Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles Essay Example

Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles Essay Styrofoam is an important part of the modern economy. Its a very versatile product, used for cups, plates, and even some interior decorating items. Another very popular use is that of packing material. Packing Styrofoam comes in either loose form, or as peanuts. As consumers, we use this product every day. However one has to understand that the utility of Styrofoam extends greatly from the common household purposes which we commonly attribute this product to. Architects often use Styrofoam in concrete form because it has air pockets that make it excellent as an insulator. In roofs and slabs, it works as lightweight and durable panels that prevent the elements from entering the interior. Whether it’s cold or heat, Styrofoam is an excellent source of insulating material. Even as an insulator of noise, this product is unsurpassed. Builders often use Styrofoam when creating a home theater areas or recording studios. Over the years, Styrofoam has managed to find its way into a growing number of industries as people become more familiar with its versatility and convenience. We will write a custom essay sample on Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Architects, builders, home remodelers, and even homeowners use it for a wide variety of products and for many reasons. The shipping industry also makes good use of it to protect fragile items, or to prevent packaged items from moving around in the box. Moreover, Styrofoams are also gaining popularity in the recycling industry. A lot of investigations have been successfully done indicating the use of Styrofoams as an additive material to organic products like oyster shells in the production of ceramics, as well as in the production of glues and paints. With the known utility of Styrofoam to different areas comes the enthusiasm to probe on more avenues at which it can still be placed into good use. The researchers of this paper then thought of using the material as an additive ingredient to the production of concrete tiles and compare the finished product to the usual concrete tiles made without the addition of Styrofoam bits. The researchers also want to take into consideration the differing preferences of users when it comes to the characteristics of products such as density, thermal conductivity, or even texture. Thus, in this paper, they also intended to compare the characteristics of concrete walls using Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline as an additive ingredient. This paper therefore aims to determine two things – the feasibility of making concrete tiles using Styrofoam as an additive ingredient and the extent at which the characteristics of the products change if it were to be Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline is used. Such action extends to possible improvement of the characteristics of Styrofoam which has been proven to be great use in both households and industries. The possible changes on the basic characteristics of Styrofoam upon addition of limonene will enable prospective users to come up with a wider array of applications of the material. Statement of the Problem The research shall deal with the determination of the feasibility of making concrete tiles using pure Styrofoam and Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline as additive ingredients. The characteristics of the produced concrete walls shall also be determined and compared. Characteristics that shall be determined include the products’ color, density, texture, durability, and thermal conductivity. Concrete tiles without the addition of Styrofoam will be used as the controlled set-up while the two set-ups with both pure Styrofoam and the ones dissolved in gasoline shall be the experimental groups. The following questions shall be answered at end of the investigation: 1. What are the characteristics of controlled group? 2. What are the characteristics of the experimental groups? 3. Is there a significant difference on the characteristics of all groups? Hypothesis of the study 1. There is no significant difference on the characteristics of all groups in terms of color, texture, durability, and thermal conductivity. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The researcher aims to achieve the following objectives: 1. Determine the characteristics of concrete tiles in terms of its color, texture, durability, density, and thermal conductivity without any additive ingredient. 2. Determine the characteristics of concrete tiles in terms of its color, texture, durability, density, and thermal conductivity with pure Styrofoam and Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline as additive ingredients. 3. Compare the characteristics of all concrete tiles with and without additive ingredients in terms of the abovementioned specific characteristics. