Flame retardants to enhance natural qualities
During a car fire, it’s only a matter of minutes until temperatures soar to an astonishing 900°C. During experiments, it becomes clear how vital the flame-retardant properties actually are, as the first few minutes of smoldering are still at lower temperatures, before the flames spread and ‘flashover’ occurs. This is where leather can buy you vital time, particularly with flame retardant technology (treatment with fire retardant chemistry) that slows down ignition and eventual combustion. It is the last line of defense that can make the difference between life and death. That’s why flame retardants matter, as they enhance the properties that are already there.
And that is again where leather has the advantage, as its natural qualities can be improved during the whole production process from tanning to finishing (and aftercare). Other materials mostly rely on treatment during the finishing stage, where leather is enhanced to its very fibers. The difference? When the burning speed of artificial PU laminate was tested in comparison to leather, it showed a burn length of +82%*. If we go back the race, it means the PU is the hare that finishes almost twice as fast! Now, in a starting car fire, that means a difference between having two minutes or just one.
Chemical use in fire safety
Within the EU, the use of chemicals is carefully monitored. The leather industry is always looking to reduce its environmental footprint and looks for safer water-based chemistry when It comes to improving fire safety of interior materials. This way, leather manufacturers provide high safety standards, but with a lower environmental impact, to make the difference there where it matters most.
Find out more aboutleather properties.
Footnote:
*In this standardized set-up, JAR/FAR 25853-compliant testing used in the aviation industry, a minimum of 3 specimens of the material are tested in a vertical position in exposure to a Bunsen burner flame at the lower end for a) 60 seconds, b) 12 seconds.
Insights and numbers cited in this article are derived from the following resources:
- Brushlinsky, Ahrens, Sokolov & Wagner (2018)World Fire Statistics
- Kozlowski, Ryszard & Mieleniak, Bozena & Muzyczek, Malgorzata & Fiedorow, Ryszard. (2006) Flammability and Flame retardancy of leather.
- Li, Zhu, Zhu, Yu, Gao & Jiang (2017). Flame spread and smoke temperature of full-scale fire test of car fire.
- Bacardit, Borràs, Soler, Herrero, Jorge and Ollé (2010), Behavior of Leather as a Protective Heat Barrie rand Fire Resistant Material.
