Fire retardant chemical basis

The compatibility of a colorant is assessed not only on the basis of the ease with which it can be mixed with the base resin to form a homogeneous mass but also on the requirement that it neither degrades nor is degraded by the resin. In relation to product functional properties, incompatibihty of a colorant can affect mechanical properties, flame retardancy, weatherability, chemical and ultraviolet resistance, and heat stability of a resin through interaction of the colorant with the resin and its additives. Flame retardancy, for example, may impinge directly on the performance of a colorant. Pressure to produce materials with lower levels of toxic combustion products can involve organic fire retardant additives that interact with the colorant either to negate the effect of the additives or affect the color. 

Dow Chemical Co. developed a high-performance product based on PAN carbon fiber type materials using non-conducting carbonaceous curly fibers. The technology produced permanently bulked carbonaceous fibers with 65-85% carbon and bulked carbon fibers with over 85% carbon, which could be used as the basis for lightweight (3.2-16 kgm ) fire retardant insulation and for fire blocking panels. 

Behind this chemical resistant layer, the loadcarrying laminate was constructed. This layer was spread on the basis of alternating layers strand mat M 510 and RT 310, impregnated with epoxy based vinyl ester resins DION-9700. Thickness of a power layer was 9.0 mm. The external fire-resistant layer consists of alternating layers glass-fabric RT- 490 and RT-310, impregnated with fire retardant resin of mark POLILATE 850-840. The mass maintenance of resin in FRP was 46.5 %, volumetric - 63.4 %. 

OSHA requires flame retardant clothing (FRC) for workers at sites based on the quantity of flammable materials (liquids, solids, and gasses) and reactive chemicals that are handled and/or processed with activities at a facility. Both OSHA and NFPA 2113 see the need for FRC if 1) flash fire hazards exist on a continuous basis in various site areas and 2) when employees such as operators and maintenance personnel are in the areas where flash fire hazards exist. FRC can significantly reduce a bum injury by giving the wearer precious escape time from an ignition source and can greatly increase the chance for survival if the wearer is caught in a flash fire or electric arc. 

The Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel, the US industry trade association within the Chemical Manufacturers Association commissioned work to quantify the benefit derived from BFRs in the USA. The basis of this analysis is US fire data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This study concluded that within US experience, the total number of lives saved as a result of the use of brominated flame retardants in the analysed products ranges from 630 to nearly 1000 a year (Table 9.2). 

In more recent times, use of chemical treatments has been made in order to reduce the flammability hazard associated with the more flammable textiles such as cotton and linen. The significant patent of Wyld in 1735 describing a finishing treatment for ceUulosic textiles using alum, ferrous sulphate and borax, and Gay-Lussac s first systematic study of the use of flame retardants in 1821 have formed the basis for the more recent and modern approaches to developing heat and fire resistant textiles. 

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