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY With the promise that Styrofoam holds in the recycling industry comes the enthusiasm to further investigate on what other avenues can it be useful. Considering the insulating property of the said material, the researchers thought that it would be ground breaking to determine the feasibility of using the material as an additive ingredient to the production of concrete tiles. Moreover, the researchers also take into consideration the differing preferences of costumers when it comes to satisfaction. People would always want the best. But getting the best is relative. Thus, by determining the extents at which the characteristics of concrete tiles with Styrofoam be changed when gasoline is introduced we also open up possibilities on how to best improve products to suit the needs of customers. By coming up with an information on the changes that gasoline can make to the concrete tiles, prospect users are now given a wider array of Styrofoam applications. Such information is seen to benefit a number of stakeholders i. e. manufacturers of Styrofoam and the users of it as well. Moreover, this research shall become a baseline to future related investigations on the improvement on the characteristics of raw materials other than the subject used in the study. SCOPE AND LIMITATION In general, the focus of this study is directed towards two things – determination of the feasibility of using Styrofoam as an additive ingredient to the production concrete tiles and the comparison of the characteristics of concrete tiles with pure Styrofoam and Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline are used as additive ingredients. The method used in the production of concrete tiles is based on the procedure given by a mason interviewed by the researchers themselves. As to the amount of Styrofoam added, it shall be proportioned to the amount of sand to be added when the control group was made. Moreover, determination and comparison of characteristics shall extend to the samples’ color, density, texture, durability, and thermal conductivity. Dissolution shall be done through the use of gasoline, a hydrocarbon proven to dissolve polysterene. Determination of the mentioned characteristics shall be done in two ways – laboratory activity and survey. The former will be used to determine the density, durability, and thermal conductivity of the samples. A 30-respondent survey will be utilized to determine the color and texture of both samples. Definition of Terms STYROFOAM-A kind of expanded polystyrene. TILE-A thin rectangular slab of baked clay, concrete, or other material, used in overlapping rows for covering roofs. GASOLINE-Refined petroleum used as fuel for internal combustion engines. WOOD 1. The hard fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk or branches of a tree or shrub. 2. Such material when cut and used as timber or fuel. | | CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE TILE | A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops. Alternatively, tile can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as perlite, wood, and mineral wool, typically used for wall and ceiling applications. In another sense, a tile is a construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games (see tile-based game). The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn, from the Latin word tegula, meaning a roof tile composed of fired clay. Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex mosaics. Tiles are most often made from porcelain, fired clay or ceramic with a hard glaze, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, metal, cork, and stone. Tiling stone is typically marble, onyx, granite or slate. Thinner tiles can be used on walls than on floors, which require thicker, more durable surfaces. Ceramics for tiles Ceramics for tiles include earthenware, stoneware, or porcelain stoneware. Stoneware is harder and more durable than earthenware, and so more suitable for floors. Earthenware is often used for roof tiles. [citation needed] Roof tiles Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as clay or slate. Modern materials such as concrete and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof glaze. A large number of shapes (or profiles) of roof tiles have evolved. These include: * Flat tiles the simplest type, which are laid in regular overlapping rows. An example of this is the clay-made beaver-tail tile (German Biberschwanz), common in Southern Germany. Flat roof tiles are usually made of clay but also may be made of stone, wood, plastic, concrete, or solar cells. * Imbrex and tegula, an ancient Roman pattern of curved and flat tiles that make rain channels on a roof. * Roman tiles flat in the middle, with a concave curve at one end at a convex curve at the other, to allow interlocking. * Pantiles with an S-shaped profile, allowing adjacent tiles to interlock. These result in a ridged pattern resembling a ploughed field. An example of this is the double Roman tile, dating from the late 19th century in England and USA. * Mission or barrel tiles are semi-cylindrical tiles laid in alternating columns of convex and concave tiles. Originally they were made by forming clay around a curved surface, often a log or the makers thigh. Today barrel tiles are mass-produced from clay, metal, concrete or plastic. * Interlocking roof tiles are similar to pantile with side and top locking to improve protection from water and wind. Antefixes: vertical blocks which terminate the covering tiles of a tiled roof. Roof tiles are hung from the framework of a roof by fixing them with nails. The tiles are usually hung in parallel rows, with each row overlapping the row below it to exclude rainwater and to cover the nails that hold the row below. There are also roof tiles for special positions, particularly where the planes of the several pitches meet. They include ridge, hip and valley tiles. These can either be bedded and pointed in cement mortar or mechanically fixed. Similarly to roof tiling, tiling has been used to provide a protective weather envelope to the sides of timber frame buildings. These are hung on laths nailed to wall timbers, with tiles specially moulded to cover corners and jambs. Often these tiles are shaped at the exposed end to give a decorative effect. Another form of this is the so-called mathematical tile, which was hung on laths, nailed and then grouted. This form of tiling gives an imitation of brickwork and was developed to give the appearance of brick, but avoided the Brick Taxes of the 18th century. 