Partial to Full Esterification of Tannic Acid to Produce Fire Retardant Epoxy Formulations
A new esterification process uses tannic acid to create a non-toxic, renewable, and cost-effective fire retardant that exceeds the performance of highly toxic halogenated alternatives.
Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new esterification process for using tannic acid as a fire retardant. Halogenated flame retardants (HFR) have been used as a fire prevention standard for everything from furniture, automotive, and construction to electronic circuit board applications; however, these materials have been found to be highly toxic - even creating birth defects in children and causing cancer. The composition developed by Purdue researchers provides a non-toxic, renewable, and biologically based fire-retardant solution. The tannic-acid based fire retardant exceeded the performance of a commonly used HFR, triphenylphosphate (TTP), in mass loss calorimetry.
Advantages
-Nontoxic
-Renewable
-Cost Effective
Applications
-Automotive
-Electronics
-Furniture
-Construction
TRL: 5
Intellectual Property:
Provisional-Gov. Funding, 2020-04-15, United States | Utility-Gov. Funding, 2021-02-15, United States | PCT-Gov. Funding, 2021-02-15, WO
Keywords: Tannic acid, fire retardant, esterification, non-toxic, renewable, biologically based, flame retardant, halogenated alternative, triphenylphosphate alternative, mass loss calorimetry, Chemistry, Chemistry and Chemical Analysis, Epoxy, Flame Retardants, Furniture, Material Development, Materials Engineering, Materials Science, Polymers