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Journal ArticleDOI

Recent developments in the fire retardancy of polymeric materials

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight the ecological impacts of using conventional flame retardants, thereby signifying the necessity to use eco-friendly agents, and explore the use of various nanofillers for this purpose, compare their performance with traditional systems, provide insights into different testing standards and combustion mechanisms, modelling aspects of the combustion behavior, and identify novel approaches that could be considered for meeting the fire safety standards with ecofriendly materials.
About: This article is published in Progress in Polymer Science.The article was published on 2013-09-01. It has received 488 citations till now.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work shows that freeze-casting suspensions of cellulose nanofibres, graphene oxide and sepiolite nanorods produces super-insulating, fire-retardant and strong anisotropic foams that perform better than traditional polymer-based insulating materials.
Abstract: High-performance thermally insulating materials from renewable resources are needed to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Traditional fossil-fuel-derived insulation materials such as expan ...

1,009 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The main concepts of intumescence are reviewed in this article, highlighting the novelties as well as the most significant results achieved in the flame retardancy of polymeric materials in the last 10-15 years.

379 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a review of carbon-based materials for polymeric composites with flame retardant properties is presented, including graphite, graphene, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes as well as new emerging carbon forms (carbon nitride, carbon aerogels, etc).

370 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a mechanically resilient organic/inorganic composite aerogel with a thermal conductivity significantly lower than expanded polystyrene and excellent fire resistance was reported, which can resist a high temperature flame without disintegration and prevents the temperature on the nonexposed side from increasing above the temperature critical for the collapse of reinforced concrete structures.
Abstract: Energy efficient buildings require materials with a low thermal conductivity and a high fire resistance. Traditional organic insulation materials are limited by their poor fire resistance and inorganic insulation materials are either brittle or display a high thermal conductivity. Herein we report a mechanically resilient organic/inorganic composite aerogel with a thermal conductivity significantly lower than expanded polystyrene and excellent fire resistance. Co-polymerization and nanoscale phase separation of the phenol-formaldehyde-resin (PFR) and silica generate a binary network with domain sizes below 20 nm. The PFR/SiO2 aerogel can resist a high-temperature flame without disintegration and prevents the temperature on the non-exposed side from increasing above the temperature critical for the collapse of reinforced concrete structures.

198 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Compared with MoS2, the addition of LDH/MoS2 hybrids endowed more excellent fire resistance to epoxy matrix, which was reflected by the significantly reduced peak heat release rate, total heat release and total smoke production.

181 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Global plastics production and the accumulation of plastic waste are documented, showing that trends in mega- and macro-plastic accumulation rates are no longer uniformly increasing and that the average size of plastic particles in the environment seems to be decreasing.
Abstract: One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastics. Within just a few decades since mass production of plastic...

4,044 citations


"Recent developments in the fire ret..." refers background in this paper

  • ...It was noted that polymeric materials represent a considerable proportion (50-80%) of shoreline debris and an estimated ~3,520,000 items/km(2) at the ocean surface [80]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It was concluded that the TEF concept is still the most plausible and feasible approach for risk assessment of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons with dioxinlike properties.
Abstract: An expert meeting was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and held in Stockholm on 15-18 June 1997. The objective of this meeting was to derive consensus toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxinlike polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for both human, fish, and wildlife risk assessment. Based on existing literature data, TEFs were (re)evaluated and either revised (mammals) or established (fish and birds). A few mammalian WHO-TEFs were revised, including 1,2,3,7,8-pentachlorinated DD, octachlorinated DD, octachlorinated DF, and PCB 77. These mammalian TEFs are also considered applicable for humans and wild mammalian species. Furthermore, it was concluded that there was insufficient in vivo evidence to continue the use of TEFs for some di-ortho PCBs, as suggested earlier by Ahlborg et al. [Chemosphere 28:1049-1067 (1994)]. In addition, TEFs for fish and birds were determined. The WHO working group attempted to harmonize TEFs across different taxa to the extent possible. However, total synchronization of TEFs was not feasible, as there were orders of a magnitude difference in TEFs between taxa for some compounds. In this respect, the absent or very low response of fish to mono-ortho PCBs is most noticeable compared to mammals and birds. Uncertainties that could compromise the TEF concept were also reviewed, including nonadditive interactions, differences in shape of the dose-response curve, and species responsiveness. In spite of these uncertainties, it was concluded that the TEF concept is still the most plausible and feasible approach for risk assessment of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons with dioxinlike properties.

