Paxymer gives lecture on current developments in flame retardants

Paxymer was asked to introduce the possibilities within green flame retardants with a lecture titled “The green flame retardant” at the conference “Polymerdagarna” presented by Plastforum Norge. 

The lecture was well received and Paxymer and IMCD have already initiated evaluation processes targeting off-shore and shipping applications in Norway with interested parties.

An increasing number of plastic converters and compounders will have to address the issue of flame retardants in the coming years – both for new products and due to substitution of old alternatives. All though the issues are complex it also represents a significant opportunity for companies to innovate and to offer customers value.

The definition of “the green flame retardant” is a compound free of endocrine disrupting and persistent chemicals. It also introduces fire safety and takes a holistic approach to the burning process: low smoke, low heat release rate, low smoke toxicity and non-dripping.

Standard development is driving the development – one compelling example was the move from UL94 to the new SBI or Euroclass classification for building standards. While the UL94 is conducted with a small flame, small test pieces with pass criteria of self-extinguishing and no burning drops the new standards are more comprehensive. SBI encompass highly advanced testing with a large flame and a number of different sophisticated measurements. These standard give a good view on what the consequences would be in the event of fire – another consequence is that testing gets more complicated, more advanced and more difficult to predict. Companies that know how to handle fire safety and flame retardants will have an advantage compared to the competition.

This development is further accelerated by the increased use of plastic materials in order to achieve weight and cost reductions in buildings, structures and vehicles. The picture that we presented was confirmed throughout the conference. A key competitive advantage will be additivation of plastic
materials to solve the challenges introduced by for instance substitution from metals to polymer solutions.

Paxymer would also like to thank plastform.no for an excellent conference with many interesting topics.