Safer and greener flame retardants Electric and electronic equipment now contain a large quantity of plastics that significantly increases fire hazards. An EU initiative developed novel flame-retardant composites that offer improved fire protection without toxic gas production. Industrial Technologies © Thinkstock With EU directives discouraging the use of halogenated flame retardants, effective alternatives must be found. The EU-funded NANOFRABS (Halogen-free flame retardant ABS nanocomposites for electric and electronic devices) project set out to deliver an alternative. Designed for integration with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) compounds widely used in electronics, it is based on an intumescent formulation consisting of nanofillers combined with phosphorous-based flame retardants. Scientists functionalised nearly 40 different nanofillers, characterised their thermal stabilities and evaluated about half of them for dispersion in an ABS matrix. They fabricated and characterised the mechanical, thermal stability, dispersion and fire properties of more than 200 ABS compounds. The team then assessed the effectiveness of the new halogen-free flame retardants (HFFRs) in ABS formulations with respect to fire performance. As a result, two nanofillers were chosen for final validation. The HFFRs and nanoparticles were tested in the lab prior to their manufacture. They were introduced in a commercial ABS compound in advance of market exploitation. The end products' general and fire properties were also characterised. Lastly, the recycling, mechanical and fire properties of the new HFFR ABS products were examined. NANOFRABS demonstrated an improvement over conventional HFFRs without jeopardising fire performance. The recyclable and environment-friendly HFFR ABS solution reduces smoke and toxic gases. Safety is improved by mitigating the risks of smoke inhalation caused by fire in public or private property. What is more, it can reverse the negative impact on the environment by preventing the release of toxic fire retardants. Keywords Flame retardants, halogen-free flame retardant, nanocomposites, electronic devices, nanofillers
