to be exact. Despite seeming like a very mundane and trivial product, it’s formulation is extensive, covering crude oil extraction, refining, chemical transformation, distribution, retail, and disposal. Both the production and disposal of foam cups also have serious environmental impacts and its widespread use has generated significant recycling issues.

Raw Material Extraction

The lifecycle of a foam cup begins with the extraction of crude oil by oil rigs both on-shore and from beneath the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico. These rigs require large amounts of manpower and energy and freshwater to operate, and pose a real threat for potential spills which can damage and harm marine ecology.

Refining of Material

Crude oil is unusable as it comes out of the ground. It must be purified and separated into its useful components, which is where the oil refinery comes in. The US Gulf Coast has the largest concentration of refineries in the world. It is from the refinery that we get transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. It is also where we get raw materials for the chemical industry. For the production of plastics we get naphtha, which are 5 to 9 carbon chains that can be used as the raw material in a plant to make ethylene and benzene. Benzene and ethylene are subsequently reacted in another plant to make styrene. Refineries are large, energy-intensive plants which have a significant environmental impact. They generate greenhouse gases due to their high energy use, many refineries, particularly older ones, have had issues with hydrocarbon contamination of surrounding soil and water, and all refineries have had periods of volatile organic compound (VOC’s) releases to the atmosphere. And while we don’t use the

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