Gabriel-Chemie, the Austrian masterbatch specialist, has developed an HBCD-free flame retardant concentrate for use in foam insulation boards made of extruded polystyrene (XPS), more than six months before the cutoff date for use of HBCD flame retardants in Europe.
Use of the new active ingredient, ‘Poly-FR’, is said to enable XPS insulation boards to comply with applicable European fire safety standards, even with low masterbatch dosage. The relevant process parameters and the formulation of all other components can be kept unchanged in the manufacturing process, namely polystyrene type, propellant gas, nucleating agents and colour.
"Our investment in new flame retardant production equipment enables us to guarantee high product quality and reliable supply performance to the insulation manufacturers,” explained Erich Guttmann, CCO of Gabriel-Chemie.
The new masterbatch is specially formulated to ensure that the temperatures which occur in foam board production and recycling cause no degradation to the active flame retardant and that no machine corrosion is experienced.
Austrian insulation manufacturer, Austrotherm, is one company working with the flame retardants. “Working in close collaboration with the development team from Gabriel-Chemie has resulted in an effective Poly-FR based solution,” commented Gerald Prinzhorn, Managing Director of Austrotherm. “This enables us to continue to offer products in our usual high quality independent of new regulatory requirements.”