variavel0=<b>ZILMARA VOLPE GROTE</b> - zilmara@feg.unesp.br UNESP
<b>JOSÉ LUZ SILVEIRA</b> - joseluz@feg.unesp.br UNESP
<b>Abstract.</b> The use of residues of polystyrene-based materials, which nowadays are discarded from factories, commercial and residential sections, civil construction, may contribute to the energy reduction and the environmental pollution control. This contribution happens avoiding the inadequate use of the residues, which are now deposited in disposal sites, and due to the great volume occupied and the difficulty of avoiding them to be spread by wind, they cause damages to the environment. One important aspects is the use of energy associated with the production process, which may be translated into economy in the case of recycling, because several initial stages of the production of the raw materials are eliminated. Finally, we should consider that the expanded polystyrene is obtained from the petroleum (basically the styrene), which is a natural and exhaustible resource, and that its recycling implies in a better use for that product. This work aims to accomplish energetic studies associated to the recycling of expanded polystyrene-based materials, considering their several applications and the existing recycling processes. The analysis consists of verifying, mainly, the benefit relation of the recycling process, taking into consideration the manufacturing of products molded from recycled and raw materials. It is also intended to propose solutions for the final use of the rejected or recycled materials, adapting them to their new applications, considering their qualities and properties.
<b>Keywords.</b> Recycling process, polystyrene expande d, EPS, thermodynamics analysis, economic analysis.