Flame retardancy of polymers

A special issue of Molecules:  Click here

Dear Colleagues,

Research has increasingly focused on the development of biobased materials to attain the requirements of sustainability. Developing biosourced materials in the future includes polymers as well as additives. Among these additives, flame retardants are the most important market. Bioresources are numerous and provide many opportunities to develop innovative flame retardants. Solutions based on carbohydrates, polyphenols, lipids, or proteins are currently being investigated.

To be commercially successful, biobased flame retardants must obviously be as efficient as oil-based ones. However, cost may also be a major drawback. Indeed, the development of biobased flame retardants often needs various extraction, purification, and functionalization steps. A solution to be competitive may be to provide multifunctionalities. For instance, combining flame retardancy with anti-aging, plasticizing, crosslinking, conductive properties, and so on would be highly desirable.

This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality papers about the extraction, synthesis, and functionalization of biobased flame retardants, as well as the assessment of their fire proofing properties. Investigations can consider, fully or partially, biobased flame retardants. Multifunctional biobased additives combining several properties (including flame retardancy) will be privileged. Papers on the life-cycle analysis (LCA) of such additives are welcomed.

Dr. Rodolphe Sonnier
Dr. Laurent Ferry
Dr. Henri Vahabi
Guest Editors

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Published paper in Fire Technology , 01.01.2019

Abstract

Smoke release data from the cone calorimeter are often underused. They may provide additional information to better understand the fire reaction of polymers and the efficiency of flame retardants. A new method is proposed to investigate the smoke release in cone calorimeter tests and to correlate it to heat release, based on studies with pure and flame retarded polymers. Smoke release rate is plotted versus heat release rate and new parameters are pointed out. In particular, parameter A represents the smoke release per unit energy (in Joules) released. Its value increases when the carbon fraction and the aromaticity of a polymer increase. It can reach around 0.05 m²/kJ for epoxy resins but is null for well-known smoke-free polyoxymethylene (POM). HRR threshold (HRR_th) represents the critical heat release rate above which smoke release is measured. Its value is close to 100 kW/m² for polyolefins but decreases drastically for aromatic polymers. The approach developed in this study is potentially useful for assessing the smoke release of different materials for a heat release rate scenario chosen arbitrarily. The influence of two specific smoke suppressants and of two specific flame retardants on smoke release is also discussed and the proposed method allows for a better understanding of their role in smoke release.

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On 18 December the British Government published a call for evidence as the first stage of a review of its fire safety regulatory guidance. Nothing is excluded. The current scope of the regulations only concerns life safety but the review invites thoughts on whether this should be extended to include property protection for certain buildings. The deadline for responses is 1 March 2019 (Source: European Fire Sprinkler Network). For more information: click here

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