Flame Retardants for Water-Based Lacquer Case Study

Flame Retardants for Water-Based Lacquer Case Study

Summary

Application: Protective Wood Coating ~ Lacquer
Additive: ICL Industrial Products ~ TexFRon® 4002 Flame Retardant
Key benefits: Water-based ~ Polymeric product ~ Translucent ~ Flame Retardant ~ Storage stability ~ VOC free
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The Challenge

Flame retardancy is a must in construction products as there are many regulations and tests. The most famous ones are ASTM E84 and EN 13501. When these standards are applied on coated surfaces – the challenges are amplified since the coating layer is usually much thinner than the applied surface and, in most cases, more flammable. Adding to it, the fact that wood is being used more and more in construction (both for environmental purposes and aesthetic aspects) and requires the use of lacquer, results in a need for a suitable FR solution.

Therefore, the challenge is to provide flame retardant (FR) properties to the coating while maintaining a transparent/translucent appearance, good abrasion properties, cold solvent stability, and long-term efficiency in the film. In addition, the in-can and film stability must be good while having a sustainable profile.

The Solution

Flame retardant coatings are usually based on two types of FR mechanisms: Intumescent and non-intumescent.

The first one is based on a mechanism by which the film expands and creates insulating carbonaceous char. It involves an acid source, a carbon source that reacts with the acid to form a carbonaceous char and a blowing agent. One of the disadvantages of this type of coating is that the resulting formulation is opaque...

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