June 2017 – Hot circuitry, shorts or accumulated dust clouds that ignite: all of these factors can cause a fire in electrical or electronic devices. Manufacturers therefore add a variety of chemical flame retardants to the various flammable materials. Flame retardants help to prevent fires entirely or delay their outbreak, giving people more time to escape to safety. Flame retardants like those marketed by LANXESS can inhibit or even prevent the outbreak of fire inside electronic devices and therefore save lives.

Flame retardants are found not only in plastics for the electrical/electronics industry, but also, for example, in the polyurethanes used by auto manufacturers to cushion seats, roof liners, rear decks and side liners. LANXESS and its phosphorus-based Disflamoll®, Reofos® and Levagard® products are therefore reliable partners for all these applications. The specialty chemical company's flame retardants are used everywhere highly flammable materials are found, for instance in flexible and rigid foams, fabrics and furniture, circuit boards, connectors and computer housings.

Brominated flame retardants likewise are capable of protecting electronics against fire. They are also used in the construction industry in building insulation. In this sector, flame retardance requirements are on the rise particularly due to the trend toward energy-efficient construction.

LANXESS recently acquired the U.S.-based chemicals company Chemtura. Chemtura’s former business with brominated flame retardant additives, bromine and other bromine derivatives was merged with LANXESS’s existing phosphorus-based flame retardants business. Top brands include the Firemaster products, as well as the sustainable flame retardants in the Emerald Innovation line.