The Fire Resistance in Plastics 2013 Conference
The Fire Resistance in Plastics 2013 Conference took place in Cologne, Germany, on 13 - 14 November 2013. The topics covered flame retardants (FR) markets, novel flame retardant technologies, safety, sustainability and regulations as well as flame retardant applications in polymer systems.
The conference started with a rather general overview on trends and developments in the FR market and was followed by a paper focussing on new flame retardant systems in cable applications based on aluminium (ATH) and magnesium hydroxides (MOH) in conjunction with nanocomposites and other compounds such as halloysite, carbon nanotubes and graphene. Intumescent systems in polypropylene were also discussed.
In the first session, new technologies were discussed beginning with a paper on fire retardance by surface nanostructuration for textiles in using layer-by-layer coatings. The next contribution dealt with NOR (N-alkoxy piperidines) synergists for polyolefin films and the third one gave an overview on the state of the art and trends for metal hydrates (boehmite) in conjunction with organic flame retardants such as DOPO (9,10-Dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthren-10-oxide), metal phosphinates and new phosphorous compounds for printed circuit boards. Another overview was given on synergists and their intumescent effects in polyurethane foams, paints and cables. Novel polymeric flame retardants based on polyphosphonates with a large application potential in polyester fibers, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), polycarbonate and thermosets were presented. Another interesting paper on specific, modified glass particles acting as synergists with melamine cyanurate, melamine polyphosphate and metal phosphinates in engineering plastics showed that through new technologies traditional fillers may become very attractive for the FR market.
The next sessions covered many topics, starting with sustainable flame retardants and their role in UL registration, a paper on the safe use of antimony trioxide considering European directives (RoHS, Toys), REACh and life cycle analysis. A series of papers with focus on FR applications in polymers showed the merits of new DOPO-based systems for polyurethane foams, of new more thermally stable DOPO compounds, of modified graphene used as FR in polymeric foams, of improved phosphinate-based systems for polyamides, of brominated polymeric FRs in PBT, and of optimised ammonium polyphosphate and intumescent systems for polyolefins. Finally, the emission properties of flame retardants in polyamides and flame retardancy from a polyester manufacturer perspective were discussed.
Conference details under: www.amiplastics.com/events/event?code=C550