AQUEOUS FLAME RETARDANT COMPOSITION FOR MINERAL FIBER-BASED MAT, AND MATS OBTAINED

Abstract

The present invention concerns an aqueous flame retardant composition for mineral fiber-based mats, in particular glass or rock fibers, which comprises: at least one thermoplastic or thermoset resin; magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH).sub.2, and aluminum hydroxide, AlOOH, as flame retarding agents; and optionally, carbon black.

It also concerns mats treated with said flame retardant composition.

Claims

1. A mat, comprising: non-woven mineral fibers; and an aqueous flame retardant composition, wherein the mineral fibers are treated with the aqueous flame retardant composition, and wherein the aqueous flame retardant composition comprises: water; a thermoset resin, wherein the thermoset resin is an acrylic resin selected from the group consisting of a polyvinylidene chloride-acrylic acid resin, an acrylic acid-styrene resin, and a polyacrylic acid resin, a urea-formaldehyde resin, or a mixture thereof; magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH).sub.2, and aluminum hydroxide, AlOOH in a quantity by weight of from 5 to 60% of the total weight of the thermoset resin, the Mg(OH).sub.2, and the AlOOH; and optionally, carbon black.

2. The mat of claim 1, wherein the quantity by weight of thermoset resin in the flame retardant composition is from 40% to 95% of the total weight of the thermoset resin, the Mg(OH).sub.2, and the AlOOH.

3. The mat of claim 1, wherein the proportion by weight of Mg(OH).sub.2:AlOOH is in the range from 0.3:0.7 to 0.7:0.3.

4. The mat of claim 1, further comprising: at least one mineral filler selected from the group consisting of calcium carbonate, a clay, talc, and mica.

5. The mat of claim 4, wherein the quantity of mineral filler is up to 30% of the total weight of the thermoset resin, the Mg(OH).sub.2, and the AlOOH.

6. The mat of claim 1, wherein the carbon black is present and the quantity of carbon black is from 10% to 30% of the total weight of the thermoset resin, the Mg(OH).sub.2, and the AlOOH.

7. The mat of claim 1, wherein the mat does not comprise carbon black.

8. The mat of claim 1, wherein the non-woven mineral fibers are fibers of glass or rock.

9. The mat of claim 1, wherein the mineral fibers are in the form of filaments, threads composed of a multitude of filaments (base threads), or assemblies of said base threads into rovings.

10. The mat of claim 1, further comprising synthetic or natural organic fibers.

11. The mat of claim 1, having a mass per unit area in the range 10 to 1100 g/m.sup.2.

12. The mat of claim 1, wherein the flame retardant composition is from 7% to 30% of the weight of the mat, calculated on the basis of the solid materials.

13. The mat of claim 1, wherein the non-woven mineral fibers are formed from glass.

14. The mat of claim 1, wherein the thermoset resin is a urea-formaldehyde resin.

15. The mat of claim 1, wherein the thermoset resin is a polyvinylidene chloride-acrylic acid resin, an acrylic acid-styrene resin, or a polyacrylic acid resin.

16. The mat of claim 1, wherein the proportion by weight of Mg(OH)2:AlOOH is in the range 0.4:0.6 to 0.7:0.3.

17. The mat of claim 1, having a mass per unit area in the range 35 to 75 g/m.sup.2.

Description

EXAMPLES 1 TO 7

[0061] Aqueous flame retardant compositions were prepared containing the constituents shown in Table 1 in proportions expressed as the % by weight, with the parts by weight being in parentheses. The various constituents were introduced into a vessel containing water at ambient temperature with moderate agitation until a uniform dispersion was obtained.

[0062] The solid matter content (dry extract) of the flame retardant compositions was equal to 13%.

[0063] A mat of E glass fibers was produced using the wet procedure, operating the process in accordance with the first implementation of the invention, wherein the aqueous flame retardant composition was applied by deposition onto the non-bonded fiber mat. The excess binder was sucked off and the mat was placed in an oven at 210 C. for 1 minute.

[0064] The mat obtained had a mass per unit area of 60 g/m.sup.2 and contained 20% by weight of infusible binder.

[0065] The flame propagation distance and the appearance of the flame are given in Table 1.

