FLAME RETARDANTS tailings ponds and has led to several environmental disasters in Europe and Asia , resulting in massive damage to local environments . More recently , red mud has been stored in remote bauxite mines , keeping it out-of-sight and outof-mind of most customers . There is , however , an alternative to red mud in ATH production . USowned and Guyana-based First Bauxite produces a unique bauxite that functions as an FR without any caustic processing . This new source of allnatural bauxite is produced with 90 % less energy and a 90 % reduced carbon footprint versus other ATH grades . The performance is equivalent to traditional ground ATH with more competitive pricing as well . First Bauxite grades are available in Europe and the US with local milling .
Alternative minerals
Natural mineral FR solutions without processing are very rare . For example , natural forms of ATH ( gibbsite ) and MDH ( brucite ) do exist but are not readily available . Other minerals , however , are showing new promise as active FRs and synergists . Minerals such as kaolin can increase the intumescent effect of other materials such as phosphinates , allowing for better performance with less synthetic chemistry . In some formulas , active FRs can be reduced by up to 25 % with the addition of kaolin , wollastonite or other charsupporting minerals .
Another potent example is Greenlandbased Lumina ’ s development of a surface-treated reactive mineral . Under flame conditions , Lumina ’ s natural anorthosite reacts with the surface treatment to form a char . This insulative intumescent layer blocks flame growth to achieve FR performance . The surface treatment allows for flexibility with reaction temperatures up to 350 ° C allowing for processing in high-temperature resins . In addition to having no health risks , the material is produced with minimal energy and
CO 2
. Polyolefins with this additive can achieve V2 or V0 rating , depending on the loading level .
Co-production independence
A further upstream concern is looking at competing and co-production in FR manufacturing . For example , phosphorus-based FRs depend on the price of phosphoric acid as a raw material for chemical synthesis .
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