Flame retardant finishes

The field of flame retardancy has witnessed a vigorous development of new technologies and new products and
materials to meet the challenge of the needs of new industries-such as computer, electronics and telecommunication
industries. Flame retardants are also used in health care settings, Intravenous pumps, hospital beds Hospital
curtains.. An additional challenge is the growing awareness of environmental issues and the stiffening demands of
consumer safety, which has been put forward by governments and public agencies. New flame-retardant systems are
needed to meet the new product and market demands.
New regulations, standards and testing methods, as well as instruments, are essential for assessing and defining these
needs. These new regulations present new challenges to the flame-retardancy industry. With new fibers /blends
rapidly changing the economic situation, today manufacturer needs to be fully aware of new regulations and the
products and processes that will meet them. Companies that adopt the latest technology will have the edge in
providing superior products with the best balance of properties at the lowest possible price Synthetic polymers have
largely replaced the use of wood, Glass and other metallic materials in our homes, offices, automobiles and other
public areas. These synthetic materials are often petroleum based plastics that easily ignite, spread flames quickly and
release toxicants when burned.
Fire safety is a significant cause of property damage and of death. Standards are therefore set for electrical appliances,
textiles upholstery and many other materials to minimize these losses. To meet fire safety standards, products made
of synthetic materials are modified with flame retardant chemicals that inhibit the ignition and spread of flames.
Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in providing effective flame retardants for normally flammable
substrates. For example, there is great interest in the development of flame retardant finish on synthetic fibers like
polyester, nylon, polypropylene etc, without disturbing the desirable physical characteristics of the fibers. Textiles
consist of highly ignitable materials and are the primary source of ignition. They contribute to rapid fire spread;
however, reduction of ignitability can be obtained by
1: Use of Inorganic materials {Asbestos, Glass etc}
2: Through chemical treatment with FR {Flame Retardant chemicals}
3: Through modification of the polymer.

Function of a Flame Retardant:

Flame retardants are chemicals are applied to fabrics to inhibit or suppress the combustion process. They interfere
with combustion at various stages of the process e.g. during heating, decomposition, ignition of flame spread. Fire is
gas phase reaction. For a substance to burn, it must become a gas. As with any solid, a textile fabric exposed to a heat
source experiences a temperature rise. If the temperature of the source (either radiative or gas flame) is high enough
and the net rate of heat transfer to the fabric is great, pyrolytic decomposition of the fiber substrate will occur. The
products of this decomposition include combustible gases, non combustible gases and carbonaceous char. The
combustible gases mix with the ambient air and its oxygen. The mixture ignites, yielding a flame, when its
composition and temperature are favorable. Part of the heat generated within the flame is transferred to the fabric to
sustain the burning process and part is lost to the surroundings.
Mechanism of Flame Retardancy
Flame retardant systems for synthetic or natural polymers can act physically and/or chemically by interfering at
particular stages of burning
By cooling Endothermic processes triggered by the flame retardants cool the substrate.
By forming a protective layer: The heat transfer is impeded, fewer pyrolysis gases are evolved, and the oxygen is
excluded.
By dilution.: Substances, which evolve inert gases on decomposition, dilute the fuel in the solid and gaseous phases.
The concentrations of combustible gases fall under the ignition limit.
Reaction in the gas phase: The free radical mechanism of combustion processes which takes place in the gas phase
could be interrupted by flame retardants.
Reaction in the solid phase: One mechanism is the accelerated breakdown of polymers.
Types of Flame Retardants:
Brominated flame retardants
Chlorinated flame retardants
Phosphorous-containing flame retardants {Phosphate ester such as Tri phenyl phosphate
Nitrogen-containing flame retardants (i.e. Melamines)
Inorganic flame retardants.
These can be further classified as:
Inorganic, Organo Phosphorous, Halogenated organic and Nitrogen based compounds.
2: Halogenated organic flame retardants are further classified as containing either Chlorine or Bromine {Brominates
Flame Retardants BFR}
There are three types BFRs currently produced. These are Poly Brominated DiPhenyl Ethers {PBDE}, Tetra Bromo
Bisphenol A {TBBPA} and Hexa Bromo Cyclodecane {HBCD} The PBDEs that are commonly used in products are

Deca, Octa, and Penta BDE .The concentration of BFRs in products ranges from 5 to 30 % .Compounds containing
Iodine are known, but of limited utility as flame retardants, due to their poor thermal stability and dark colour of
iodine. Compounds containing Fluorine generally exist as functional polymers rather than materials to be added to
other polymeric systems to provide flame retardancy. These polymers are oxidatively stable and only decompose at
very high temperature.
Antimony oxide is another important component flame retardant composition, containing halogen, particularly
Chlorine and Bromine. It is totally ineffective if used with out halogen. The Tri oxide is the common material used
although the Pentoxide can also use. The pentoxide has a much finer particle size and is more effective per unit weight
added than the trioxide. Polyesters are very sensitive to residual acidity in all forms of antimony oxide. Alkaline salts
of antimony oxides are used in these critical cases. Antimony oxide acts as synergists with chlorine and bromine.
Antimony tri bromide is a dense white product and is one of the main components of the typical white smoke that is
seen from burning polymers containing halogen and antimony oxide. High levels of water from normal combustion
cause reversion of SbBr3 to HBR and Sb203.The remaining antimony oxide is then available to react with fresh HBR
from decomposing brominated compound. Typically compounds used in flame retardant application contain either
40 to 70 % Chlorine or 45 to 80% Bromine, depending on the flame retardant requirements from 20 to 40 parts of
Brominated compound would be used per 100 parts of polymer. Antimony oxide used is typically 1/4 th to that of the
halogenated material.