ECO-SUSTAINABILITY     

There  house of the future will be ecological:  this is the trend presented to  Restructura, the exhibition on sustainable construction  which was held in Turin from 26 to 29 November 2009.  Walking among the stands, one could not help but notice one in particular bearing the wording "AIPE".       

L'Aipe (Italian Polystyrene Association  Espanso) is a non-profit association, whose purpose is the  promotion and protection of the image of synthesized expanded polystyrene  (EPS)  and involves more than 90 companies belonging to various sectors, from the production of thermal insulation sheets to the production of building and packaging products, from companies producing the same raw material to  companies that manufacture EPS processing equipment. AIPE also  deals with the  collection and recycling of expanded polystyrene waste  and is part of EUMEPS - European Manufacturers of Expanded  Polystyrene - which brings together the manufacturers of  EPS.
 
Synthesized expanded polystyrene is indispensable for eco-sustainable construction.
It is a rigid, very light, composite material  from almost 98% air. It is produced following the polymerization of styrene which is a monomer obtained from petroleum, also present in many  foods such as strawberries, coffee, wheat, and meat. From polymerization yes  they obtain polystyrene beads which, when in contact with a gas (the  pentane, gaseous hydrocarbon) and with water vapor, swell reaching  of dimensions up to 50 times greater than the initial ones and constituting al  inside them a closed cell structure that holds the air and makes of it  consequently an excellent insulator with low thermal conductivity. For these reasons,  EPS appears to be one of the most used materials in construction, both for  construction of new buildings and for the renovation of existing buildings.
It must be emphasized that the cost of the material, as well as that of installation, is among the lowest.
Added to this are management costs  not high at all.
 
EPS becomes a sustainable material by contributing to energy savings due to its excellent insulating qualities and reduced CO2 emissions,  as evidenced by the LCA (material life cycle) studies that take into account  of production, transport, use and management and recycling. In this regard it must be said that i  costs  storage and transport are   significantly reduced  due to the low weight, that the material is non-toxic, does not contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), it is  permeable to vapor thus allowing transpiration and avoiding the  formation of mold, and at the same time it is impermeable to water. It is also, as already mentioned  recycled.
As an insulator, it finds applications in roofs a  pitches and flat roofs, as a coat in the vertical walls from the outside, in the  vertical walls in cavities and from the inside, in floors, ceilings and  foundations. And what more could you ask for from a material? It can only be added that,  in addition to the energy insulation of the building, it also ensures its acoustic insulation, following a mechanical treatment of  compression which increases its dynamic stiffness, and which is used in the  so-called "floating floor", useful for absorbing the noise of the  trampling.