Flame retardants
Additives that slow ignition and flame spread in plastics, cables, foams and textiles; about 2.3 Mt a year, led by aluminium hydroxide and bromine compounds.
Specialty chemicals · Performance additives · No. 79
- Product family
- Feedstock: Minerals and salts
- about 2.3 Mt a year (Ceresana 2024 edition, 2023 base); 2.19 Mt in the 2022 edition
- 2.4 t CO₂e per t
- HS 382499
The biggest flame retardant is not an exotic chemical but plain aluminium hydroxide, which puts out fire by releasing water.
Chart: Illustration: Flame retardants
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Aluminium hydroxide is precipitated from alumina refinery liquor; brominated types are made with Dead Sea or brine bromine, and DBDPE is about 82% bromine.
Three things to know
- Brominated retardants are 28% of the market in Asia but only about 4-5% in Western Europe, reflecting stricter rules.
- Halogen-free cables for metros and data centres need very high mineral loadings, around 50-65% of the compound.
- Construction takes about 33% of flame retardants, mostly for insulation foams and panels that must pass fire codes.
The journey
- 1 Raw mineralsBauxite, Dead Sea bromine, phosphate, antimony
- 2 SynthesisPrecipitation, bromination or phosphorus chemistry
- 3 CompoundingMixed in at 1-65% depending on type
- 4 ProductsInsulation foam, circuit boards, cables, textiles
- 5 Fire safetySlows ignition and flame spread