[0066] The flame propagation distance of Example 1 containing a urea-formaldehyde resin was lower than that in Examples 3 and 4, thus demonstrating a synergistic effect in the presence of a mixture of Mg(OH).sub.2 and AlOOH.

[0067] A higher Mg(OH).sub.2 and AlOOH content (Example 2) meant that the flame propagation distance was divided by 4.

[0068] The flame propagation distance for the mat of Example 5 containing an acrylic resin was much lower than that for Example 7.

[0069] The non-colored mat of Example 6 also exhibited a reduction in the flame propagation distance compared with Example 7.

EXAMPLES 8 TO 11

[0070] Aqueous flame retardant compositions containing the constituents shown in Table 2 were prepared in proportions expressed as a % by weight, with the parts by weight being in parentheses. The compositions were prepared under the same conditions as in Examples 1 to 7.

[0071] A glass fiber mat was produced, operating the process in accordance with the second implementation of the invention.

[0072] Firstly, an E glass fiber mat was produced using the wet procedure: a binder composition containing a urea-formaldehyde resin was applied to the formed mat, the excess of said composition was eliminated and the mat was introduced into an oven at 210 C. for 1 minute.

[0073] The mat obtained contained 10% by weight of cured urea-formaldehyde resin and had a mass per unit area equal to 45 g/m.sup.2.

[0074] Secondly, the aqueous flame retardant composition was deposited onto the bound mat of fibers by curtain coating, then it was introduced into an oven at 210 C. for 1 minute.

[0075] Finally, the mat had a mass per unit area of 60 g/m.sup.2 and contained 12.5% by weight of infusible flame retardant composition.

[0076] The measurements of the properties of the mats obtained are shown in Table 2.

[0077] Example 8 of the invention had better fire resistance than Examples 9 and 10: the flame propagation distance and also the superior calorific value were reduced compared with Examples 9 and 10.

[0078] The superior calorific value for Example 8 was lower than Example 11, which contained an identical quantity of phosphorus-containing flame retarding agent.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 1 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 7 Ex. 1 Ex. 2 (comp.) (comp.) Ex. 5 Ex. 6 (comp.) Flame retardant composition urea-formaldehyde resin.sup.(1) 68.8 (94.50) 60.8 (83.50) 68.8 (94.50) 68.8 (94.50) acrylic resin.sup.(2) 60.8 (83.50) 88.0 (88.0) 72.8 (100.0) Mg(OH).sub.2 2 (2.75) 6 (8.25) 4 (5.50) 6 (8.25) 6 (6) AlOOH 2 (2.75) 6 (8.25) 4 (5.50) 6 (8.25) 6 (6) carbon black 27.2 (37.36) 27.2 (37.36) 27.2 (37.36) 27.2 (37.36) 27.2 (37.36) 27.2 (37.36) Properties flame propagation distance 120 30 >150 >150 20 100 120 (mm) appearance of flame fleeting fleeting fleeting persistent fleeting fleeting fleeting fogging test visual evaluation n. d. n. d. n. d. V1/V2 n. d. n. d. n. d. T n. d. n. d. n. d. 0.0029 (T1) n. d. n. d. n. d. n.d.: not determined .sup.(1)Marketed under reference Prefere 71400 J by the supplier DYNEA .sup.(2)Marketed under reference Acrodur 950L by the supplier BASF

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 2 Ex. 9 Ex. 10 Ex. 11 Ex. 8 (comp.) (comp.) (comp.) Flame retardant composition acrylic resin.sup.(2) 44.6 (86.4) 44.6 (86.4) 44.6 (86.4) 44.6 (100) Mg(OH).sub.2 3.5 (6.8) 7 (13.6) AlOOH 3.5 (6.8) 7 (13.6) phosphorus-containing 7 (15.7) compound.sup.(3) carbon black 24.8 (48.0) 24.8 (48.0) 24.8 (48.0) 24.8 (55.6) CaCO.sub.3 23.6 (41.0) 23.6 (41.0) 23.6 (41.0) 23.6 (52.9) Properties flame propagation distance 17 25 21 17 (mm) fleeting fleeting fleeting fleeting appearance of flame 2.7 4.6 4.5 3.2 SCP .sup.(1)Marketed under reference Acrodur 950L by the supplier BASF .sup.(3)Marketed under reference Kappaflam P31 by the supplier KAPP CHIMIE