Passive fire retardants

Passive fire protection (flame retardants in plastics) is an important societal benefit. 

Plasters have been in use in passive fire protection, as fireproofing products, for many decades. The finished plaster releases water vapour when exposed to flame, acting to slow the spread of the fire, for as much as an hour or two depending on thiekness. It also provides some insulation to retard heat flow into structural steel elements, which would otherwise lose their strength and collapse in a fire. Early versions of these plasters have used asbestos fibres, which have by now been outlawed in industrialized nations and have eaused significant removal and re-coating work. 

A glass composite panel with fire-retardant resin and wood core was developed for a coal mine Safe Room system as a rescue chamber for miners trapped underground [29]. In addition to using fire-retardant resins and intumescent mats integrated into the structural composite reinforcements, the coal mine Safe Room system will be coated with intumescent latex, a thin passive fire barrier to further enhance its fire-rating capacity. 

In support of these results, studies of PA6/MMT nanocomposites by Vaia et al. found a similar fire retardancy enhancement through char formation. Specifically, the nanocomposites showed the formation of a tough ceramic passivation layer on the polymer surface, when exposed to solid-rocket motor... 

The sufficient increase in fire safety of fiberglass constractions may be achieved by using the passive protection measures - applying flame retardant in tumescent coatings. 

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