Fire Retardant Additives for Polymeric Materials. Part 1. Char Formation From Silica Gel-Potassium Carbonate.
Fire Retardant Additives for Polymeric Materials. Part
1. Char Formation From Silica Gel-Potassium Carbonate.
(913 K)
Gilman, J. W.; Ritchie, S. J.; Kashiwagi, T.; Lomakin,
S. M.
NISTIR 6030; June 1997.
U.S./Japan Government Cooperative Program on Natural
Resources (UJNR). Fire Research and Safety. 13th Joint
Panel Meeting. Volume 2. March 13-20, 1996,
Gaithersburg, MD, Beall, K. A., Editor(s), 261-270 pp,
1997.
Fire and Materials, Vol. 21, No. 1, 23-32, 1997.
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB97-184204
Keywords:
fire safety; fire research; fire retardants; additives;
char formation; polymers; silica gel; cone calorimeters;
thermoplastics; oxygen index; gasification
Abstract:
Silica gel combined with potassium carbonate is an
effective fire retardant for a wide vareity of common
polymers (at only 10 wt. % total additive) such as
polypropylene, nylon, polymethyl methacrylate,
poly(vinyl alcohol), cellulose, and to a lesser extent
polystyrene and styrene-acrylonitrile. The peak heat
release rate is reduced by up to 68% without
significantly increasing the smoke or carbon monoxide
levels during the combustion.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899