Flooring made of flame retardant PVC
A hot topic
The issue of PVC and flame retardance is worthy of serious discussion. However, the conclusion must by no means be that the versatile PVC must necessarily be excluded from every application. There are a number of excellent ways of making this plastic safer. One of the most promising is to employ Levamelt®.
The traditional method of improving the fire safety of PVC is to add large quantities of flame-retardant fillers such as aluminum hydroxide. However, if excessive quantities of this filler are added, the plastic can become brittle. Moreover, attempts to restore the elasticity of the material with additives often leads to significant drawbacks. For example, conventional liquid plasticizers are exuded in the case of fire and burn off on the surface. Adding nitrile rubber can lead to higher levels of smoke. Chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) is difficult to compound and polyurethanes are not always the most cost-effective solution.
The story is somewhat different for Levamelt®. Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers with the elastic characteristics of rubber and VA contents between 65 and 85 percent lend themselves very well to mixing with PVC and provide the thermoplastic with excellent flexibility and outstanding impact strength even at low temperatures. Moreover, as a non-migratory, oil- and UV-resistant modifier, Levamelt® is able to absorb large quantities of fillers without suffering any significant loss of elasticity. Based on small-scale laboratory tests, products made of Levamelt® may be formulated to meet govenmental standards for opacity of smoke. Therefore, it is expected that EVM/PVC blends are inherently safer than PVC alone.
(Flamability results are based on small-scale laboratory tests for the purpose of relative comparison and are not intended to refllect the hazards presented by this or any other material under actual fire conditions.)
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