Apr 25, 2018

Where There’s Fire, SAYTEX Bromine Flame Retardants Are Up to the Task

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Stop and look around you. Do you see anything that’s made of plastic? What about any electronic equipment? Upholstery? Pillows?

Chances are that at least one of these items is treated with a bromine flame retardant (BFR), if not more. Brominated flame retardants are essential to minimizing or preventing damage in the event of a fire. They reduce flammability by providing enhanced resistance to ignition.

SAYTEX^® bromine flame retardants from Albemarle are the flame retardant of choice due to their vapor phase inhibition properties. When there is a fire, every second is critical. SAYTEX BFRs provide an additional layer of fire protection, reducing the devastating impact of fire on people and properties. Using these flame retardants in household and office items can potentially save lives. By extinguishing or inhibiting the spread of fire, they give tenants more time to evacuate the building and get to safety.

What are the benefits of using brominated flame retardants?

SAYTEX bromine-based flame retardants offer certain advantages over other types of flame retardants, including:

• Less deterioration of physical properties
• Superior flame retardant efficiency
• Exceptional thermal and UV stability

SAYTEX bromine flame retardants can improve the performance of your products and greatly reduce environmental emissions. They are the most cost-effective flame retardant option for two reasons:

• They are available for almost every type of polymer system.
• They suffer less deterioration of physical properties, meaning less use and replacement.

Why are bromine flame retardants so effective?

When bromine is heated, it releases active bromine atoms during the gas phase, before the material reaches its ignition temperature. These atoms stifle the chemical reaction occurring within the flames, slowing or even stopping the spread of the flames. Brominated flame retardants are used in a multitude of products, including electrical components, insulation foams, textiles, paints and domestic kitchen appliances.

In some cases, synergists are required to optimize the flame retardant loading. For example, bromine is often used with the synergist antimony trioxide (Sb2O3). When combined, Sb2O3 and bromine create an effective and widely used flame retardant system.

China’s pollution crackdown is impacting bromine supply

To address pollution issues and environmental concerns, China recently shut down thousands of factories, including facilities that produced bromine-based flame retardants. While this pollution crackdown will lead to bluer skies and a cleaner environment, it is also affecting the global supply of BFRs. As a result, manufacturing facilities in the U.S. must rely on local producers and distributors of bromine-based flame retardants.

H.M. Royal offers SAYTEX bromine flame retardants for all your flame retardant needs. We supply bromine-based flame retardants to numerous industries for a variety of applications. For more information, contact our material experts.