A review of sustainable and environment-friendly flame retardants used in plastics

Rhoda Afriyie Mensah; Vigneshwaran Shanmugam; Sreenivasan Narayanan; Juliana Sally Renner; Karthik Babu; Rasoul Esmaeely Neisiany; Michael Försth; Gabriel Sas; Oisik Das

Polymer Testing (Apr 2022)

A review of sustainable and environment-friendly flame retardants used in plastics

Rhoda Afriyie Mensah,
Vigneshwaran Shanmugam,
Sreenivasan Narayanan,
Juliana Sally Renner,
Karthik Babu,
Rasoul Esmaeely Neisiany,
Michael Försth,
Gabriel Sas,
Oisik Das

Affiliations

Rhoda Afriyie Mensah: Structural and Fire Engineering Division, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187, Luleå, Sweden; Corresponding author.
Vigneshwaran Shanmugam: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, 602105, Tamil Nadu, India
Sreenivasan Narayanan: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adishankara Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kalady, Kerala, 683574, India
Juliana Sally Renner: School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China
Karthik Babu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Assam Energy Institute Sivasagar, A Center of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Assam, India
Rasoul Esmaeely Neisiany: Department of Materials and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, 9617976487, Iran
Michael Försth: Structural and Fire Engineering Division, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187, Luleå, Sweden
Gabriel Sas: Structural and Fire Engineering Division, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187, Luleå, Sweden
Oisik Das: Structural and Fire Engineering Division, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187, Luleå, Sweden; Corresponding author.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 108
p. 107511

Abstract

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The progressive transition from conventional structural designs to lightweight and more complex structures has led to the increase in the quantity of plastic materials in buildings. However, plastics have a major flaw: their low fire performance characterised by shorter ignition times and higher heat release rates. This has necessitated the incorporation of flame retardants (FRs) in plastics. Nevertheless, not all FRs are environmentally safe, hence, there is an urgent need for the development of sustainable biobased FRs that reduce environmental footprints while simultaneously improving the fire performance of plastics. This article addresses the negative connotation of FRs and reviews the most extensively used biobased FRs in plastics, their preparation (synthesis) and mode of application, performance evaluation as well as the leaching of FRs, and environmental fate. Some interesting observations in the review are the reduction of ignition times of plastics by the addition of FRs due to the rapid volatilisation of samples. In addition, the leaching rate of FRs is found to be higher in finer particles (micro and nanoparticles) compared to larger-sized ones and has the potential to dissolve in humic matter hence endangering the lives of humans and animals.

Published in Polymer Testing

ISSN: 0142-9418 (Print); 1873-2348 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Technology: Chemical technology: Polymers and polymer manufacture
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/polymer-testing

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