1] History Fired roof tiles are found as early as the 3rd millennium BC in the Early Helladic House of the tiles in Lerna, Greece. [2][3] Debris found at the site contained thousands of terracotta tiles having fallen from the roof. [4] In the Mycenaean period, roofs tiles are documented for Gla and Midea. [5] The earliest finds of roof tiles in archaic Greece are documented from a very restricted area around Corinth (Greece), where fired tiles began to replace thatched roofs at two temples of Apollo and Poseidon between 700-650 BC. 6] Spreading rapidly, roof tiles were within fifty years in evidence for a large number of sites around the Eastern Mediterranean, including Mainland Greece, Western Asia Minor, Southern and Central Italy. [7] Early roof tiles showed an S-shape, with the pan and cover tile forming one piece. They were rather bulky affairs, weighing around 30Â  kg apiece. [8] Being more expensive and labour-intensive to produce than thatch, their introduction has been explained by their greatly enhanced fire resistance which gave desired protection to the costly temples. 9] The spread of the roof tile technique has to be viewed in connection with the simultaneous rise of monumental architecture in ancient Greece. Only the newly-appearing stone walls, which were replacing the earlier mudbrick and wood walls, were strong enough to support the weight of a tiled roof. [10] As a side-effect, it ha s been assumed that the new stone and tile construction also ushered in the end of Chinese roof (Knickdach) construction in Greek architecture, as they made the need for an extended roof as rain protection for the mudbrick walls obsolete. 11] Production of dutch roof tiles started in the 14th century when city rulers required the use of fireproof materials. At the time most houses were made of wood and had thatch roofing, which would often cause fires to quickly spread. To satisfy demand, many small roof tile makers began to produce roof tiles by hand. Many of these small factories were built near rivers where there was a ready source of clay and cheap transport. Floor tiles These are commonly made of ceramic or stone, although recent technological advances have resulted in rubber or glass tiles for floors as well. Ceramic tiles may be painted and glazed. Small mosaic tiles may be laid in various patterns. Floor tiles are typically set into mortar consisting of sand, cement and often a latex additive for extra adhesion. The spaces between the tiles are nowadays filled with sanded or unsanded floor grout, but traditionally mortar was used. Natural stone tiles can be beautiful but as a natural product they are less uniform in color and pattern, and require more planning for use and installation. Mass-produced stone tiles are uniform in width and length. Granite or marble tiles are sawn on both sides and then polished or finished on the facing up side, so that they have a uniform thickness. Other natural stone tiles such as slate are typically riven (split) on the facing up side so that the thickness of the tile varies slightly from one spot on the tile to another and from one tile to another. Variations in tile thickness can be handled by adjusting the amount of mortar under each part of the tile, by using wide grout lines that ramp between different thicknesses, or by using a cold chisel to knock off high spots. Some stone tiles such as polished granite, marble, and travertine are very slippery when wet. Stone tiles with a riven (split) surface such as slate or with a sawn and then sandblasted or honed surface will be more slip resistant. Ceramic tiles for use in wet areas can be made more slip resistant either by using very small tiles so that the grout lines acts as grooves or by imprinting a contour pattern onto the face of the tile. The hardness of natural stone tiles varies such that some of the softer stone (e. g. limestone) tiles are not suitable for very heavy traffic floor areas. On the other hand, ceramic tiles typically have a glazed upper surface and when that becomes scratched or pitted the floor looks worn, whereas the same amount of wear on natural stone tiles will not show, or will be less noticeable. Natural stone tiles can be stained by spilled liquids; they must be sealed and periodically resealed with a sealant in contrast to ceramic tiles which only need their grout lines sealed. However, because of the complex, non repeating patterns in natural stone, small amounts of dirt on many natural stone floor tiles do not show. Most vendors of stone tiles emphasize that there will be variation in color and pattern from one batch of tiles to another of the same description and variation within the same batch. Stone floor tiles tend to be heavier than ceramic tiles and