USE OF FCC WASTE CATALYST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FLAME-RETARDANT INTUMESCENT POLYMER FORMULATIONS AND BIOACTIVE COMPOSITES

Estevo, L.R.M.*, Le Bras, M.**, Mendona-Hagler, L.C.S.***, Nascimento, R.S.V.* e-mail: rsandra@iq.ufrj.br

Plo Piloto de Xistoqumica DQO Instituto de Qumica CCMN - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro ** LPERF, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie - Lille, France ***Instituto de Microbiologia CCS Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

The worldwide demand for FCC catalysts sums 300 thousands of tons per year, thus giving rise to significant environmental hazards after their discharge from the refinery sectors. However, this waste material may possess characteristics that enable them to be used in the development of polymeric composites with specific properties, such as flame retardancy and microorganism growth-control. High safety regulations in fire protection and building codes are leading to the steady rise in the consumption of flame-retardants. Our aim is to evaluate the use of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst in the intumescent formulations The intumescent material is designed to swell and form a char layer on the surface of the material, providing thermal insulation and a protecting layer between the flame and the substances fuelling the fire. The use of heating microscopy was introduced as a new technique for accompanying the materials intumescent behavior during heating. At the same time, among the novel additives being sought in the polymeric industries, those playing an active role in microorganism growth-control have been deserving special attention, since one of the present day challenges is to produce materials that provide high and longlasting microbial effects. Silver is probably the most powerful antimicrobial metal ion having a remarkably low human, artificial skin and the prevention of nosocomial infections related to medical toxicity compared to other heavy metal ions, and has thus found use in biomedical materials, such as bone cement devices. A large number of patents propose the use of Ag+ exchanged zeolites for microbiological purposes. This study also presents the development of non-toxic polyurethane materials containing anti-microbial silver ions supported on Y type zeolites and FCC waste catalyst. This way, the benefits of producing polymeric composites with the waste FCC catalyst are twofold: they not only contribute in decreasing environmental impact due to waste material discharge, but also provide a means of meeting the safety standards at low cost, allowing these materials to find their way into commercial and residential markets.