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News Release from: Sabic Innovative Plastics | Subject: Niax silicone L-650
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 19 April 2005
Surfactant reduces flame-retardant use
Niax silicone L-650 offers a further 10 to 30% reduction by weight of flame-retardant use in slabstock foam applications, compared with earlier products in the industry.
GE Advanced Materials' Niax surfactant is a brand that is a familiar one to manufacturers versed in flexible slabstock polyurethane (PU) foam applications, particularly those that require the use of combustion modification additives Although GE's Niax surfactants are not inherently flame retardant (FR), they have been shown to deliver FR performance improvements to foam in small-scale combustibility tests
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 26 Feb 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Now, GE is launching Niax silicone L-650, which offers a further 10 to 30% reduction by weight of flame-retardant use in slabstock foam applications, compared with earlier products in the industry.
An additional improvement: new Niax silicone L-650 can be applied in conventional foam manufacturing processes, as well as those that use carbon dioxide (CO2) as an auxiliary blowing agent.
Niax silicone L-650 may be an excellent candidate for use in FR grades of foam for furniture, bedding, and automotive products, to reduce the amount of flame retardant required to pass small-scale tests like California Technical Bulletin 117 and MVSS-302.
In addition to its outstanding FR improvement, this quality may also translate into reduced material costs for manufacturers who use GE's Niax silicone L-650.
"GE's introduction of Niax silicone L-635 in 2002 re-established equal processing performance for flame-retardant surfactants", said Lee Lawler, GE Advanced Materials' Global Technology Leader, Flexible Slabstock Foam.
"Our Niax silicone L-650 continues this level of processing flexibility with the added value of improved performance and costs".
GE's new Niax silicone L-650 provides excellent froth formation and stability as required in CO2 processes to help make soft and low-density foam grades.
It also delivers wide processing latitude, very fine cell structure in CO2 processes, and a very broad grade range latitude.
GE Advanced Materials' new Niax silicone L-650 is virtually unrivalled in boosting - at reduced use levels - flame-retardant performance for flexible PU foam.
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