somewhat more prone to breakage during shipment. Rubber floor tiles have a variety of uses, both in residential and commercial settings. They are especially useful in situations where it is desired to have high-traction floors or protection for an easily breakable floor. Some common uses include flooring of garage, workshops, patios, swimming pool decks, sport courts, gyms, and dance floors. Plastic floor tiles including interlocking floor tiles that can be installed without adhesive or glue are a recent innovation and are suitable for areas subject to heavy traffic, wet areas and floors that are subject to movement, damp or contamination from oil, grease or other substances that may prevent adhesion to the substrate. Common uses include old factory floors, garages, gyms and sports complexes, schools and shops. Decorative tilework and coloured brick Decorative tilework should be distinguished from mosaic, where forms are made of great numbers of tiny irregularly positioned tesserae in a single colour, usually of glass or sometimes ceramic. The earliest evidence of glazed brick is the discovery of glazed bricks in the Elamite Temple at Chogha Zanbil, dated to the 13th century BCE. Glazed and coloured bricks were used to make low reliefs in Ancient Mesopotamia, most famously the Ishtar Gate of Babylon (ca. 575 BCE), now partly reconstructed in Berlin, with sections elsewhere. Mesopotamian craftsmen were imported for the palaces of the Persian Empire such as Persepolis. Tiling was widespread in the time of the Sinhalese kings of ancient Sri Lanka, using smoothed and polished stone laid on floors and in swimming pools. Historians consider the techniques and tools for tiling as well advanced, evidenced by the fine workmanship and close fit of the tiles. [citation needed] Tiling from this period can be seen Ruwanwelisaya and Kuttam Pokuna in the city of Anuradhapura. Islamic tiles Early Islamic mosaics in Persia consist mainly of geometric decorations in mosques and mausoleums, made of glazed brick. Typical turquoise tiling becomes popular in 10th-11th century and is used mostly for Kufic inscriptions on mosque walls. Seyed Mosque in Isfahan (1122 AD), Dome of Maraqeh (1147 AD) and the Jame Mosque of Gonabad (1212 AD) are among the finest examples. [12] The dome of Jame Atiq Mosque of Qazvin is also dated to this period. The golden age of Persian tilework began during the reign the Timurid Empire. Single color tiles were cut into small pieces and assembled by pouring liquid plaster between them. After hardening, these panels were assembled on the walls of buildings. But the mosaic was not limited to flat areas. Jame Mosque in Yazd (1324-1365 AD) and Goharshad Mosque (1418 AD) are prominent examples of brick and tile mosaics of interiors and external surfaces of domes. [12] Islamic buildings in Bukhara (16th-17th century) also exhibit very sophisticated floral ornaments. Mihrabs, being focus points of mosques, were usually the places where most sophisticated tilework was placed. The 14th century mihrab at Madrasa Imami in Isfahan is an outstanding example of aesthetic union between the Islamic calligraphers art and abstract ornament. The pointed arch, framing the mihrabs niche, bears an inscription in Kufic script used in 9th-century Quran. [13] One of the best known architectural masterpieces of Iran is the Shah Mosque in Isfahan, from the 17th century. Its dome is a prime example of tile mosaic and its winter praying hall houses one of the finest ensembles of cuerda seca tiles in the world. Wide variety of tiles had to be manufactured in order to cover complex forms of the hall with consistent mosaic patterns. The result was a technological triumph as well as a dazzling display of abstract ornament. 13] During the Safavid period mosaic ornaments vere often replaced by a haft rang (seven colors) technique. Pictures were painted on plain rectangle tiles, glazed and fired afterwards. Besides economic reasons, the seven colors method gave more freedom to artists and was less time-consuming. It was popular until Qajar period when the palette of colors was extended by yellow and orange. [12] The Persianate tradition continued and spread to much of the Islamic world, notably the Iznik pottery of Turkey under the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Palaces, public buildings, mosques and turbe mausoleums were heavily decorated with large brightly coloured patterns, typically with floral motifs, and friezes of astonishing complexity, including floral motifs and calligraphy as well as geometric patterns. The zellige tradition of Arabic North Africa uses small coloured tiles of various shapes to make very complex geometric patterns. It is halfway to mosaic, but as the different shapes must be fitted precisely together, falls under tiling. Western tilework Medieval Europe made considerable use of painted tiles, sometimes producing very elaborate schemes, of which few have survived. Religious and secular stories were depicted. The imaginary tiles with Old testament scenes shown on the floor in Jan van Eycks 1434 Annunciation in Washington are an example. The 14th century Tring tiles in the British Museum show childhood scenes from the Life of Christ, possibly for a wall rather than a floor,[14] while their 13th century Chertsey Tiles, though from an abbey, show scenes of Richard the Lionheart battling with Saladin in very high-quality work. [15] Medieval