Study of Various Fire Retardants on the Flammability of Polypropylene Materials

Abstract

This article provides information about additives that are used to reduce the flammability of polymer compositions, in particular, flame retardants. At a certain degree of concentration of flame retardants in the material, the fire stops burning, due to various physical and chemical processes that occur, which do not allow the flame to ignite. The characteristics of the flame retardants used by the authors in their scientific research are given. These flame retardants are the following: aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, melamine, zinc borate, ammonium polyphosphate. It has been studied that phosphorus-containing compounds have a plasticizing ability, and are also able to increase the fire resistance of plastics. Under the influence of high temperatures, metal hydroxides decompose. The formation of water dilutes the flammable gases that are released during decomposition, reducing the rate of combustion. The effectiveness of hydroxides depends on their content in the polymer. Magnesium hydroxide is more expensive than aluminum hydroxide, but has a higher heat resistance. Flame retardants are key components in reducing the destructive effects of fire. The addition of flame retardants to plastics increases the fire protection parameters of materials, as well as general safety and stability parameters. The use of flame retardants is important because modern homes, with an increasing number of electronic products, pose a higher risk of fire. Therefore, flame retardants provide protection against the destructive effects of fire of various materials. In turn, flame retardants are capable of providing a high degree of fire protection.

Keywords

• flammability
• polypropylene
• flame retardants
• hydroxides
• fire resistance