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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Sealant is a substance used to block the passage of fluids through the

surface or joints or openings, it is a type of mechanical seal, it may be weak or

strong, flexible or rigid, permanent or temporary but surely it can fill. (Wikipedia)

Nowadays, people don’t mind even if they are buying expensive things.

Because it doesn’t matter how expensive this thing is as long as they need it.

However, there is another way to save some money only by just recycling. One thing

that can be recycled are Styrofoam. Styrofoam is a type of polystyrene plastic foam

and Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of

hydrocarbons. Styrofoam is easy to melt especially to a gasoline. When those two

combined, the first thing that comes to the mind of the researchers and ask, “How

does Styrofoam melt in to the gasoline?” so in order to fulfill the question the

researchers interviewed an expert or person who knows about this experiment. The

interviewee said that it just dissolves and not melted. The researchers try to squeeze

the dissolve Styrofoam from gasoline and it is like a sticky and smooth plastic foam.

Then, the researchers named it Styrogas which is the Styrofoam and Gasoline

combined name.

The advantages of Styrogas are affordable, effective, and solid and it can use

or apply this to any kinds of not bulky holes. This Styrogas is just similar to the

sealant such as Vulcaseal and Epoxy so that it can used as substitute for those.

Additionally, they both have the same benefit because if Vulcaseal and Epoxy can be

used for metals and woods, therefore this Styrogas can be also used too.
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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Background of the Study

In today’s weather, heavy rain was a big deal in Quezon Province particularly

here in Mauban. If there was a rainfall coming to the town, it was a problem for those

people who has a leakage in their house. So, the researchers decided to propose

this study because as the researchers notice, that heavy rain are usually occurring.

According to the researcher’s interviewee, a Science teacher, that Styrofoam doesn’t

melt to gasoline because when those two combined, the oxygen from the Styrofoam

releases so they just only dissolved. Styrofoam is a type of polystyrene and plastic

foam that’s a little bit rigid, while Gasoline is a liquid and also known as fuel that is

volatile and flammable. It can use for internal combustion engines and it can be

blend to many kinds of natural gas and petroleum. As the result, the experiment

about Styrofoam and Gasoline that combined was became like a sticky plastic foam.

Therefore, the researchers conclude that Styrogas can be used as

replacement for expensive sealant such as Vulcaseal, Epoxy and another sealant.

Since many people can’t afford to buy this expensive sealant, the researchers

thought that Styrogas is very important and can gain many things to our lifestyle.

Styrogas can be used in many ways such as hole or any kinds of hole that is not

bulky and another, the researchers used this to prevent the penetration of air, gas,

liquid, dust, fire or smoke from one location to another especially in our house.
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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to make an alternative sealant made of Styrofoam and

Gasoline. Specially, it will answer the following questions:

1. What are the major components of Styrogas sealant?

2. What is the proportion of Styrofoam and gasoline in making a Styrogas

sealant?

3. What are the properties of Styrogas sealant in terms of:

3.1 Odor

3.2 Viscosity

3.3 Elongation

3.4 Duration of Dryness

4. How Styrogas works as sealant for:

4.1 Woods

4.2 Metals

Assumption

Styrogas can be used as an alternative sealant for metals and woods.

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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Significance of the Study

This study will determine if Styrogas can be used as an alternative sealant for

metals and woods. Specifically, it would be beneficial and gives contribution to the

following:

Community/Environment. Styrogas will help the community who are encountering

financial issues, it can profit by this experimental since it is a lot less

expensive and more affordable than the other sealants since the materials

utilized are just reused or recycled.

Future Researchers. This study will help a lot of supports in the future. Also it will

assist them with being a superior investigator and it can help as a future

reference for more studies

Furniture Maker. They can make a wood-like items out of Styrogas and utilizing

them for a wide assortment of purposes in the development business and

related segments for example furniture like seats, tables, dressers, closets

and etc. which is moderately new.

House Owner. Styrogas can protect the roof and secure homes, they shield the

rooftops from water breaks, excess rainwater, and etc. Therefore, the house

owner will benefit the Styrogas effectively as an alternative sealant for wood

and metal.
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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Scope and Limitation

This study focuses in producing an alternative sealant for metals and woods

from the mixture of Styrofoam and gasoline. This product can be used in repairing

damaged metallic roofs and can be attached to broken things made of woods. It is a

great test to try to find out if it is safe to use and its effectiveness. In addition, since

this study aims to use recyclable materials such as Styrofoam in that case no

materials were bought at the market.

In contrast, this is only limited for the Styrofoam since it can be dissolved by

the gasoline thus you cannot just use any plastic materials because not all the plastic

materials can be dissolved in gasoline. Furthermore, the duration of dryness has a

bit of time consuming since it takes 15-20 minutes to dry up.