letter tiles were used to create Christian inscriptions on church floors. Transmitted via Islamic Spain, a new tradition of azulejos developed in Spain and especially Portugal, which by the Baroque period produced extremely large painted scenes on tiles, usually in blue and white, for walls rather than floors. Delftware wall tiles, typically with a painted design covering only one (rather small) blue and white tile, were ubiquitous in Holland and widely exported over Northern Europe from the 16th century on, replacing many local industries. Several 18th century royal palaces had porcelain rooms with the walls entirely covered in porcelain in tiles or panels. Surviving examples include ones at Capodimonte, Naples, the Royal Palace of Madrid and the nearby Royal Palace of Aranjuez. There are several other types of traditional tiles that remain in manufacture, for example the small, almost mosaic, brightly coloured zellige tiles of Morocco and the surrounding countries. With exceptions, notably the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, decorated tiles or glazed bricks do not feature largely in East Asian ceramics. The Victorian period saw a great revival in tilework, largely as part of the Gothic Revival, but also the Arts and Crafts Movement. Patterned tiles, or tiles making up patterns, were now mass-produced by machine and reliably level for floors and cheap to produce, especially for churches, schools and public buildings, but also for domestic hallways and bathrooms. For many uses the tougher encaustic tile was used. Wall tiles in various styles also revived; the rise of the bathroom contributing greatly to this, as well as greater appreciation of the benefit of hygiene in kitchens. William De Morgan was the leading English designer working in tiles, strongly influenced by Islamic designs. Since the Victorian period tiles have remained standard for kitchens and bathrooms, and many types of public area. Portugal and Sao Luis continue their tradition of azulejo tilework today. Notable among American tilemakers of the 1920s and 1930s were Ernest A. Batchelder and Pewabic Pottery. Pebble tile Similar to mosaics or other patterned tiles, pebble tiles are tiles made up of small pebbles attached to a backing. The tile is generally designed in an interlocking pattern so that final installations fit of multiple tiles fit together to have a seamless appearance. A relatively new tile design, pebble tiles were originally developed in Indonesia using pebbles found in various locations in the country. Today, pebble tiles feature all types of stones and pebbles from around the world, but are still generally associated with pebbles found in exotic locations. Ceiling tiles Ceiling tiles are lightweight tiles used in the interior of buildings. They are placed in an aluminium grid and they provide little thermal insulation but are generally designed to improve the acoustics of a room. Mineral fibre tiles are fabricated from a range of products; wet felt tiles can be manufactured from perlite, mineral wool, and fibers from recycled paper, stonewool tiles are created by combining molten stone and binders which is then spun to create the tile, or gypsum tiles which are based on the soft mineral and then finished with vinyl, paper or a decorative face. Ceiling tiles very often have patterns on the front face; these are there in most circumstances to aid with the tiles ability to improve acoustics. Ceiling tiles, especially in old Mediterranean houses were made of terracotta and were placed on top of the wooden ceiling beams and upon those were placed the roof tiles. They were then plastered or painted, but nowadays are usually left bare for decorative purposes. Digital tile Printing techniques and digital manipulation of art and photography are used in what is known as custom tile printing. Dye sublimation printers, inkjet printers and ceramic inks and toners permit printing on a variety of tile types yielding photographic-quality reproduction. 16] Using digital image capture via scanning or digital cameras, bitmap/raster images can be prepared in Photoshop and other photo editing software programs. Specialized custom-tile printing techniques permit transfer under heat and pressure or the use of high temperature kilns to fuse the picture to the tile substrate. This has become an increasingly popular method of producing custom tile murals for kitchens, showers, and commercial d ecoration in restaurants, hotels, and corporate lobbies. Diamond etched tiles A new method for custom tile printing involving a diamond-tipped drill controlled by a special type of computer. Compared with the laser engravings, diamond etching is in almost every circumstance more permanent. STYROFOAM Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam currently made for thermal insulation and craft applications. It is owned and manufactured by The Dow Chemical Company. [1] In the United States and Canada, the word styrofoam refers to expanded (not extruded) polystyrene foam, such as disposable coffee cups, coolers, or cushioning material in packaging, which are typically white and are made of expanded polystyrene beads. 