Acetone Dissolves Styrofoam Into Goo

Have you ever seen a foam cup appear to melt away in acetone?

May 24th, 2016

Have you ever seen a foam cup appear to melt away in acetone? Foam cups, bowls and containers are made of a lightweight but strong material – expanded polystyrene. How then does acetone reduce this substance to a blob of goo? In this week’s video, we team up with chemistry professor Matt Hartings, Ph.D., to explain this weird phenomenon.

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Flames and smoke are seen from an explosion at a chemical plant in Rockton, Ill., Monday, June 14, 2021.

Explosion Rocks Illinois Plant, May Burn for Days

70 employees were evacuated.

This photo provided by Sri Lankan Air Force shows the sinking MV X-Press Pearl at Kapungoda where it is anchored off Colombo port, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. Salvage experts were attempting to tow the fire-stricken container ship that had been loaded with chemicals into the deep sea as the vessel started to sink Wednesday. Water submerged the MV X-Press Pearl's quarterdeck a day after firefighters extinguished a blaze that had been burning for 12 days.

Data Recovered from Sinking Ship

The fire has destroyed most of the ship’s cargo, which included 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals.

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San Diego Processing Firm Pleads Guilty to Hazardous Waste Violations

The company improperly disposed of drums containing ethanol.

A Sri Lankan navy soldier clad in a protective suit walks on the mounds of debris that washed ashore from the burning Singaporean ship MV X-Press Pearl which is anchored off Colombo port at Kapungoda, out skirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, May 27, 2021.

Police Investigate Sri Lanka Ship Fire

The government seeks to take legal action against the vessel's owners after the incident caused severe marine pollution.

In this photo provided by Sri Lanka Air Force, smoke rises from the container vessel MV X-Press Pearl engulfed in flames off Colombo port, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, May 25, 2021. An explosion occurred Tuesday on a ship anchored off Sri Lanka's capital on which a fire had been burning for several days, prompting the evacuation of all crew members, officials said.

Ship Fire Rages for 6th Day

Some of the fallen containers containing chemicals are believed to have sunk.

N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, left, elbow-bumps with Martin Meeson, CEO of Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, Holly Springs, N.C., March 18, 2021.

Biotech Firm to Build $2B Vaccine Plant

The facility is billed as the largest end-to-end biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in North America.

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Court Orders Shell Nigeria to Compensate Farmers

The company is liable for two leaks that spewed oil over an area of about 60 soccer fields in two villages.

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DuPont, Chemours Reach Agreement on 'Forever' Chemicals

The companies agreed to a 50-50 split of certain expenses, or an aggregate $4 billion.

The PFAS compounds extracted from the ground are destroyed using an ultraviolet light technology inside this trailer.

New Remediation Tech Removes, Destroys 'Forever Chemicals'

PFAS contaminate drinking water supplies serving about one-third of Americans.

The New Jersey Pinelands region in Lakehurst, N.J.

New Jersey Sues 3 Firms Over Chemicals in Drinking Water

Some of the substances at issue are known as “forever chemicals."

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South African Company to Sell $2B Stake in Louisiana Plants

Sasol will retain ownership of its Lake Charles R&D center and other facilities.