Definition of Terms

For better understanding of this study, the following terms are conceptually

defined or operationally.

Duration of Dryness refers to the length of time it takes to improve something to

dry.

Elongation is an extending or expanding and lengthening of something.

Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons

use for internal combustion engines. It is a mixture of paraffin (alkenes),

olefins (alkenes) and cycloalkane (naphthalenes).

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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Metal is any various opaque, fusible, ductile, and typically lustrous substances that

are good conductor of electricity and heat. It forms caution by loss of

electrons, and yield basic oxides and hydroxides.

Odor is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally

found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive by

smelling.

Sealant is a type of mechanical seal. In addition, any various liquids, paints,

chemicals, or soft substances that may be applied to a surface or a hole

especially on your roof and drying to form a hard, watertight coating.

Styrofoam is a type of polystyrene plastic foam invented by Dow Building Solutions

in the mid-20th century, generic term for expanded polystyrene foam

(disposable coffee cups). It also dissolves in some organic solvents such as

gasoline.

Styrogas is a mixture of Styrofoam and Gasoline in which you mix those two the

outcome will be like a thick sticky soft plastic where in it can be used as an

alternative sealant.

Viscosity is the state of being thick, sticky, and semi fluid in consistency,

due to internal friction.

Water Resistance can able to resist the penetration of water to some degree but not

entirely.

Wood is usually found in the trees. It is the hard substance beneath the bark of the

trees and often uses in many ways such as building a house or furniture.
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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES AND STUDY

The literature and studies cited in this chapter tackle the concept,

understanding, and ideas, generalization or conclusions related to the study of

making experiment of Styrofoam and Gasoline as sealant. Those that were also

included in this chapter helps in familiarizing information that are relevant and similar

to the study. It also provides theoretical basis of conceptual framework and paradigm

of the study.

Styrofoam

Styrofoam is commonly known as polystyrene or a plastic foam. Polystyrene

is an aromatic polymer and made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon

that manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry. Polystyrene is one of the

most widely used plastics, the scale being several billion kilograms per year. It is a

thermoplastic substance that is solid state at room temperature, but flows if heated

above its glass transition temperature of about 100 °C, and becomes solid again

when cooled. Pure solid polystyrene is a colorless, hard plastic with limited flexibility.

It can be cast into molds with fine detail. Polystyrene can be transparent or can be

made to take on various colors.

In chemical terms, polystyrene is a long chain hydrocarbon wherein

alternating carbon centers are attached to phenyl groups, a name given to the

aromatic ring benzene. Polystyrene’s chemical formula is (C 8H8)n; indicating that it

contains the chemical elements carbon and hydrogen. Polystyrene’s properties are
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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

determined by short range van der Waals attractions between polymers chains.

Since the molecules are long hydrocarbon chains that consist of thousands of atoms,

the total attractive force between the molecules is large. When heated or,

equivalently, deformed at a rapid rate, due to a combination of viscoelastic and

thermal insulation properties, the chains are able to take on a higher degree of

conformation and slide past each other. This intermolecular weakness versus the

high intramolecular strength due to the hydrocarbon backbone confers flexibility and

elasticity. The ability of the system to be readily deformed above its glass transition

temperature allows polystyrene and thermoplastic polymers in general to be readily

softened and molded upon heating (Maul et al., 2007) a more common name given

to polystyrene is Styrofoam, which in truth is actually a brand name. Because of its

inherent lightweight characteristic, Styrofoam has found many household and

industrial applications. Companies produce Styrofoam building materials, including

insulated sheathing and pipe insulation. Styrofoam insulation has been used in many

notables’ buildings and facilities in North America. They also produce Styrofoam as a

structural material for use by florists and in craft products. 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 (The Dow Chemical Company, 1995)

Just like other issues directly linked to the by-products of petroleum,

polystyrene also raised environmental concerns about its disposal. Discarded

polystyrene does not biodegrade for hundreds of years and is resistant to photolysis

(Bandyopadhyay and Basak, 2007).

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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Because of this stability, very little of the waste discarded in today modern,

highly engineered landfills biodegrades. Because degradation of materials creates

potentially harmful liquid and gaseous by-products that could contaminate

groundwater and air, today’s landfills are designed to minimize contact with air and

water required for degradation, thereby practically eliminating the degradation of

waste (Rathje and Murphy, 1989).

Polystyrene foam is a major component of plastic debris in the ocean, where

it becomes toxic to marine life. Foamed polystyrene blows in the wind and floats on

water, and is abundant in the outdoor environment. Polystyrene foams are produced

using blowing agents that form bubbles and expand the foam. In expanded

polystyrene, these are usually hydrocarbons such as pentane, which may pose a

flammability hazard in manufacturing or storage of newly manufactured material, but

have relatively mild environmental impact. However, extruded polystyrene is usually

made with hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) blowing agents which have effects on

ozone depletion and on global warming. Their ozone depletion potential is greatly

reduced relative to chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) which were formerly used, but their

global warming potential can be on the order of 1000 or more, meaning it has 1000

times greater effect on global warming than does carbon dioxide (IPCC Third

Assessment Report on Climate Change, 2001).

