Main benefits
  • Over 25 years of experience in the field of polystyrene reaction technology
  • More than 25 installed reactors for GPPS and HIPS plants all over the world
  • Key equipment/technology packages comprising:   
    • SMR™ Continuous Post Polymerization Reactors
    • Devolatilization Technology able to produce Polystyrene with the lowest residual volatile content in the Industry
    • Upgrading technology with SMX or SMX plus mixer, with the lowest possible pressure drop, suitable for mixing fluids with viscosity differences of more than 1:1 000 000
Main applications
  • For Polystyrene (PS)
Expertise
SMR™  plug flow reactor for a GPPS/HIPS swing plant for installation in China with a single train capacity of 100 000 t/a

Sulzer expertise

Sulzer has over 25 years of experience in providing key equipment and technology for a wide range of polystyrene production plants (GPPS/HIPS and swing plants), with capacities from 28 000 t/a to 200 000 t/a per single train.

Reactor benefits
Construction of a GPPS/HIPS swing plant featuring Sulzer SMR™  reaction technology, SMXL™ devolatilization technology and SMX™  upgrading technology

Benefits of Sulzer reactors

Sulzer Mixer Reactors (SMR™) are currently used all over the world, with capacities up to 100 000 t/a per line. The simplicity of the technology allows the highest levels of polymer conversion in the industry with minimum maintenance requirement (no moving parts). As a result, Sulzer has become a leading provider of high-performance key technology to the polystyrene market.

By retrofitting GPPS/HIPS plants with Sulzer key technology, your plant will achieve higher capacity and improved product quality.

Devolatilization technology
SMXL™ heat exchanger for heating of high-viscosity polymer melts, tailored for optimized devolatilization

Devolatilization technology

Sulzer's devolatilization technology enables your process to achieve the lowest levels for residual volatiles, while meeting the most stringent environmental standards.

Mixing process
Sulzer SMX™ and SMX™ plus static mixers are the most energy efficient solution for admixing any kind of liquid additives into polymer melt. Viscosity differences between additives and melt of more than 1:1 000 000 can be handled with this outstanding technology

Sulzer mixing process

Sulzer offers the most efficient mixing process on the market for all kinds of additives in polymer melts. It is based on our latest SMX plus mixing technology, with a 50% pressure drop reduction compared to our classic SMX mixer.

Related links

Related Links

  • Polymer reaction technology
    Sulzer's unique polymerization technology based on static mixer reactors (SMR plus) opens up new opportunities for process intensification in terms of high conversion, high throughput, consistently high polymer quality, and accurate control of heat transfer, for both oil-based and biopolymers.

  • Upgrading technology
    With its proven static mixing technology, Sulzer offers cost-effective solutions for the in-line upgrading of polymer melts by admixing additives such as dyes, nucleating agents, lubricants, pigments, and stabilizers.

  • Devolatilization technology
    Devolatilization is a key topic in polymer production. Polymer products may contain significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have to be removed prior to selling or processing. With Sulzer's proprietary "devo" technology you can reach state-of-the-art VOC levels for your product.
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