Wood Flour and Other Fiber Composites: Properties and Flame Retardancy

Flame retardant materials prevent and slow down the spread of fireby hindering the combustion of the given material, and in some cases, the flame retardants create a protective coating on the surface of the burning material. The flame retardant can be used with the base material as an additive flame retardant or chemically grafted to the material as a reactive flame retardant. Most flame retardants release highly-toxic components which are harmful to the environment. Currently, an intriguing area of research work focusses on the synthesis and characterization of environmentally friendly flame retardants that are novel, efficient, have lower toxicity, and are bio-based materials. Natural plant-based fibers have been used in several composite applications including automotive, construction, and agriculture. The current work presents wood fiber-reinforced composites for use as flame-retardant products. The reaction mechanism of how the flame retardants work will be illustrated and the chemical, thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of the flame-retardant composites will also be discussed.