Taking out your phone, or plugging in your laptop. Two common activities we don’t give a second thought — but, do you know what stops these seemingly mundane actions from causing fires? Why your device doesn’t spontaneously combust while being charged? Flame retardants —-yet another hero making advanced technology possible. We don’t notice them, but flame retardants play a crucial role in certifying our electronics, appliances, and even large-scale industrial systems as safe to use.

All About Those Flame Retardants

Put quite simply they are a barrier that keeps things from blowing up – and this applies to appliances, buildings, and anywhere else that is susceptible to some flames.

When it comes to circuit boards and cables, flame retardants are mission-critical when it comes to safety, protecting your investment from malfunction, and handling situations when electronics become heated to the point of a fire.

But, they don’t just prevent a fire from occurring — flame retardant materials allow for time for people to safely evacuate and locals to react to fires in the early stages in order to minimize damage from the flames. Situations like these would be far more dangerous — and far more frequent — if the safeguards provided by flame retardants weren’t in place.

Why Are Flame Retardants Essential in Technology?

When you charge your smartphone or use high-power apps, the device gets hot as a natural byproduct. But, without the right controls, casual heating could lead to overheating — and then, something as simple as a charging cable could turn into a hazard or source of heat and flames. Inherent flame retardant materials are placed as part of a larger component inside the device to ensure nothing ignites.

How Do Flame Retardants Work?

Flame retardants work in different ways depending on their type:

• Chemical Reaction Alteration: Some disrupt the chemical reactions that fuel combustion.
• Heat Shield Formation: Others form a protective barrier or char layer, to insulate the fuel source, keeping oxygen away.
• Cooling Effect: Various materials will release water or gas that cools the material and flame.

Your Wi-Fi router may contain a halogen-free flame retardant around its house, in order to minimize the release of toxic gases in the event of a fire. This is yet another way that companies have started getting creative in order to create safer products for consumers and the environment as well.

Common Applications in Technology

1. Electronics and Gadgets

From smartphones to streaming devices, products use flame retardants on circuit boards and casings to protect the components from overheating— and consumers — from quite possibly being hurt.

2. Wiring and Cables

Cables can overheat when lots of current is running through them. Many power cables get an added flame-retardant coating to prevent them from igniting.

3. Home Appliances

Basically, anything in your home that you have to plug into a socket has flame retardants of the plastic kind. This means your favorite smoothie blender has flame retardants to keep it from blowing up!

4. Automobiles and Aviation

Not to make you paranoid but there are loads of current, gas, and wiring running through your car or your plane, and flame retardants are necessary for both these things to keep you nice and safe.

Flame Retardants That Are Pro Mother Earth

Flame retardants will be necessary as long as we use stuff that can spark a fire like well – heat and electricity. However, much like anything else that has ever been created by man – flame retardants have a sordid not-so-great for Mother Earth past – that thankfully is not the case anymore. Just about all flame retardants had stuff like Halogen in them which is bad.

However, companies like ICL Industrial Products have turned the flame retardant market on its head and have found a way to still make flame retardants just in a way that won’t damage the earth.

Tips for Choosing Flame-Retardant Products

• Keep Certification in Mind: You want to make sure this stuff is safe and approved by the powers that be so be on the lookout for that.
• Look for Halogen-Free Flame Retardants: Remember that bad halogen we mentioned earlier? When getting your flame retardant make sure it is nowhere on the ingredient list.
• Know the Intended Use: Just like all chemicals are not the same, all flame retardants do not perform equally. Depending on whether the product is used within electronics, polymers, textiles, or another application, the formula needs to contain different properties. (i.e. electronics require high thermal stability, flame retardants used in textiles need to be flexible, etc.)

The Future of Flame Retardants in Technology

The desire for safe, smarter products has pushed innovation for flame retardants to new limits. As the advancement of technology grows (hello 5G and electric vehicles) so do the environmental practices and chemical formulas to keep them safe. As all industries continue to find safer, more efficient practices for their products, flame retardants will continue to develop and be a part of our everyday technical cycle.