Expanding Graphite Used in Fire Retardant Research

Expanding graphite, due to its expandability and high-temperature resistance, has become an excellent sealing material, widely used in fire-resistant sealing strips. There are mainly two forms: the first is to mix expanding graphite material with rubber, inorganic flame retardants, accelerators, vulcanizing agents, reinforcing agents, fillers, etc., and vulcanize them into various specifications of expanding sealing strips, mainly used in fire doors, fire-resistant glass windows, etc. These sealing strips can block smoke flow continuously from start to finish, both at room temperature and during a fire. The other form uses glass fiber tape as a carrier, bonding the expanding graphite with a certain adhesive on the carrier. The shear resistance provided by the carbonization formed by the adhesive under high temperatures effectively prevents the graphite from being damaged, and is mainly used for fire doors. However, it cannot effectively block the flow of cold smoke at room temperature or low temperatures, so it must be used in conjunction with room temperature sealing adhesives. Below, Baixing Graphite introduces research on the application of expanding graphite in fire resistance:
Flame-retardant expanded graphite, made from plastic materials, is an excellent flame-retardant agent for plastics, being non-toxic and non-polluting. It can be used alone or mixed with other flame-retardants to achieve ideal flame-retardant effects. It requires significantly less quantity than conventional flame-retardants to achieve the same level of flame-retardancy. Its mechanism works by rapidly expanding at high temperatures, smothering flames while the expanded graphite material covers the base material surface, blocking contact with heat radiation and oxygen, and acidic free radicals. During expansion, the interlayer also expands, facilitating the carbonization of the base material, thereby achieving excellent flame-retardant effects through multiple methods.
Fire-resistant bags, plastic fire-retardant fillers, and fire rings utilize expanded graphite's ability to resist destruction at high temperatures and its high expansion rate. This makes it an effective flame-retardant material for fire-resistant bags, plastic fire-retardant barrier materials, and fire-resistant ring components. It is used in fire-resistant bag installations, such as sealing through-holes for pipeline, cables, wires, gas, gas pipelines, and air ducts.
Adding finely divided expanded graphite to ordinary paints can produce flame-retardant and anti-static coatings with enhanced effectiveness, improving their high-temperature and fire-resistant properties. The large amount of lightweight, non-combustible carbon layer formed in fires effectively blocks the radiant heat from the insulation to the base material, thereby protecting the base material. Moreover, as graphite is an excellent conductor, the coatings prepared can prevent the accumulation of static charges, making them suitable for oil storage tanks to achieve both fire and static electricity prevention.