NEWS
EU Court rejects industry appeal on endocrine disruptor
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has rejected an action brought by Plastics Europe attempting to reverse the designation by ECHA of the plastic additive / monomer BPA (Bisphenol A) as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC), requiring Plastics Europe to pay the costs of ECHA and of the NGO ClientEarth.
READ MOREVideo – Swedish FR chemical tax meeting
A five minute video summarises a stakeholder meeting on the Swedish chemicals ecotax on flame retardants, Stockholm, 17th September 2019, where Henrik Edin (IT Telekomföretagen) and Hans Wendschlag (Hewlett Packard) presented the case for a revision of the tax.
READ MOREpinfa brings stakeholders to meet firefighters and fire
pinfa’s Advisory Board regularly brings together interested stakeholders (GOs, regulators, fire experts, professionals …) to discuss issues around fire safety and flame retardants, in an open but non-public dialogue.
READ MOREModern Buildings Alliance “Fire Safety Guide”
The alliance of trade associations and companies representing the plastics industry in the construction sector, Modern Buildings Alliance, has published a 20 page brochure titled “EU Fire Safety Guide”.
READ MOREAirbnb promotes fire safety in the UK
Working with the UK National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), Airbnb has produce a two page guide sent to over 100 000 hosts across Britain.
READ MOREUS NTSB presses for better road vehicle fire safety
The US National Transport Safety Board has reiterated its recommendation to revise the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS 302 to require more rigorous materials flammability and smoke emission requirements.
READ MOREFire code failures cost developer $ 10M
US$ 10 million damages and costs were awarded in 2017 to purchasers of residential property in the Grandview Riverwalk, Port Imperial development, New York State. A court has now decided that this must be paid entirely by the developer, a subsidiary of Hovnanian Enterprises, not by the architects RTKL.
READ MOREFRETWORK textile FR code of practice moves forward
The Flame Retarded Textiles Network, UK (FRETWORK) has launched a Primary Authority partnership with Nottingham County Council Trading Standards to enable participating companies to benefit from formally assured advice.
READ MOREDelhi action on school fire safety
The Delhi city area government, India, has issued a notice to 241 schools for failing fire safety regulations.
READ MOREFire fighters call Amazon to stop selling unlisted alarms
National fire service leaders and other stakeholders are supporting a “Vision 20/20” project call to ask Amazon and other e-commerce companies to stop selling unlisted smoke and carbon dioxide alarms.
READ MORENew water soluble phosphazene for textiles
Poly- and cyclo- phosphazenes are recognised effective PIN flame retardants, but to date are not available as water soluble and permanent systems for textiles.
READ MORESystemic analysis of P-N flame retardant design
Four comparable phosphorus-containing compounds were synthesised, each with one central P atom and three hexenyl groups: an amide (P bonded to 3xN), a diamidate (P bonded to 2xN, 1xO), an amidate (P bonded to 1xN, 2xO) and a phosphate (P bonded to 3xO).
READ MOREFerrocene polymer synergist for APP
A polymer (poly((3,3’-diphenyl diacetylethylenediamino)-1,1’-ferrocene) = PDPFDE) was synthesised linking ferrocene, aromatic carbon rings and the nitrogen compound ethylenediamine.
READ MOREMelamine – bio-sourced phytate FR for polypropylene
Melamine and phytic acid (a molecule naturally found in plants) were reacted in aqueous solutions. The six phosphates in phytic acid reacted with six melamines, and two-dimensional nanoflakes were formed in drying (MEL-PA).
READ MOREP-ester / magnesium synergy for wood FR
Cyclic phosphate ester was reacted with magnesium hydroxide (1 – 6 %) and then tested with melamine formaldehyde and pentaerythritol (at ratios 1:1 to 1:4) as a flame retardant coating on 4 mm plywood (250 g/m2 coating).
READ MORESilica aerogel as FR and smoke suppressant
Polyurethane insulation foam (PUF) was surface treated with silica (SiO2), by acid and alkali hydrolysis, then lyophilised to generate a silica aerogel at 13 – 33% w/w loading on the foam.
READ MOREFRPM Conference 2019
FRPM 2019, the 17th conference on Flame Retardant Polymeric Materials, brought together in Turku, 26-28 June 2019, some 220 participants worldwide. The conference showcased a wide range of R&D int...
READ MOREEnvironmental challenges
Steve Hollins, ECHA (European Chemical Agency), suggested that industry should be proactive in substituting chemicals which are flagged as possibly problematic on any of the different ECHA ‘early warning’ lists, such as PACT (public activities coordination tool), CoRAP, or have been assessed in an RMOA (risk management option analysis).
READ MOREPhosphorus FRs
Sabyasachi Gaan, EMPA Switzerland, presented development of DOPO derivative phosphorus PIN FRs for use in synthetic and bio-based polymers, from research through to industrial production: DOPO phosphphonamides (EDA-DOPO = 6,6'-(Ethane-1,2-diylbis(azanediyl))bis(dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphinine-6-oxide)), today REACH registered and entering commercialisation by Metadynea; DOPO-PEPA (PEPA = 1-oxo-4-hydroxymethyl-2,6,7-trioxa-l-phosphabicyclo[2.2.2] octane), REACH registration underway, for application in polyester and polyolefins, under development with JET-Aviation for non-halogenated fire safety of wood products for aviation applications; and triazine DOPO, under development with BRUAG.
READ MOREResearch into bio-based PIN flame retardants
Xin Wang, University of Science and Technology of China, presented proposed PIN FRs derived from bio-based cardanol, tested in epoxies, including by reaction with organic phosphorus chemicals such as phosphaphenanthrene or benzoxazine, with zirconium phosphate, in combination with boron graphene nanosheets and in layered double hydroxides.
READ MOREResearching new FR coating technologies
Bartosz Weclawski, University of Bolton, UK, presented research into use of plasma technology based on an atmospheric pressure plasma and high power UV laser. Multiplexed Laser Surface Enhancement (MLSE from MTIX Ltd., UK) can bond fire retardant precursors physico-chemically and even covalently into a fabric, followed by plasma/UV, so avoiding the conventional wet processing cycles.
READ MOREFire safety for wood and timber
In the wood and timber sectors, Teknos’ industrial customers today are looking for ‘green’ coating and treatment solutions: water based, VOC emissions free, non-halogenated and if possible bio-based. In the construction sector, demand for fire safety treatments is increasing, especially for public buildings, with today also demand for low smoke (Euroclass).
READ MOREFire safety for polyurethanes
Rolf Albach, Covestro Covestro sees fire safety as an increasing challenge in all applications of plastic foams, in particular in buildings, where such foams offer the best insulation performance, cost effectiveness and adaptability of materials available.
READ MOREInnovative FRs for textiles and fibre-compounds
Jelena Vasiljević, University of Ljubljana, presented tests of three DOPO derivatives as additive PIN FRs in polyamide 6 fibres. The FRs were added in the caprolactam melt before polyamide polymerisation.
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