The Application And Modification Direction Of Flame Retardant PP Materials In The Home Appliance Industry

The Application And Modification Direction Of Flame Retardant PP Materials In The Home Appliance Industry

With the increasing demand for flame retardant plastics due to the expansion of the home appliance market, the demand for flame retardant plastics in the field of home appliances is further increased by factors such as improved integration of home appliances, wide application of inverter technology, improved safety regulations and increased awareness of safety on the consumer side.

I. Industry Overview

Currently, in the home appliance industry, materials such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene copolymer) and HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) are predominantly used due to their smooth appearance and rigidity requirements.

In many applications with safety and fire prevention requirements, such as television casings and washing machine motor housings, flame-retardant ABS and HIPS are extensively utilized to meet the fire performance standards of home appliance components. However, these two materials have two main drawbacks:

1. They are relatively expensive. The synthesis of ABS and HIPS involves a variety of raw materials, coupled with complex synthesis methods and processes, leading to higher costs for the resin raw materials.

2. They have average resistance to yellowing and aging. Due to the material structure limitations of ABS and HIPS resins, they tend to yellow and age over extended use, which affects their application, particularly noticeable in light-colored appliances.

As competition in the home appliance industry becomes increasingly fierce, manufacturers are demanding higher performance and cost-effectiveness from materials. PP (Polypropylene) material is gradually gaining favor among producers due to its low cost, excellent resistance to yellowing and aging, and good molding and processing performance.

II. Flame Retardant PP Market Distribution

From the point of view of regional distribution, at present, China's flame retardant PP manufacturers are mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta region and the Pearl River Delta region, the data show that these two regions account for about 85% of the total output of flame retardant PP in the country.

Although there is still a certain gap between the domestic production technology and scale of flame retardant PP compared with foreign countries, and compared with foreign enterprises, domestic enterprises are still in a relatively backward stage in terms of product stability and value-added products, etc., the domestic modified plastics industry is developing rapidly, especially some technical enterprises, whose level of development of flame retardant technology is not only at the forefront of the industry in the country but also has gradually approached or even caught up with foreign enterprises in terms of technical research and development, market scale and other aspects of flame retardant PP. However, the domestic modified plastics industry is developing rapidly, especially some technical enterprises, whose level of flame retardant technology development is not only in the forefront of the industry in China, but also in flame retardant PP, which has gradually approached or even surpassed the similar foreign enterprises in terms of technology development and market scale.

III. Performance Requirements Of Flame Retardant PP Used In Household Appliances

Flame retardant PP is mainly used in black home appliances, because white home appliances require high aesthetics, and the performance of flame retardant PP in this regard is still unsatisfactory.

As flame retardant PP has the advantages of easy processing, low price, etc., it is used in a large number of components that do not require high material performance, especially for heat resistance requirements in general, such as terminals in the computer chassis, wall switches, etc. Flame retardant PP materials can meet the needs of the product at the same time to reduce the cost of production.

Because of this, flame retardant PP has a wide range of applications in the field of electric motors and bobbin coils.

The following is an introduction to several types of flame retardant PP materials used in home appliances performance requirements.

1. Washing Machine Motor Shell

The motor casing of the washing machine mainly plays a role in fixing and protecting the motor of the washing machine. In the process of high-speed dehydration in the washing machine, some of the components may be vibration friction and sparks, so in order to operate the motor more safely, many manufacturers of the motor shell materials put forward flame retardant requirements.

2. Appliance Socket Shell

Home appliance socket switch belongs to the category of small household appliances, home appliance socket socket sleeve and play a role in connecting the terminals made of flame-retardant materials. According to the current standard estimation of the construction of residential buildings, the demand for sockets in residential buildings is about 800 million.

3. Air Conditioner Shell

For the indoor unit casing of household air conditioners, the traditional material choices are generally HIPS or ABS, while the material alternative of aging-resistant PP has gradually emerged in recent years.

As consumers' safety requirements for indoor household appliances continue to rise, many air conditioning companies have begun to use flame-retardant PP as the material for indoor unit housings.

Flame retardant PP can meet the basic performance of air conditioning shell and flame retardant performance requirements, compared with flame retardant ABS and other materials, its anti-aging performance also has more obvious advantages.

IV. Flame retardant PP modification direction

1. Low halogen, low smoke environmentally friendly flame retardant PP

Since PP itself is a flammable material, it is necessary to use Br/Sb composite system flame retardant for its flame retardant modification. But also due to the Br / Sb composite system of flame retardants in the combustion of toxic gases released hydrogen halide and other substances, many countries in the international community and the introduction of a number of provisions to limit its use.

At present, halogenated flame-retardant PP materials account for about 70-80% of the market share of flame-retardant materials, due to its low price and stable flame-retardant effect, it is difficult to find substitutes for most of the home appliance applications. Halogen-containing flame retardant PP will still be the main flame retardant material for quite a long time in the future.

At the same time, with the successful development of more and more new efficient halogenated flame retardants, but also for the development of low-halogen, low-smoke environmentally friendly flame-retardant PP provides a technical guarantee.

In the future, low-halogen, low-smoke environmentally friendly flame retardant PP will become the key research and development direction of material manufacturers.

2. Halogen-free flame retardant PP

With the introduction of ROHS regulations in the European Union, many international companies have banned or limited some of the substances contained in materials. In response to this situation, halogen-free flame-retardant PP has become a hot spot for research in the industry.

3. Aging Resistance, High Gloss

As PP contains unstable structural groups, it is prone to aging and degradation by light, heat and oxygen, resulting in discoloration and strength loss, which limits its application in the field of home appliances, especially high-end outdoor home appliances.

In the future, aging-resistant modification of flame retardant PP to extend the service life of flame retardant PP materials in harsh environments for a long period of time is an urgent problem to be solved in the field of flame retardant PP in high-end home appliances.

In addition, compared with the high-gloss surface effect of flame-retardant ABS and HIPS, flame-retardant PP is still inferior in the appearance of home appliances. Therefore, improving the surface gloss and appearance of flame retardant PP will help to expand the application areas of flame retardant PP products.

V. Development Trend of Flame Retardant Materials for Household Appliances

In order to avoid fire, many countries have high fire retardant requirements for electronic components in household appliances and components that may have potential combustion hazards. In order to create a safer environment for users, home appliance manufacturers have increased the fire rating of many parts.

In terms of PP plastic parts, some of the original lower flame retardant performance, or no clear flame retardant performance requirements of PP products, has gradually improved the material fire retardant requirements.

It can be expected that with the development of flame retardant materials, there will be more new flame retardant products continue to be developed.

In conclusion, as household appliances become an integral part of our daily lives, the increasing emphasis on material safety standards in the appliance industry has led to a growing demand for flame retardant materials. YINSU Flame Retardants has responded to this trend by investing significant resources in the development of flame retardant solutions for PP-based materials. Our products, such as Piperazine pyrophosphate, PPAP-15, PPV0-P-32M, PPV2-8H and PPV2-6 flame retardants, are specifically designed to improve the safety and performance of PP-based components in household appliances, and these flame retardants meet the industry's stringent safety requirements.

YINSU's commitment to innovation in the field of flame retardancy ensures that our products not only meet current safety standards, but also help to develop more sustainable and cost-effective solutions for the appliance industry. As the market continues to evolve, we are confident that our contributions will play an important role in shaping the future of flame retardant materials for household appliances.