COATING
Sustainably Shaping the Future
of the Flame Retardant Market By Joe Kennard
T
he use of flame retardemand for more products dants is a societal to meet current and future c o nu n d r u m . Th e flame retardant standards. need to protect human Manufacturers can’t simply life and property from state that their products fire is the foundation for contain a flame retardant the use of flame retar– the filters must meet dants. The protection of specific flame retardant human life also brings test standards over the life into consideration the cycle of the filters. sustainable environmental impact that f lame Flame Retardants for retardants may present. Filtration Media Balancing the chemistry While there is still deto protect human life in mand and a place for a sustainable manner is low-cost flame retardant the challenge that evsalts, non-durable flame eryone must embrace. retardant coatings, and Antimony and haloflame retardant coatgen s ( bromin e and ings containing heavy chlorine) have been metals and halogens, used for several decades companies concerned p The Stahl full life cycle of flame-retardant solutions has been evaluated from initial production as cost-effective flame through recycling at the end of consumer product life. Stahl’s flame-retardant solutions have been with producing sustainretardants. In recent deemed safe for continued use, making them the durable and reliable choice. Stahl able filtration media are times, these chemistries moving forward with have drawn the attention of groups concerned primarily with the new sustainable chemistries. Stahl currently has multiple flame impact on mankind’s health because of environmental concerns. retardant additives and coatings that have been designed specifiAs new chemistries are developed, there may be tradeoffs in terms cally for filtration media manufacturers who are focused on develof efficiency, cost, and performance; however, the protection oping new sustainable filtration media. Although these products of human life must be the primary focus when developing new have been designed for 100% cellulosic media, they can also be consumer products. used on some cellulosic/synthetic blends. Many governments will continue to mandate or legislate Additional R&D work is focused on bio-based chemistries, additional flame retardant standards for filters or environments polymeric fire retardant systems, synergistic action between s where filters are used. History has shown that the flame retardant ustainable elemental chemistries. Stahl has already successfully standards continue to evolve to more stringent requirements and/ incorporated bio-based chemistries in several polymers (as recogor additional requirements to guide manufacturers to provide nized by the EcoVadis Platinum award) and this provides a basis the best technology to better protect the end users. Additionally, for the development of the next generation of sustainable polythe litigation environment is another driver that is affecting the mers that can be used in the filtration market. Looking “outside
18 IFN ISSUE 6 2023
