Styrene Monomer

HELM AG is one of the biggest marketers of Styrene in Europe. Sources are multiple styrene producers which enable HELM to secure big enough volumes and offer different qualities being a flexible partner for the industry. HELM entertains various storage tanks out of which ships, barges, rail tank cars and road tank trucks can be loaded. The conventional process to produce styrene monomer is the alkylation of benzene with ethylene followed by a dehydrogenation (EBSM method). This “on-purpose” method represents approximately 70 % of the styrene monomer produced globally. Furthermore styrene is a co-product when producing propylene oxide (POSM method).

Examples of applications

The most important styrene derivative is Polystyrene (PS), which is used in production of different kind of industrial articles and packaging. Another product made from styrene is Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) used mainly for insulation of buildings.

Styrene is used for production of synthetic rubber an copolymers like ABS, which can be found in multiple products of our everyday use like car tyres, toys and automotive components.

Styrene is used as well in production of resins which have application in manufacturing of laminates and coatings.

Packaging

• Bulk in seagoing vessels / barges
• Bulk in rail tank cars
• Bulk in road tank cars
• Bulk in iso tank containers