Evaluation of Fire-Retardant Properties of Emulsion, Text-Coat and Gloss Paints Modified with Bio-Based Extract of Acalypha Wilkesiana

Abstract

The impact of fire on concrete buildings has been found to tend towards strength reduction of the concrete building. Fire-retardant paints help to reduce the impact of fire on buildings and many researches are on to improve on fire-retardant paints. To this end, this paper investigated the fire-retardant properties of the bio-based extract of Acalypha wilkesiana in emulsion, text-coat and gloss paints. Acalypha leaves were subject to extraction in water and kerosene for three days. Emulsion, text-coat and gloss paints were produced. The fire point of the paint samples with a varying mass of extract was obtained to compare the flammability and obtain the optimum mass of extract needed for the best performance. The cube coated with 2 layers of text-coat paint of 0.45 g yielded the highest compressive strength. The best performing type of paint was text-coat paint. The coarse sand added during the production of text-coat paint assists in protecting the substrate material. Emulsion paint was the next best performing paint type while gloss paint was not advisable to be used for this purpose. The introduction of Acalypha wilkesiana as an additive had the fire point of the sample increased alongside the ignition time and the optimum mass of Acalypha wilkesiana extract that yielded the best fire-retardation of the paint was found to be 0.45g.