Chemical Engineering June 2015 - 19

Newsfront
Flame Retardants:
Safety is the Key
Producers continue to improve the performance of their flame retardants
while ensuring safe handling and environmental responsibility
ICL-IP
N
o matter where you are reading this
article - in your home, on the train,
in an airplane, at the library or office
- you are surrounded by synthetic
materials (plastics and textiles), all of which are
normally highly flammable. Fortunately, these
synthetic materials contain flame retardants
(FRs), which are incorporated into the polymers
during processing so that the final product -
be it the upholstery or foam padding you are
sitting on, the insulation in the walls surrounding
you, the housing of your computer or the
circuit boards and other electrical components
within - will not burst into flames with billowing
black smoke when exposed to a candle, a
lit match or an over-heated electrical circuit.
FRs serve two purposes, explains Philippe
Salémis, director of the European Flame Retardants
Association (EFRA; Brussels, Belgium;
www.cefic-efra.com): to prevent the
start of a fire, and to retard the progression of
a fire. This gives people the extra time needed
to escape from a small fire and more time for
the firefighters to intervene, says Salémis.
As the number of synthetic materials -
and products made from them - continues
to grow, producers of FRs are working to
develop new products for emerging applications.
That's because when it comes to
FRs, " there is no one-size-fits-all, " explains
Salémis. Each material has different properties,
and the FR used has to be developed
to perform its function while not altering the
performance properties of the polymer in
which it is used. As a result, there are over
140 different FRs on the market - about
half of which are brominated, and half nonbrominated
(Table 1) - and more are continuing
to be developed.
The market
According to the April 2015 report " Flame
Retardant Chemicals: Technologies and
Global Markets, " which was compiled by
Marcanne Green, an analyst for BCC Research
(Wellesley, Mass.; www.bccresearch.
com), the global consumption of FR chemicals
for 2012 was estimated at 3.8 billion lb,
and the FR chemicals market is expected to
grow to 5.7 billion lb by 2019. The compound
annual growth rate from 2014 through 2019
is projected to be 6.7% for the industry overall,
according to the report.
Aluminum trihydrate (ATH) has the largest
market share by volume, estimated to be
45% by 2019. Bromine-based FR chemicals
should continue to be the largest sector
by value, growing to 41% market share by
2019, says BCC Research.
The value of the flame-retardant industry is
also expected to grow overall. The market is
expected to reach $10.4 billion by 2019. The
applications with the largest growth will be
plastics and textiles. This is based on growth
rates in electronics applications, housing and
construction. Although all market applications
for FR chemicals have ties to housing and
construction, the plastics sector has been traditionally
the largest consumer of flame retardants
by volume, with textiles close behind.
Progress for safer, 'greener' FRs
Today, many organizations and governments
are reassessing the benefits of FRs against
the negative side effects that cause harm
to human health or the environment, which
became apparent over the last 40 years as
FRs became more widely used, according to
the BCC Research report. Therefore, the FR
ChemiCal engineering www.Chemengonline.Com june 2015
In BrIef
THE MARKET
PRoGRESS FoR SAFER,
'GREENER' FRS
GREATER
TRANSPARENCy
CoNTRolliNG
PoTENTiAl EMiSSioNS
NEW dEvEloPMENTS
FIGURE 1 ABOVE. ICL-IP's
Neot-Hovav plant - located in
the Negev region of southern
Israel - produces brominated
flame retardants and other Brbased
products
19
http://www.bccresearch http://www.cefic-efra.com http://www.Chemengonline.Com
Chemical Engineering June 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering June 2015
