LANXESS FLAME RETARDANTS
HIGH PERFORMING PHOSPHOROUS AND BROMINE FLAME RETARDANTS
Enhance escape time
The advent of plastics and synthetic textiles in the ‘50s and ‘60s led to more and more flammable materials and ignition sources entering our living spaces. While these products made our lives more comfortable and functional, they also increased the risk of fire. It was soon realized that fire safety standards were essential to reduce their risk. Such standards were therefore developed for electrical and electronic appliances, furniture, thermal insulation and many other flammable products and components. It was also discovered that flame retardants provided a technically and economically feasible technique to comply with these standards.
The term “flame retardant” describes a wide range of substances used to prevent or slow down a fire. Flame retardants are simply chemicals that are incorporated into materials that burn easily, in order to prevent ignition or slow down a fire. Therefore, flame retardants help to prevent fires, or if started slow down fire spread, reduce heat release, smoke formation and toxic fire effluents. Most importantly, they enhance the time available for safe escape. This can mean the difference between life and injury or even death.
This graph shows that with flame retarded products in a typical home, time to flashover can be significantly extended. This gives the occupants valuable time to discover the fire, alert other people, call the fire brigade and evacuate the building. Fire statistics from the UK and Ireland show that there is a distinct downward trend in the number of fires [1].
Conversely, the USA has witnessed an upward trend in fire fatality rates in the last few years due to changes in their furniture standards [2].
There is a strong correlation between these statistics and the use or non-use of flame retardants.
[1]https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/#tab-1
[2]Kacew et al., 2021 Risks and Benefits associated with the use of BFRs
A recent study [3] has shown that flame retarded furniture used in Great Britain helps to delay time to flashover and reduces smoke production when compared to non flame retarded furniture used in the U.S. and France.
[3]Blais, M.S., Carpenter, K. & Fernandez, K., Comparative Room Burn Study of Furnished Rooms from the United Kingdom, France and the United States Fire Technol (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-019-00888-8
Like all chemicals, flame retardants need to undergo extensive testing and safety assessments throughout their life cycle to make sure they comply with all relevant legislation and do not cause harm to people or the environment.
We believe the public should not be forced to choose between human health and environmental protection on the one hand and fire safety on the other – they are entitled to both. Our business demands the highest standards of both fire retardancy performance and environmental sustainability.
A variety of flame retardant technologies is needed to address the complex challenges posed by the diversity of materials and their intended uses. LANXESS, as one of the global leaders in flame retardants, offers a wide spectrum of solutions for applications such as e-mobility, electronic components, electrical enclosures, building products, furniture foam and more.
Download our brochure here and find out more about our broad flame reatardants product range for versatile applications.
The application of flame retardants in the Electrical and Electronic (E&E) market can be divided into four major segments: connectors, printed wire boards, enclosures, and cables.
Transportation plays an important role in our modern society. Different types of transportation involve different risks for fire and different fire scenarios. Thus a variety of different fire standards reflect different fire scenarios. Various types of flame retardants are used in materials for transportation depending on the type of material and its final application.
Technical Data Sheets |
Levagard TP LXS 51114 |
Disflamoll DPK |
Disflamoll 51092 |
Uniplex FRP 64 |
PDBS-80 |
BC-52 |
BC-58 |
LANXESS has a long history of promoting the safe and effective use of flame retardants. We have a strong belief in the value of fire safety in our modern world and support those organizations that seek to improve fire safety standards that benefit society. We continually strive to provide government officials, regulators, legislators, the public and other stakeholders with the best science-based facts to address questions that arise around the use of flame retardant products.
Contact us for individual help.
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