TY - JOUR A1 - Battig, Alexander A1 - Sanchez-Olivares, G. A1 - Rockel, Daniel A1 - Maldonado-Santoyo, M. A1 - Schartel, Bernhard T1 - Waste not, want not: The use of leather waste in flame retarded EVA N2 - Leather is among the most ancient, widely used materials worldwide. Industrial-scale leather production produces large quantities of organic waste attained during shaving and buffing steps during processing. In this study, leather wastes (LW) are used as fillers in flame retarded polymer composites. LW is investigated as a multifunctional bio-filler that enhances the fire performance of flame retarded poly(ethylene–vinyl acetate) (EVA) containing phosphorus flame retardants (P-FRs) ammonium polyphosphate (APP) or a melamine-encapsulated APP (eAPP). Using LW from tanneries as adjuvants to enhance P-FRs in EVA reduces industrial wastes that otherwise require costly waste management solutions. Materials are characterized multi-methodically via mechanical tests, electron microscopy, rheology, thermogravimetric analysis, evolved gas analysis, and condensed phase FTIR, also reaction-to-small-flames and cone calorimeter tests. EVA containing 10 wt-% LW and 20 wt-% P-FRs achieve 20% reductions in fire loads versus EVA, and up to 10% reduction in effective heats of combustion versus EVA with equal (30 wt-%) P-FR loadings. Enhanced char stabilization of EVA composites with LW and P-FRs lowered peaks of heat release rates up to 53% compared to EVA, and up to 40% compared to equal P-FRs loadings. Synergisms between LW and P-FRs in EVA are quantified. A chemical decomposition mechanism is proposed. KW - Leather waste KW - Tannery industry KW - EVA KW - Fire protection KW - Flame retardancy KW - Charring PY - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-532977 SN - 0264-1275 VL - 210 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-53297 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sanchez Olivares, G. A1 - Battig, Alexander A1 - Goller, Sebastian M. A1 - Rockel, Daniel A1 - Ramirez Gonzáles, V. A1 - Schartel, Bernhard T1 - Imparting Fire Retardancy and Smoke Suppression to Leather during Tanning Processes N2 - Leather is considered a luxury good when used in seating and upholstery. To improve safety, flame retardancy in leather is usually achieved through various finishing processes such as spray or roller coating. These treatments require processing steps that cost time and are laborintensive. One avenue to achieving flame retardancy in leather is to add flame retardants during the tanning process. However, the influence on flame retardancy exerted by specific intumescent additives specifically added during leather tanning has yet to be investigated. This work explores the roles played by intumescent additive compounds in flame retarding leather when they are added during tanning instead of applied as a coating. Via a systematic investigation of various compound mixtures, the flame retardant effects in the condensed and the gas phases are elucidated. The results show a strong impact of melamine in the gas phase and of polyphosphates in the condensed phase. Their impact was quantified in fire and smoke analysis, showing a 14% reduction in the peak of heat release rate, strongly reduced burning lengths, and a 20% reduction in total smoke release compared to nontreated leather. These results illuminate the key role played by specific compounds in the flame retardancy of leather, particularly when they are added specifically during the tanning process instead of being applied as a coating. This method has great potential to reduce processing steps, lower costs, and improve material safety. KW - Leather KW - Fire protection KW - Intumescent additives KW - Smoke suppression PY - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-564777 SN - 2470-1343 VL - 7 IS - 48 SP - 44156 EP - 44169 PB - ACS AN - OPUS4-56477 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -