Posted April 5, 2016

 

ROSEVILLE, Minn. – In its continuing webinar series on flame-resistant (FR) textiles, the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) will cover Commercial Flame Retardants in Plastics/Rubbers and Textiles.

 

The webinar will take place April 19 from 2 p.m.-3 p.m. EST.

 

Recent developments and commercial challenges in the use of both halogen-containing and non-halogenated flame retardants in plastics/rubber and textiles will be reviewed. The pros/cons and efficacy of the major flame retardants, particularly for textile applications, will also be discussed.

 

For halogen-containing system, both traditional and new halogen-containing flame retardants, in combination with their synergists, will be presented. 

 

Non-halogenated flame retardants will include 1) metal hydroxides/metal oxides; 

2) nitrogen-containing compounds; 3) phosphorus compounds; 3) boron-based compounds; 4) silicon-based materials; 5) organic/carbon compounds; and 

6) sulfur-containing materials. Special emphasis will also be on synergistic interactions among flame retardants from the above-mentioned categories.

 

Examples of different flame retardant formulations for back-coating/fabric finishing, flame retardant fibers, layer-by-layer treatment, as well as inherently flame retardant fibers, will also be presented. 

 

Dr. Kelvin Shen to moderate

 

Haskell Beckham, Ph. D., Exponent, will moderate. Dr. Kelvin K. Shen, FR Consulting, will serve as speaker.

 

Dr. Shen is a technical and marketing consultant of flame retardant chemicals used in polymers. He holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and did his thesis work on Organometallic Chemistry and X-ray Crystallography at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He was a Research Fellow at Yale and Caltech, and taught at Drexel University and California State University at Los Angeles.

 

Since 1978, Dr. Shen has been involved in fire retardant research and market development. His main interest in fire retardant research has been involving the flammability and smoke reduction of both halogen-containing and halogen-free polymers. His recent interest has been in the use of nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon and boron compounds in halogen-free polymers. 

 

Dr. Shen sat on the board of directors of the Fire Retardant Chemical Association from 1990-1993. He has published works in different polymer journals, wrote several chapters in FR books, and has been a regular presenter at global FR conferences. He has been giving a short course at the BCC flame retardant conference and has been a consultant for Rio Tinto Minerals/U.S. Borax, NASA and several other major plastics/elastomers companies.

 

The webinar is free for members and $25 for non-members.

 

To register, please download this form and submit via e-mail here or by fax to +1 651 631 9334 c/o Omari Hoover.

 

Source: IFAI