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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Gasoline

Gasoline is a toxic, use as a fuel and yet a flammable liquid. Dabelstein et al

(2007) said that, gasoline is translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily

used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic

compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a

variety of additives. Some gasoline also contains ethanol as an alternative fuel.

Under normal ambient conditions its material state is liquid, unlike liquefied

petroleum gas or “natural gas”.

In accordance with Newton and Ask a Scientist (2007) that Gasoline has

been used as solvent since any groups attached to the carbon backbone will help

dissolve polystyrene. Hydroxyl groups are too polar, so glycerin and alcohols don’t

do it. Gasoline attacks styrene foam because it has modest percentages of benzene,

toluene, and xylene. Other possible solvents are also available. Paint-store

denatured alcohol has 10% acetone in it as the denaturant, so it will attack

Styrofoam a little. All cousins of acetone will attack polystyrene. Paraffin wax, drug-

store mineral oil, and candle oil won’t quite dissolve Styrofoam except when heated.

Sealant

Styrofoam as a raw material in the production of a sealant, the researcher

used gasoline to melt the Styrofoam to produce a sticky solution which was then

used a sealant to holes in household roofs. The drying time was determined and was

compared to commercial sealants. Furthermore, Tsutomu Noguchi of the Sony

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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Research Center found that the oil from orange peels would dissolve polystyrene. By

using a product called Limonene, that contains .5% of the orange peel oil Noguchi

found that the polystyrene would break down into a liquid form that created a very

strong glue and can be used to create styrene pellets that go back into the

production of more polystyrene, Karr (2010).

Conceptual Framework

The concept of this study focuses on producing an alternative sealant for

metals and woods from the mixture of Styrofoam and gasoline and its effectiveness

that is also to be able to increase the people’s comprehension about recycling at the

same time saving some money.

Research Paradigm

Input
 Plan the place where the
experiment will be Process
executed
 Gathering the materials  Making the sealant
and tools that are  Testing the sealant
needed in making the in metals and
sealant. woods.
 Observing the
properties of sealant
Output using an
observation sheet
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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

 Styrogas Sealant for

Metals and Woods

Figure 1: The Input-Process-Output (IPO) Model of Making Styrogas as

an Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods.

This figure shows that the input of the study tends to use all the certain

requirements such as planning where the execution of the experiment and gathering

the important and needed materials and tools on making a sealant.

Then the process includes on conducting the experiment. The First will be,

making the sealant. Second, testing the sealant in metal and woods. The third and

last, the researchers make an observation on the properties of the sealant using an

observation sheet.

Lastly, the output of the study will be the outcome of the experiment which is

the Styrogas Sealant for Metals and Woods.

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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, methodological information for the study will be introduced. It

consists of research design, research locale, research instrumentation, validation of

instrument, data gathering procedure, and the statistical treatment of the study.

Research Design

The kind of research design that the researchers will be used in determining

the Styrogas as an alternative sealant for metals and woods is descriptive-

experimental. It is partially descriptive and partially experimental. Descriptive,

because the researchers will determine the properties of the Styrogas. Experimental,

because the researchers will test if the Styrogas can be possible to be an alternative

sealant.
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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Research Locale

This study was conducted in Mauban, Quezon during the year 2020-2021. It

is one of the known places in Quezon, Province. This place was selected for knowing

the Styrofoam and Gasoline is effective as an alternative sealant.

Research Instrumentation

The researchers will be using an observation sheet as an instrument for this

study. The observation sheet contains the properties need to be observe in the

alternative sealant such as odor, viscosity, elongation and duration of dryness.

Furthermore, it will serve as basis to prove that Styrogas can be use an Alternative

Sealant.

Validation of Instrument

The observation sheet will be submitted to the experts and has educational

degree such as English and Science teachers related to this study. Somehow, the

expert was validated and evaluated of the research instrument that will be used to

the study. Furthermore, validators will determine the instruments appropriateness,

completeness and clarity about the study.

Data Gathering Procedure

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Styrogas: Alternative Sealant for Metals and Woods

DR. MARIA D. PASTRANA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

First, the researchers will conduct an experiment regarding to the study. In

addition, researchers will create an observation sheet that is about the experiment.

Somehow, the researchers need the approval of the teachers of researchers on

conducting the experiment. Second, the researchers will conduct the experiment and

will observe the experiment. Lastly, after the researchers gathered the data, the

researchers will discuss, analyze, and understand what the researchers observed on

the experiment.

Statistical Treatment