Intumescence in fire retardancy of lignocellulosic panels

At present there is growing interest in using wood and wood-based products for applications in various industries (mainly building and transportation). One of the limitations to use of wood is its flammability. The most usual way to improve the fire performance of wood is by chemical treatment with flame retardants. The classical mechanisms for flame retardancy of wood require relatively high load of flame retardants in the wood, which was connected with some problems (durability, higher sensitivity to moisture etc.). This paper deals with the intumescing concept of flame retardancy of wood based panels. Particleboard with improved fire performance was prepared in a laboratory conditions. Flame retardant formulations were used with the ability to form an intumescent layer during exposure to heat. This way it was possible to decrease the content of flame retardants in the body of the board. The heat release rate and the mass loss rate characteristics were measured by cone calorimetry. The results were promising in comparison to the classical way of flame retardancy of wood. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.