BFRL ICON Environmentally Safe Fire Retardants for Polymeric Materials. Part 1. Silica Gel: Potassium Carbonate Additive.

pdf icon Environmentally Safe Fire Retardants for Polymeric Materials. Part 1. Silica Gel: Potassium Carbonate Additive. (334 K)
Gilman, J. W.; Kashiwagi, T.; Lomakin, S. M.

Materials and Process Challenges: Aging Systems, Affordability, Alternative Applications. SAMPE Symposium and Exposition, 41st Proceedings. Volume 41. Book 1. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE). March 24-28, 1996, Anaheim, CA, 708-713 pp, 1996.

Sponsor:

Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC

Keywords:

fire retardants; additives; polymers; potassium carbonates; silica; flammability; char; silica gel

Abstract:

We report here that silica gel combined with potassium carbonate is an effective fire retardant for a wide variety of common polymers such as polypropylene, nylon, polymethyl methacrylate, poly(vinyl alcohol), cellulose, and to a lesser extent for polystyrene and styrene-acrylonitrile. The rate of heat release, RHR, is reduced by up to 68% without increasing the smoke or carbon monoxide levels during the combustion.


Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899