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Polyethylene flame retarded with expandable graphite and a novel intumescent additive
Author(s) -
Focke Walter Wilhelm,
Kruger Hermanus Joachim,
Mhike Washington,
Taute Albertus,
Roberson Albert,
Ofosu Osei
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.40493
Subject(s) - intumescent , fire retardant , polyethylene , cone calorimeter , calorimetry , materials science , polymer chemistry , graphite , composite material , carbon black , nuclear chemistry , ammonium phosphate , chemistry , organic chemistry , char , combustion , fertilizer , physics , natural rubber , thermodynamics
A novel intumescent additive was synthesized by neutralizing 3,5‐diaminobenzoic acid hydrochloride salt with ammonium dihydrogen phosphate. This compound, which melts at 257°C, decomposes concurrently to release carbon dioxide gas. The flame retardant performance of this compound as a primary fire retardant and in combination with expandable graphite (EG) was evaluated by cone calorimetry. Cone calorimeter results showed that addition of 10 wt % EG alone lowers peak heat release rate (pHRR) of carbon black‐pigmented polyethylene from 710 ± 109 to 342 ± 15 kW m −2 , whereas addition of 27 wt % of the novel intumescent lowered it to 400 ± 16 kW m −2 . Combinations of these two additives were able to decrease the pHRR even further. Furthermore, the novel intumescent additive reduced the flame out time from 773 ± 307 to 537 ± 69 s although all other EG containing samples increased it. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131 , 40493.