23 March 2010
Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Campus
This Seminar is sponsored jointly by the Oil & Colour Chemists' Association and the Society of Dyers and Colourists.
"Liar Liar Pants on Fire" is a long forgotten playground taunt used by children when one of their fellow pupils was considered to be fibbing. It's worth noting that "pants on fire" is a euphemism for the after effects of a jolly good spanking rather than a case for using flame-retardants in textiles.
From faulty electric wiring to unattended chip pans and vehicle fires to arson, fire claims a large number of lives and seriously injures thousands of people in the UK each year. It destroys millions of pounds worth of property, not to mention the costs incurred in lost productivity and profits.
With campaigns such as "Fire Kills - You can prevent it" much is being done by the Government and the Fire and Rescue Service to reduce the number of fire incidents through education, research and raising awareness. Whilst these measures are vital and commendable, fire is inevitable along with its devastating consequences.
Whilst prevention is not always possible, protection plays an important part in saving lives and minimising damage. The textiles and surface coatings industries have an important role to play. In passive fire protection intumescents and flame-retardants have a major role in providing safer furnishings and coatings. This seminar will commence with a short presentation from those who fight fire on the front line, the Fire and Rescue Service. The chemistry of fire will be described and more than likely some first hand case histories will be used to highlight incidents where passive fire protection either provided, or might have provided, a less damaging outcome.
The use of intumescents and environmentally friendly flame-retardants will provide the basis for two of the presentations, one applying to paint coatings, the other to textiles. Naturally with the objective being the same for both industries, it will be interesting to see whether the technologies involved are transferable from one to the other.
There will be an interesting talk on the proposed update to the Furnishing Regulations from a UK standpoint. This presentation, which will raise some very important concerns, is hot off the press, having been presented for the first time in France in February 2010. Other presentations will look at fire risk assessment, fire testing and inspection.
This event will not only appeal to technical employees working in the paint coatings and textiles industries, it will also be of interest to allied industries, architects, designers and fire fighting personnel. Fire affects every one of us so awareness of prevention and protection can never be underestimated.
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The Chemistry and Consequences of Fire
Biography: Ian is a Group Manager working in the Fire Protection Department, which is responsible for the policing and enforcing of the Fire Safety Order (2005). He has a range of fire service experience and this includes an operational element to his role that sees him attending a wide range of incidents throughout the County.
Abstract: Fire is defined as a rapid, persistent chemical change that releases heat and light and is accompanied by flame. It is an important process that affects ecological systems across the planet. Humans have used it for cooking, generating heat, signalling and propulsion purposes. These are just some of its constructive uses, but fire has a destructive side. Whether accidental or deliberate, the consequences are the same; destruction of property, injury and loss of life. This opening presentation will feature an introduction to the chemistry of fire. This will highlight the essential ingredients that are required to start a fire, along with the most common causes. Statistics will be used to illustrate the cost of fire in terms of loss of life and property as well as insurance claims. Finally, some case histories will be presented to demonstrate the devastating effects of fire.
Thin Film Intumescent Coatings for Structural Steel
Biography: Shailesh Purohit is a Health, Safety and Environment Manager with Jotun Paints (Europe) Ltd based in Flixborough in North Lincolnshire. He is a qualified Science and Chemical Technology Post Graduate from Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Nagpur - India. Shailesh has worked in the surface coatings field for over 33 years beginning as an Apprentice Paint Technologist with Blundell Eomite Paints in Thane, (Mumbai) India in 1977.
Abstract: Jotun Paints (Europe) Ltd is an International Coatings manufacturing company with factories and agents in over 40 countries with head quarters in Norway. It manufactures a full range of surface coatings ranging from decorative coatings for aggressive Nordic & Middle Eastern climates, anti fouling coatings for the worlds marine ships and protective coatings for steels structures. Some of its prestigious projects include the Eiffel Tower, Channel Tunnel, Luxury Ocean Liner Queen Mary II, Al Burj (Dubai) the only 7* Hotel in the World and the Burj Khalifa Tower - the tallest structure in the World. Jotun has been working on intumescent coatings and supplied protective coatings to many prestigious projects such as Channel Tunnel. In plain jargon free terms, the speaker will outline key highlights of fire protection via intumescing coatings. The talk is very much practical aspects oriented and based on Jotun's experience so far.
Upgrade of the British Furniture and Fire Regulations (1998)
Biography: Peter Collings has been responsible for the laboratory function at Thor UK Flame Retardant Department for over five years. He is 29 years of age and has just completed his studies for a degree in Chemistry at the Manchester Metropolitan University. He has overseas experience having carried out successful flame retardant trials in such places as China and Mexico. He is married and has two young children, living in Runcorn.
Abstract: The Furniture & Furnishings Regulations (1988) are now over twenty years old, and in need of an update. Pressure is now on BERR (The current name for the old DTI government dept) to amend or re-write the regulations. The object of the presentation is to propose the revision and continuation of the British Regulations rather than to adopt the less severe European Standards.
