Green flame-retardant rigid polyurethane foam with cobalt hydroxystannate to improve the thermal stability, flame retardancy and smoke suppression properties

Abstract

Abstract The ecological benefits and concerns surrounding fossil fuels had led to increased interest in bio-based rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF). Nonetheless, due to its flammability, it had limited application in various fields. To solve this problem, a green bio-flame retardant, cobalt hydroxystannate (CoSn(OH)6), was prepared and compounded with montmorillonite (MMT) and chick feather protein (CF), and applied to RPUF, which not only realized the regeneration of resources, but also provided RPUF with better thermal stability, flame retardancy and smoke suppression properties. The experimental results showed that when 3 wt% CoSn(OH)6 was added, the RPUF (CF1/MMT3/Co3) had the greatest activation energy. In addition, the peak heat release rate (PHRR) and total heat release (THR) of CF1/MMT3/Co3 decreased by 12.73%, and 11.16% respectively, compared with no CoSn(OH)6. In addition, its Ds decreased by 28.9% and the light transmittance increased by 17.6% compared with the RPUF without CoSn(OH)6. At the same time, its peak smoke production rate (PSPR) and the total smoke release (TSR) decreased by 25% and 18%. And CF1/MMT3/Co3 also had the lowest fire risk evaluation index. This study presented possibilities for practical utilization of the RPUF substances founded on bio-based flame inhibitors.

Keywords

• Cobalt hydroxystannate
• Rigid polyurethane foam
• Thermal stability
• Flame retardancy
• Smoke toxicity