The influence of ammonium polyphosphate on the smoke toxicity of wood materials

Abstract

As one of the most widely used flame retardants, the influence of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) on the smoke toxicity of wood materials is still unclear. Three kinds of wood materials were prepared, including wood, plywood, and flame-retardant plywood (FR-plywood), and their smoke compositions were characterized by thermogravimetric-Fourier-transform infrared (TG-FTIR) spectrometry and a cone calorimeter coupled with solvent absorption (CONE-SA). The results showed that compared with plywood, the CO, HCN and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of FR-plywood with APP increased by about 1.7 times, 6 times, and 1.1 times at a heat flux of 50 kW m−2, respectively. And fractional effective dose (FED) model was established. According to this model, the lethal concentration to produce death in 50% of test animals (LC50) of the FR-plywood was 3.3 times lower than that of plywood.