NEWS
Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials Conference 2023
The 19th edition of FRPM (Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials Conference) www.frpm-23.org was hosted by Empa, Switzerland, 26-29 June 2023. This is one of the world’s biggest flame retardant conference, with nearly 250 participants, 69 oral presentations and 70 posters.
READ MOREEU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability
EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability - Martijn Beekman, European Commission, DG GROW - Despite forty years of chemicals regulations in Europe, today sees high levels of citizen concern about chemical impacts on health and on the environment and scientific evidence of widespread impacts of chemicals.
READ MOREEU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and FRs
Adrian Beard, pinfa and Clariant - The EU’s “Chemical Strategy for Sustainability” (April 2022, pinfa Newsletter n°138) will bring major changes to chemicals regulation in Europe and these are today being initiated, including the recast of the EU chemicals regulation REACH, the concepts of “Safe and Sustainable by Design” (SSbD) chemicals and of “Essential Uses” of certain chemicals, the announced Restriction of all PFAS (as a class of chemicals).
READ MOREChallenges for sustainable phosphorus chemistry
Chris Slootweg, University of Amsterdam - The phosphorus cycle today exceeds planetary boundaries and leads to widespread water quality deterioration (eutrophication).
READ MOREFire and smoke from cross-laminated timber
Gaëlle Fontaine, Centrale Lille France - Tests assessed smoke and fire behaviour of cross-laminated timber under different oxygen concentrations.
READ MOREPIN FRs and electric vehicle battery pack fire safety
Lei Chen, SABIC - A key challenge to Electric Vehicle (EV) battery pack design is the battery pack structure which includes battery cooling and cell separation to prevent propagation of the whole battery pack in case of failure of one cell.
READ MOREPolyphosphonates for performance fire safety
Richard Clay and Stephen Blair, Polymer Compounders Limited (PCL) - Based in the UK, PCL supply several thousand tonnes per year of performance thermoplastic polymer compounds to a broad range of customers in automotive, healthcare, industrial, white goods and electrical...
READ MOREInnovative liquid PIN FRs for foams
Claudia Vogt and Edwin Kroke (Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, TUBAF), with Tobias Wagener and Alexander König (BASF), Carl-Christoph Höhne and Jennifer Limburger (Fraunhofer ICT).
READ MOREPinfa young researcher presentation awards
These pinfa Awards are the first time such prizes have been offered for presentations at FRPM. A total of 14 candidate oral presentations by young researchers were graded for scientific content, presentation quality and oral delivery by experts from fire research and industry.
READ MOREComparing coated and impregnated FRs in plywood
Iben Hansen-Bruhn, Aarhus University, Denmark, and University of Central Lancashire, UK - Two different ammonium phosphate based PIN flame retardants were applied to 12 mm pine plywood.
READ MOREPosters Awards
Poster and Travel Awards were offered for the first time at FRPM, by the Ingeborg Foundation Germany, for posters from young researchers (51 candidate posters).
READ MORERecycling PIN FR PET fibres
Jiuke Chen, Empa - Extruded PET (polyethylene terephthalate) fibres neat or with two different phosphorus PIN FRs (DOPO derivate DOPO-PEPA, phosphonate compound) were tested for mechanical recycling, with twin-screw extrusion – quench – spin-melt – reprocessing cycles (without ageing, total 3 extrusions).
READ MOREComputer modelling to propose safer FRs
Hannah Flerlage and Steven Beijer, University of Amsterdam - SSbD (Safe and Sustainable by Design) is applied to redesign P FR for reduced environmental hazard using a computer-based approach, starting from the existing PIN phosphorus flame retardant Tri-iso-butyl phosphate (TiBP).
READ MOREBio-based intumescent PIN FR coating for NYCO
Nathalie Vest, Texas A&M University - Nylon-cotton fabric (NYCO) was multi-layer coated with phytic acid, chitosan and tannic acid, achieving self-extinguishing with 17% weight added. NYCO is widely used in military uniforms and workwear, but has high flammability because of interaction between the two fibres in fire.
READ MOREPolymeric PIN FR for PLA
Marie-Odile Augé, Centrale Lille France - A self-polymerising commercial additive was compounded into poly lactic acid (PLA) using a twin-screw extruder operating at 185°C.
READ MOREBio-derived PIN FRs for cotton
Alessandro Beduini, University of Milan. Polyamidoamines, synthesised from a bisacrylamide (MBA) and natural amino acids, soaked into cotton, significantly improved fire performance.
READ MOREAnalysing gas phase action of different PIN FRs
Daniela Goedderz, Fraunhofer IBF. Action of the modes of action of PIN flame retardants, gas transport, flame topology and gaseous pyrolysis products, by a combination of optical diagnostics (planar laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy of OH-radicals) and pyrolysis fragment analysis (TGA-FTIR).
READ MORECall to add P to Strategic Raw Materials List
pinfa calls for phosphorus to be identified as crucial for fire safety for all of the identified EU “Strategic” industries: batteries, renewable energy, electrical systems, circuit boards, electronic, power and data cables, aerospace.
READ MORECall for flame retardants book contributions
Industry expert input is invited for new Elsevier book on “Flame Retardant Selection for Polymers”, covering FR selection, formulation and regulations.
READ MOREEU public consultation on Polluter Pays
Open to 4th August 2023 HERE. Further information see pinfa Newsletter n°149
READ MOREUNEP reports on chemicals in plastics
Document for UN Plastics Treaty on plastics identifies certain specific flame retardants as one of ten chemical concerns.
READ MOREWashington State FR restrictions
Ban of all halogenated FRs in E&E casings and of halogenated FRs and five phosphorus FRs in some polyurethane foams.
READ MOREElectronics industry position on FRs
DIGITALEUROPE says FRs “provide essential fire protection” and prefer RoHS to REACH for regulation of FRs in electronics.
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