De Grandi flame retardant additives
Additives that act during combustion to slow or prevent flame spread. De Grandi produces a non-halogenated intumescent additive for plastics.
Definition
The use of plastic materials increasingly calls for adequate fire resistance properties. Reducing the flammability of a plastic therefore means intervening on its characteristics, and that is done with flame retardant additives.
Flame retardants — abbreviated FR, or HFFR when free of halogens — are additives that act during the combustion of a material, triggering a chemical reaction that prevents or slows the spread of flame in the event of fire.
With halogen free flame retardants in particular it is possible to counter ignition and flame propagation while avoiding the development of toxic gases during combustion.
The comparison
They do not all work in the same way, nor with the same environmental impact.
01
Versatile, economical, widely available, and they preserve mechanical properties. On the other hand they can cause environmental damage, and the fumes produced in a fire are far more hazardous to people.
02
Magnesium and aluminium hydroxides: few environmental issues, contained cost, easy to source. But they must be used at very high loadings, which compromises the mechanical properties of the material.
03
They work by char formation and intumescence: an inert carbonaceous crust forms and hinders contact between oxygen and polymer. Good performance even at moderate loadings, mechanical properties preserved, lower hazard.
The product
De Grandi has combined micronization with the chemical synthesis of a halogen free, intumescent flame retardant for the plastics industry.
This flame retardant additive originated in the research laboratories of Montell (now Basell) and was developed under exclusive licence at De Grandi, which has continued to refine the product. The retardant — designated DG HF 2000 — can be used with many polymers, and particularly with polyolefins.
DG HF 2000 data sheet →FAQ
Flame retardants are additives that act during the combustion of a material, triggering a chemical reaction that prevents or slows the spread of flame in the event of fire. They are abbreviated FR, or HFFR when free of halogens, and are added to plastics to reduce their flammability.
Three are generally distinguished. Halogenated: versatile and economical, but with environmental impact and hazardous fumes in a fire. Inorganic, such as magnesium and aluminium hydroxides: few environmental issues but high loadings that compromise mechanical properties. Halogen free: they work by char formation and intumescence, with good performance at moderate loadings and lower hazard.
It means free of halogens. These retardants act by a mechanism known as char formation and/or intumescence: during combustion a carbonaceous crust forms which is inert to combustion and hinders contact between oxygen and polymer. The absence of halogens reduces the development of toxic gases and the hazard of the fumes.
De Grandi produces DG HF 2000, an intumescent, non-halogenated flame retardant based on phosphorus and nitrogen, developed for polyolefins. It originated in the Montell (now Basell) laboratories and was developed under exclusive licence at De Grandi, which has continued to refine it. It allows a V-0 classification to be achieved in the UL 94 test.
Because it reduces risk at equal fire protection. In a fire a halogen free product such as DG HF 2000 produces fumes with low optical density, reduced corrosivity and negligible emission of toxic gases such as CO, HCN and NOx. It also works at contained loadings compared with inorganic retardants, preserving the mechanical properties of the polymer.
Producers and compounders of plastic materials who need to give their products fire resistance, particularly those working with polyolefins such as polypropylene, polyethylene and EVA. DG HF 2000 is designed for these compounds and is produced at the De Grandi plant in Tromello, Italy.
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