3,247 citations


"Recent developments in the fire ret..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Owing to the vast range of these compounds, since the early 1990’s, the concepts of TEQs and TEFs have been introduced based on in vitro and in vivo studies to simplify the assessment and regulatory control on an international level [66, 67]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the current state of knowledge is reviewed and areas for further research recommended to improve future monitoring and risk assessment efforts, and the authors suggest that the occurrence of high concentrations of certain PBDE isomers may be sufficient to elicit adverse effects in some wildlife.

2,536 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Model calculations and experimental observations consistently show that polyethylene accumulates more organic contaminants than other plastics such as polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride, and PCBs could transfer from contaminated plastics to streaked shearwater chicks.
Abstract: Plastics debris in the marine environment, including resin pellets, fragments and microscopic plastic fragments, contain organic contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides (2,2′-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane, hexachlorinated hexanes), polybrominated diphenylethers, alkylphenols and bisphenol A, at concentrations from sub ng g–1 to µg g–1. Some of these compounds are added during plastics manufacture, while others adsorb from the surrounding seawater. Concentrations of hydrophobic contaminants adsorbed on plastics showed distinct spatial variations reflecting global pollution patterns. Model calculations and experimental observations consistently show that polyethylene accumulates more organic contaminants than other plastics such as polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride. Both a mathematical model using equilibrium partitioning and experimental data have demonstrated the transfer of contaminants from plastic to organisms. A feeding experiment indicated that PCBs could transfer from contaminated plastics to streaked shearwater chicks. Plasticizers, other plastics additives and constitutional monomers also present potential threats in terrestrial environments because they can leach from waste disposal sites into groundwater and/or surface waters. Leaching and degradation of plasticizers and polymers are complex phenomena dependent on environmental conditions in the landfill and the chemical properties of each additive. Bisphenol A concentrations in leachates from municipal waste disposal sites in tropical Asia ranged from sub µg l–1 to mg l–1 and were correlated with the level of economic development.

2,114 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Current understanding of the benefits and concerns surrounding the use of plastics are synthesized, and future priorities, challenges and opportunities are looked to.
Abstract: Plastics have transformed everyday life; usage is increasing and annual production is likely to exceed 300 million tonnes by 2010. In this concluding paper to the Theme Issue on Plastics, the Environment and Human Health, we synthesize current understanding of the benefits and concerns surrounding the use of plastics and look to future priorities, challenges and opportunities. It is evident that plastics bring many societal benefits and offer future technological and medical advances. However, concerns about usage and disposal are diverse and include accumulation of waste in landfills and in natural habitats, physical problems for wildlife resulting from ingestion or entanglement in plastic, the leaching of chemicals from plastic products and the potential for plastics to transfer chemicals to wildlife and humans. However, perhaps the most important overriding concern, which is implicit throughout this volume, is that our current usage is not sustainable. Around 4 per cent of world oil production is used as a feedstock to make plastics and a similar amount is used as energy in the process. Yet over a third of current production is used to make items of packaging, which are then rapidly discarded. Given our declining reserves of fossil fuels, and finite capacity for disposal of waste to landfill, this linear use of hydrocarbons, via packaging and other short-lived applications of plastic, is simply not sustainable. There are solutions, including material reduction, design for end-of-life recyclability, increased recycling capacity, development of bio-based feedstocks, strategies to reduce littering, the application of green chemistry life-cycle analyses and revised risk assessment approaches. Such measures will be most effective through the combined actions of the public, industry, scientists and policymakers. There is some urgency, as the quantity of plastics produced in the first 10 years of the current century is likely to approach the quantity produced in the entire century that preceded.

2,006 citations


"Recent developments in the fire ret..." refers background in this paper

  • ...More interestingly, of the estimated 260 million tons produced each year, more than ~50% are used for short life-term applications (in packaging and electronics/electrical industries) [77, 78]....

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