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Prediction of CO evolution from small‐scale polymer fires
Author(s) -
Hull T Richard,
Carman Judith M,
Purser David A
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0126(200010)49:10<1259::aid-pi573>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - polypropylene , polystyrene , materials science , polymer , vinyl acetate , methyl methacrylate , yield (engineering) , polyethylene , equivalence ratio , copolymer , ethylene vinyl acetate , thermal decomposition , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , composite material , combustion , chemistry , combustor , organic chemistry , engineering
The concentrations of decomposition products of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and 19% and 26% vinyl acetate–ethylene copolymers (19% EVA and 26% EVA, respectively) have been studied at equivalence ratios ϕ varying from 0.5 to 1.5 using a Purser furnace. The CO yield of the fire gases increased with increase in fuel/air ratio. For PE, PP, PMMA and 19% EVA and 26% EVA, the CO evolution was independent of the polymer and depended only on ϕ . PS gave higher CO yields at low fuel/air ratios, and lower CO yields at high fuel/air ratios in comparison with the other polymers studied. The CO yield translates to a fractional effective dose, showing a threefold increase in the fire toxicity in going from fuel lean (ϕ = 0.5) to fuel rich (ϕ = 1.5) conditions. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry