Brominated Flame Retardants

Abstract

Fire is considered one of the most destructive forces on the planet. Throughout history, fire has caused losses of human lives, injury, and extensive damage to property (Innes and Innes 2012). So the search for ways to protect structures from fire began a long time ago. The term “flame retardant” (FR) is used to identify any substance applied or added to a wide range of products to inhibit, suppress, or delay ignition and to prevent the spread of fire (Aschberger et al. 2017). Probably asbestos was the first product used by humans for the purpose of delaying fire expansion, and its first known use in textiles dates back to Ancient Egypt (2000–3000 BCE). This mineral was used for a long time and throughout the world, but its use began to be limited when harmful effects were detected in people who handled asbestos in some way. In about 450 BC, Herodotus reported the use of alum by Egyptians to reduce the flammability of wood, and the use of a mixture of alum and vinegar on wood by the Romans (~ 200 BCE) (Hindersinn 1990). The first known patent for a flame retardant was granted in Great Britain for a mixture of alum, sulfate, iron, and borax (Wyld 1735). Later, Gay-Lussac (1821) carried out the first systematized study of FRs using cellulosic materials. He concluded that the most effective flame-retarding salts had low melting points and also produced glassy deposits on the fiber surface, or decomposed into non-flammable vapors, diluting cellulose-derived flammable gases. Thus, numerous studies and compounds emerged as FRs, which gave rise to numerous patents throughout the first half of the 20th century.