Performance comparison of flame retardants for plastics
Halogenated Phosphorous based AI (OH)3/
Mg(OH)2
Acting site Gas phase Cond. Phase Cond./
gas phase
Acting principle Chemical Chemical/
physical
Physical
Efficiency + + -
Polymer compatibility + 0 0
Fire side effects - + +
Price/performance 0 0 +


Criteria definitions:
Efficiency: the amount of chemical to be used.

Polymer compatibility: indicates how well the flame retardants interacts with the plastic with which it is mixed. In unfavorable cases this means that the overall recipe of the plastic must be changed or optimized for the choice of flame retardants.

Fire side effects: this refers to the volume and toxicity of the smoke and formation of corrosive gases.

Price/performance: refers to the price that must be paid for the necessary fire protection performance, i.e. a small amount of an expensive flame protection medium is as good as a cheaper one where much larger amounts are required.