1] This is a different material from the extruded polystyrene used for Styrofoam insulation. The polystyrene foam used for craft applications, which can be identified by its roughness and by the fact that it crunches when cut, is moderately soluble in many organic solvents, cyanoacrylate, and the propellants and solvents of spray paint, and is not specifically identified as expanded or extruded. Another tradename for expanded polystyr ene is thermacol, originated by BASF. History In 1941, researchers in Dows Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene. Led by Ray McIntire, they rediscovered a method first discovered by Swedish inventor Carl Georg Munters. [2] Dow acquired exclusive rights to use Munters patents and found ways to make large quantities of extruded polystyrene as a closed cell foam that resists moisture. Uses Styrofoam is composed of ninety-eight percent air, making it light weight and buoyant. [3] Because of its insulating properties and buoyancy, it was adopted in 1942 by the United States Coast Guard for use in a six-person life raft. In 1971 a Dutch marine salvage company, Smit International, used styrofoam balls to refloat part of a wrecked bulk carrier, the London Valour. [4] Smit succeeded in towing the wreck for about 90Â  miles (140 kilometres) but it then sank, spilling large amounts of Styrofoam on the surface of the sea. [4] Styrofoam has since found a variety of uses. Dow produces Styrofoam building materials, including insulated sheathing and pipe insulation. The claimed R-value of Styrofoam insulation is five per inch. [5] Dow also produces Styrofoam as a structural material for use by florists and in craft products. 6] Dow insulation Styrofoam has a distinctive blue color; Styrofoam for craft applications is available in white and green. Styrofoam can be used under roads and other structures to prevent soil disturbances due to freezing and thawing. [7][8] Environmental effects The EPA (http://www. epa. gov/chemfact/styre-sd. pdf) and International Agency for Research on Cancer (http://www. inchem. or g/documents/iarc/vol82/82-07. html) have determined styrene as a possible human carcinogen. The National Bureau of Standards Center for Fire Research (http://www. ighcountryconservation. org/pdf/The%20Facts%20on%20Styrofoam. pdf ) found 57 chemical by-products released during the creation of Styrofoam. Styrofoam is something we use and see every day but don’t realize its negative presence. Styrofoam is created from benzene, along with several other chemicals, which is a petroleum product (i. e. , non-sustainable, heavily polluting, and scarce) and a known carcinogen. Pentane, which is also used in the creation of Styrofoam, contributes to urban smog and global warming. Styrofoam does not break down but lasts virtually forever. Very few recycling companies will recycle Styrofoam so the majority of the time it gets shipped to a landfill where it takes up a considerable amount of space. It breaks into small fragments, which can choke animals; over 100,000 marine animals die per year from Styrofoam and other plastic trash. Styrofoam covers more area in landfills than paper products do and will eventually enter back into the surrounding environment by water flow and wind. Additionally, millions of tons of polystyrene get incinerated and end up as airborne toxic ash. But just in case water contamination and clouds of toxic ash are not valid-enough reasons to convince you to bring in your reusable mugs, then maybe the potential health effects of Styrofoam will have an impact. Polystyrene foam has chemicals that leach out into the food or liquid (e. g. , acidic coffee) they contain. Styrene was found in 100 percent of all samples of human fat tissue taken as part of a U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Human Tissue Survey in 1986. There it can build up to levels that can cause reproductive problems, fatigue, nervousness, difficulty sleeping, blood abnormalities and even carcinogenic effects. The people who make polystyrene foam are most at risk to contract these harmful effects. Even McDonald’s phased out Styrofoam packaging for its hamburgers in 1989 in favor of the paperboard containers. Without any regulation on the production and sale of polystyrene products, the only way to stave off its negative environmental and health impacts is to act locally, one mug at a time. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Materials : Styrofoam 1 cup gasoline 1 beaker 1 stirring rod wood care (square) Procedures: a. ) First, put 1 cup gasoline to the beaker with Styrofoam . ) After 10 seconds or stirring it the Styrofoam will melt c. ) Then transfer it to the wood case (square), observe it in 1 week. d. ) After 1 week the gasoline and Styrofoam will perfectly become tiles Conclusion:Therefore we conclude that we can use Styrofoam and gasoline in making tiles. We cannot spend much money to buy or make a tiles. Caution: Do not use plastic up or anything that made of plastic as container. REFERENC ES: http://www. ehow. com/facts_6960753_history-styrofoam-cups. html#ixzz2aL3Mpj4x http://www. ehow. om/facts_6960753_history-styrofoam-cups. html#ixzz2aL3aZRGy http://alexandraoquendo. tripod. com/id2. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Styrofoam http://inventors. about. com/od/pstartinventions/a/styrofoam. htm http://www. jmt. in/history-of-expandable-polystyrene-eps. html http://highschoolprojects. blogspot. com/2007/12/how-to-make-tiles-using-gasoline-and. html http://wiki. answers. com/Q/How_does_the_styrofoam_melt_when_added_gasoline http://www. handpaintedtiles. org/html/brief_history_of_tile. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Tile