In the general strive towards a circular chemistry, wood and fibre-based materials are receiving an ever increasing attention as construction materials. The general nanocellulose hype has also strengthened this trend and new cellulose-based materials are being presented continuously today. As a building block, cellulose has many advantages but one major drawback is the inherent moisture sensitivity and another is the fire propensity of pure cellulose. If the new materials are to be used in for example interior decorations they need to be resistant to fire and the ban on many commonly used fire retardants has increased the need for new treatments of the cellulose to make products from fibres/fibrils fire resistant/retardant. We have been using two different strategies for preparing fire resistant/retardant materials. In the first strategy we have been preparing phosphorylated cellulose nanofibrils (P-CNFs)1 to be used as fire-retardant building blocks in high density composites and low-density cellular materials. By using high resolution spectroscopic techniques we have been able to establish on which structural level the fibrils have been chemically modified and this has assisted in the understanding of the underlying mechanism for their fire-retardant action. In the second strategy we have been using a layer-by-layer (LbL) technique for modifying macroscopic cellulose fibres with nanometer thin LbL films and been able to create fire resistant/retardant papers2. By combining these techniques we have also been able to prepare fire-retardant, thin all-cellulose films by using P-CNF and cationically modified CNF (C-CNF). The fire retardancy has been evaluated by horizontal flame tests, flame penetration tests and cone calirometry and the mechanisms behind the action of the different have been studied by free-standing films of the active components.

Fire protection of cellulose materials, procedures and mechanisms

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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