Efficacy of An Amino Resin Fire Retardant

The inorganic salts which have been commonly used as fire retardants are hygroscopic and readily leached from wood. An amino resin fire retardant is available which is claimed to be leach-resistant and nonhygroscopic. This would render it suitable for use in situations exposed to the weather. To assess its potential within the Australian forest products industry, it was necessary to determine the efficacy of the fire retardant according to Australian standard test methods. Sawn boards of Pinus radiata were treated with varying solution strengths of the amino resin. The boards were grouped according to direction of cut and heartwood/sapwood content. For each group, test panels were fabricated using boards of similar resin retention. The early fire hazard of these panels was then determined by testing according to Australian Standard 1530, Part 3 (14). Resin retention was found to be dependent on the direction of sawing and heartwood/sapwood content. The early fire hazard test results showed that the amino resin was an effective fire retardant in Pinus radiata. Regression analyses indicate that performance could be accurately predicted by average resin retention, irrespective of direction of sawing or heartwood/sapwood content. These regressions should enable industry to determine the resin retention necessary to achieve a specified early fire hazard performance.

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