Flammability Characteristics of Thermally Modified Meranti Wood Treated with Natural and Synthetic Fire Retardants

• Main Authors: Milan Gaff, Hana Čekovská, Jiří Bouček, Danica Kačíková, Ivan Kubovský, Tereza Tribulová, Lingfeng Zhang, Salvio Marino, František Kačík
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Polymers
• Subjects: thermal modification; fire retardant; flammability characteristics; meranti
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/13/2160

This paper deals with the effect of synthetic and natural flame retardants on flammability characteristics and chemical changes in thermally treated meranti wood (<i>Shorea</i> spp.). The basic chemical composition (extractives, lignin, holocellulose, cellulose, and hemicelluloses) was evaluated to clarify the relationships of temperature modifications (160 °C, 180 °C, and 210 °C) and incineration for 600 s. Weight loss, burning speed, the maximum burning rate, and the time to reach the maximum burning rate were evaluated. Relationships between flammable properties and chemical changes in thermally modified wood were evaluated with the Spearman correlation. The thermal modification did not confirm a positive contribution to the flammability and combustion properties of meranti wood. The effect of the synthetic retardant on all combustion properties was significantly higher compared to that of the natural retardant.