Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the Stone Age man discovered
that when controlled, fire was a useful tool for cooking, keeping light, warding off predators, and staying warm. Today, we still enjoy the
luxuries that fire brings, but when not used with appropriate care or
when accidents occur, fire can destroy property and take lives. For that reason, flame retardants are key to saving lives and property in the event of fire.
What are flame retardants?
The term flame retardant is a general term that includes a wide range of chemicals that usually contain aluminum, boron, bromine, chlorine, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, and/or silicon. However, the flame retardants that Supresta manufactures are primarily phosphorus based and in some cases combined with chlorine or nitrogen.
Flame retardants are chemicals that modify the combustion behavior of potentially flammable materials, slowing or suppressing the burn rate. They can be added either during or after manufacture of the combustible material—or in some cases reacted with it—to produce a chemically modified polymer. Most organic materials, both synthetic and natural, are inherently combustible. Flame retardants can modify the reaction of the material to combustion by rendering the material more resistant to ignition and by slowing down the rate of combustion after ignition. The power of flame retardants provide priceless time for people to escape from burning buildings.
Several types of flame retardants are currently being manufactured; however, Supresta knows that phosphorus-based flame retardants are a better chemistry than the others. Why? When burned, phosphorus based flame retardants have not shown to form carcinogens, such as dioxins or furans. As result of the growing concerns over environmental and public health issues in recent years, bromine based flame retardants are steadily being replaced with their greener phosphorus counterparts. Further support for the use of our products can be found in our safety data sheets, which provide the of the various studies that have been made to evaluate the products’ environmental properties.
Plastics, like polyvinylchloride (PVC), styrenics, polycarbonate alloys, and polyphenylene oxide alloys, are of particularly great concern when considering fire hazards since they can burn twice as quickly as organic materials like wood or cotton. Phosphorus based flame retardants—primarily organophosphates—can be added to most plastics to slow burn time. Therefore, plastics that encase electronics and printed wiring boards should be constructed with phosphorus based flame retardants to maximize the products' overall safety.
Flame retardants undoubtedly save lives. The lives saved are due to prevention or delay of ignition of items such as furniture and electrical goods and the subsequent spread of fire to the whole room or the entire building.
Furniture cushioning is usually polyurethane foam, which can easily be ignited and burns ferociously once ignited. The fabric covering of furniture is no protection against ignition from a small match unless treated with flame retardant, especially if it is made from synthetic fibers.
Electrical goods contain high voltage components, which are susceptible to ignition through electrical failures, such as short circuits. These components need ignition resistant properties and industry standards are in place, which are followed by responsible manufacturers to ensure the fire safety of the equipment or appliance.
Even non-combustible materials sometimes need protection from fire. Structural steel supports in buildings are required by regulations in many countries to be protected with a fire resistant coating to delay or prevent building collapse. This coating forms an intumescent or foamed barrier, insulating the structural member from collapsing due to the intense heat of fire.
