THE EFFECTS OF UREA BORAX AND AMMONIA PHOSPHATE FIRE RETARDANT PROPERTIES ON POLYVINYL CHLORIDE
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The effects of non-halogenated fire retardants, Urea, Borax, and Ammonium Phosphate, were investigated in this study. PVC films were prepared by dissolving finely divided PVC in cyclohexanone and incorporating varying concentrations of each fire retardant. The treated samples were evaluated for fire resistance, bulk density, tensile strength, and extensibility. Results showed that the urea-treated strip exhibited the highest resistance to fire, with a burning time of 720.00 seconds, while borax and ammonium phosphate recorded 260.40 seconds and 135.60 seconds, respectively. For bulk density, borax-treated films recorded the highest value of 3.8 kg/m³, followed by urea (2.6 × 10⁻⁴ kg/m³) and ammonium phosphate (6.0 × 10⁻⁶ kg/m³). Mechanical testing revealed that urea-treated films achieved the highest tensile strength (32.8 MPa) and elongation (18.6%), compared to borax (28.6 MPa;
14.3%), ammonium phosphate (18.4 MPa; 7.9%), and the blank control (12.5 MPa;
5.2%). The combination of additives produced intermediate results across all
parameters, indicating limited synergy. This research highlights the potential of urea
and borax as effective additives for producing safer and more environmentally
friendly PVC formulations with enhanced fire resistance and mechanical
performance.
Keywords: PVC films, flame retardants, urea, borax, ammonium phosphate,
burning rate, bulk density, tensile strength, elongation, fire resistance
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