Effects of Boric Acid and/or Borax Treatments on the Fire Resistance of Bamboo Filament

Abstract

Bamboo filament, a material often used for indoor decoration, should be treated with flame retardants for safe use. This study evaluated the effects of different boron fire retardants on the heat release and smoke release of bamboo filaments and untreated samples via a cone analysis. A thermogravimetric analyzer (TA) instrument was used to investigate the fire retardant mechanisms of the different boron compounds. The results showed that compared to the untreated samples, fire retardants that contained boric acid or borax effectively reduced the heat and smoke release from the bamboo filament. The effects of the different ingredients in the fire retardant on the combustion process were quite different. During the combustion process, borax displayed better performance for restraining the heat release rate than boric acid, while for the total amount of heat release and the smoke suspension performance, the result was the converse. The excellent synergistic effect could be obtained by a mixture that contained a reasonable proportion of boric acid and borax (Boric Acid:Borax = 1:1). In the pyrolysis process, boric acid had stronger catalytic dehydration, while the mass loss in the treated samples with boric acid or higher proportions of boric acid was less than the loss in the boraxtreated samples.

Improving Fire Resistance of Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) Wood Impregnated with Mixture of Borax and Boric Acid

“…The reason is that elements of boron could create a B2O3 layer that spread across the surface of the wood sample to isolate oxygen and fire (Yang and Qing 2014). The result is consistent with the study by Yu et al (2017b). In addition, bound water is released by boron compound caused cooling material and absorbing the heat (Marosi et al 2001).…”

“…Boron reduces significantly smoke release and suppresses smolder. This result is corresponding to the result of research by Yu et al (2017b) Therefore, the lower intensity of the smoke and smolder will be an important indicator to assess good fire retardant. Wang et al (2004) proposed an explanation that mixtures of borax and boric acid could produce a char as a catalytic consequence at a lower temperature.…”

“…Impregnating solution contains boron components to mahogany wood are attracted to be studied. A proportion of borax and boric acid (1:1 w/w) with a concentration of 20% showing excellent results on fireretardant properties on bamboo filament (Yu et al 2017b). This study aimed to investigate the effect of interaction between three different concentrations (5, 7, and 9 %) and at three different pressure levels (5, 7.5, and 10 atm) for 2 hours pressure time on absorption, retention, mass losses, and combustion properties of mahogany wood.…”

Laminated Wallboard Panels Made with Cellulose Nanofibrils as a Binder: Production and Properties

“…In such a case, the linear burning rate was not reported for the treated samples and for gypsum board according to the standard. There is a general agreement that boric acid forms a coating or protective layer on the surface of wood particle at high temperature [44][45][46]. Another proposed theory is that, at 100-300 • C, boric acid may catalyze the dehydration and other oxygen-eliminating reactions of wood [46].…”

Flame-Retardant and Smoke Suppression Properties of Nano MgAl-LDH Coating on Bamboo Prepared by an In Situ Reaction

“…In recent years, the demand for wood resources has gradually increased, but natural forestry is protected in China [1]. Therefore, people need an alternative to wood.…”