- Author
- Ramakrishnan, M. S.
- Title
- Pyrolysis and Thermal Degradation of Rigid-Urethane Foams.
- Coporate
- Utah Univ., Salt Lake City
- Sponsor
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., Laguna Beach, CA
- Report
- Disseration #76-9813, December 1975, 177 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- rigid foams | pyrolysis | thermal degradation | thermal decomposition | halogens | degradation products
- Abstract
- An experimental program was designed and carried out to obtain a better understanding of the thermal decompositon processes pertaining to rigid-urethane foams. Further studies, incorporating several non-reactive halogen-containing phosphorous-based fire retardants, were conducted to determine changes in the decomposition phenomena which might be related to fire type and concentration on this generic class of polymers. A computerized analytical methodology was developed to permit positive identification and quantitation of the complex mixtures of degradation products produced during thermal decomposition. A series of low-density rigid-urethane foams, incorporating the selected fire retardants, were prepared by the "one-shot" process. All model foams were characterized using infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. In summary, the two-phase thermal degradation mechanism of rigid-urethane foam was analyzed by different techniques. The role played by oxygen on both the first and the second phase weight losses was investigated. The role played by the fire retardant in altering the nature of volatile products was investigated under both slow and fast heating conditions, which was of interest from a mechanistic as well as a toxicity point of view.