Abstract: Expandable polymers in particle form for the preparation of foams having high heat distortion resistance contain from 20 to 94.9% by weight of a styrene polymer, from 0.1 to 75% by weight of a polyphenylene ether and from 5 to 20% by weight of a blowing agent mixture of aliphatic or cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons on the one hand and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, ketones, ethers, esters and/or chlorohydrocarbons on the other hand.

Abstract: A process for the manufacture of a gas mixture containing acetylene, ethylene, methane and hydrogen by cracking a liquid hydrocarbon by means of a plurality of arcs burning under the surface of the liquid hydrocarbon and limited, in their electrical effect, by current-limiting elements, wherein the total energy acting on the system is distributed by an arrangement of the electrical components, which is responsible for the stability of the arcs, over a plurality of localized burning points, the current-limiting components being matched to the voltage so that the output of each individual arc on average does not exceed 1.2 kW.