Heat Build-Up and Fire Performance of Wood-Polypropylene Composites Containing Recycled Mineral Wool

Abstract

The heat build-up and fire performance of wood plastic composites containing recycled mineral wool filler were investigated. Six wood polypropylene composites with recycled mineral wool content between 0 % and 64 % were evaluated. It was found that the heat build-up of the studied composites increased with initial addition of recycled mineral wool, but increasing the content of recycled mineral wool in the composites further did not have a notable effect onthe heat build-up. Fire performance investigation showed that the addition of recycled mineral wool into the composites did not decrease the magnitude of heat release rate peak, but decreased the total heat release of the composites. Investigation of residual masses after the pyrolysis demonstrated a good dispersion of recycled mineral wool fibers in the polymer matrix. It is concluded that fire protection of the polymer matrix is essential when developing the fire performance of wood plastic composites with recycled mineral wool as filler.