EPS is well known for packaging applications. For example, electronic devices are kept safe from transport-damage using EPS crash absorbers or spacers. Also in areas, where rigorous safety restrictions exist, such as helmets for cyclists or bikers or car-seats for children, EPS is used often [114]. In the automotive industry it is used for crash-absorbers as well.
Thanks to its advantageous thermal insulation capability, it is used for the insulation of houses in form of blocks. EPS is used for acoustic insulation for example against footfall sound. For the cooling of perishable goods as drugs, food or human blood, EPS contributes to keep energy cost low as insulation and makes the transportation of such goods affordable and practical.
Besides the application as structural or insulation material, EPS is widely used for lost-foam casting, where it is mostly used as the core material [115]. The lost-foam casting technique allows the production of complex parts, mainly from aluminium and iron, for the automotive industry ranging from cylinder heads to motor blocks