(44g) Enhanced Flame Retardancy of Poly(butylene terephthalate) with Biobased Flame Retardant

The development of halogen-free flame retardants has recently received increasing attention as consumer health issues have been associated with conventional halogen-based flame retardants. Biobased flame retardants are popular due to their environmental friendliness. During this study, we produced a biobased flame retardant from phosphorylated vegetable oil, synthesized by a ring-opening reaction in epoxidized linseed oil. The structure and degree of phosphorylation of the linseed oil were characterized with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The synthesized biobased flame retardant was blended with an engineering plastic, poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), and the flammability of the blends were investigated with the UL-94 vertical and horizontal flame tests. It was discovered that the fire class of PBT changed from non-rating to V-2 at only 7.5 wt% loading of the synthesized flame retardant. Increasing the content of modified vegetable oil further increased the flame retardancy to a V-0 fire class. The fire mechanism of the blends was studied with Thermogravimetric Analysis coupled to Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (TGA-FTIR). The developed biobased flame retardant exhibits high potential to replace conventional halogen-based flame retardants.

Acknowledgement: The financial support from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)/University of Guelph - Bioeconomy for Industrial Uses Research Program (Project # 030251); and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and IGPC Ethanol, Canada through Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) Bioproducts AgSci Cluster Program (Project # 053786 and 054015).