Comparison of Different Phosphorus based Flame Retardants in Rigid Polyurethane Foam for the Production of Insulation Materials

摘要

An increasing interest in rigid polyurethane foam for insulation materials is expected, due to the world wide growing awareness of climate change and energy consumption. As a result of this development, the fire safety in these building and construction applications will also gain more attention. In order to meet these fire safety requirements, various flame retardants are used in rigid polyurethane foams. One of the most suitable and widely used group of flame retardants is based on phosphorus. This includes chlorinated phosphate esters and halogen free compounds. In the presentation the general properties of the different phosphorus-based flame retardants will be compared and the performance of these products in rigid polyurethane formulations will be presented. Within the scope of the comparison, the effectiveness of the different flame retardants in fire tests will be demonstrated. Furthermore, the impact of the various products on processing, stability and foam properties will be discussed. The results point out, that the choice of phosphorus based flame retardant in rigid PU foam strongly depends on the processing requirements as well as on the final application.