Coatings Fire Risk Analysis - The Fire Hazard of Multiple Layers of Paint
Biography: David Haythornthwaite is the principal consultant at Salamander Fire Risk Analysis, who offers a coatings consultancy and fire risk assessment service. Their key objective is to increase levels of fire safety in the built environment via the correct specification and use of fire protective paints. This is an area where there seems to be a considerable lack of knowledge at all levels, from architect to Building Control to building owner. Prior to setting up the consultancy David worked for over 30 years either in or around the paint industry, initially in R & D, then technical services and latterly in sales.
Abstract: Over the last 25 years a number of well documented fires have occurred in the UK, where the rate of spread of the fire was clearly accelerated due to the presence of multiple layers of conventional (i.e. non flame retardant) paints. After discussing brief case histories for these fires, UK Legislation and testing standards for flame retardant paints will be reviewed. The reaction of coatings to fire will be briefly discussed and the results of recent research presented. These have resulted in the production of the Warrington Blue Board and Flame-Retardant "Upgrade" Systems. The presentation concludes with an introduction to the concept of Coatings Fire Risk Analysis, the results of which lead to risk assessment based recommendations for the use of flame-retardant systems over previous decoration.
A New Development in Eco Friendly Flame Retardants
Biography: Dr Jamie Hawkes gained his BSc in Colour and Polymer Chemistry at the University of Leeds and then went on to complete his PhD under the guidance of Prof David Lewis. He subsequently took the position of Lecturer in Colour Science at the University of Science and Engineering in Wuhan, China; where he led a government-funded national research project aimed at treating dyehouse effluent. Jamie is currently the Technical Director of Perachem Ltd, a research and development business with a wide portfolio of eco-friendly products ranging from personal care to textile chemicals; all of which have a cleaner, greener, safer approach to current commercial products in each market sector.
Abstract: Globally, fires account for four in a thousand persons who die each year, making them the 4th largest cause of accidental death. Flame retardants are used in a wide variety of common materials including plastics, textiles, wood, paper, and surface coatings. In the textiles industry, flame retardants are a particularly important requirement for certain fabrics, where the risk of fire or the financial and human cost is perceived to be high. Traditional fabric flame retardant treatments based on organ halogen compounds, or based on materials that evolve formaldehyde, have attracted considerable concern in the industry for their safety and environmental impact. This paper describes the development of chemical treatments that resist the spread of flame on certain substrates without using organ bromines or formaldehyde generating materials. These treatments modify the chemistry of the substrate in such a way that a protective char is formed when the article is exposed to flame. The initial targets for the new process are certain textiles and paper where the fibres can be chemically modified using conventional equipment. For the textile market the treatments are targeted at fabrics that may be machine-washed during their lifetime.
Ammonium Polyphosphate and its Role as a Flame Retardant
Biography: Paul Baxter is a Graduate Chemist with several years of experience as a Process Technologist and Sales Manager, having worked for ICI, CPL Aromas, Croda and Arizona Chemicals prior to joining ISC Ltd.
Abstract: Paul Baxter will provide a general introduction to flame-retardant mechanisms. He will then focus on the role of Ammonium Polyphosphate in the 21st century. This will include a description of the different grades available and their application as a flame-retardant in paint coatings and textiles. The speaker will move on to talk about some interesting new developments in APP as well as other flame-retardants.
From Textiles to Surface Coatings: a case study in how changing FR legislation has resulted in a new solution for both existing and new markets
Biography: After graduation from the University of Liverpool where he obtained BSs (Hons) in Chemical Physics and an MSc in Surface and Interface Science, Mark worked in production at Bostik Limited. During his time at Bostik he completed an MPhil in Optimisation of an Industrial Chemical Process. He joined Dartex Coatings in 1998 and became Production Director in 2001.
Abstract: Dartex Coatings is a transfer coater and laminator which has specialised in making stretch, waterproof coated textiles for the medical mattress market. In 2003 the coming changes in legislation (WEEE and RoHS) meant that we had to look at alternative FR systems for our traditional market. Unfortunately we could not identify an existing system that met the environmental and FR requirements for the Class 1 medical devices, which did not adversely affect the other key performance parameters of the product. This lead to the development of a new system of FR which resulted in the required product performance and enhanced FR properties - MelaphosFR. The nature of the mode of operation of the FR has lead to interesting diversification from the original intended market to other applications as the spread of flame results are very good. A new stage in the company's development has just begun.
Phosphorus Rich Polymers and Mixed Intumescent Polymeric Salts. A new Generation of Flame Retardants
Biography: David Aslin has been working with intumescent and flame retardant systems since 1982 and operating Prometheus Developments as an RTD provider and consultancy in fire protection products since 1989.
Abstract: The paper will discuss Phosphorus Rich Polymers (PRP) and the derivative technology, Mixed Intumescent Polymeric Salts (MIPS). These new materials provide systems of fire protection as well as enhancements to the reaction to fire behaviour of flammable substrates and materials. The products involve a novel chemistry that integrates the functional components of conventional intumescents at the molecular scale to produce non-flammable and intumescent polymeric materials that activate at low temperatures while producing negligible smoke. All systems are halogen free. Principles of formulating with the multiple forms of the PRP and MIPS products will be discussed.