Evaluation of the Flame-Retardant Performance and Fire Risk of Cellulose Building Finishing Material Due to the Particle Size of Expandable Graphite

Abstract

The burning of building finishing materials containing chemical substances can lead to the spread of fire with a large number of harmful substances. To prevent this, cellulose, an eco-friendly material that minimizes the generation of harmful substances, was chosen as the main material for building finishing materials. Wastepaper was recycled to extract cellulose, and a finishing material was manufactured by mixing in expandable graphite and magnesium hydroxide. The flame-retardant performance of the finishing material was evaluated by measuring the total heat emission rate using the ISO 5660-1 cone calorimeter, with the particle size of the expanded graphite as a variable. The measured physical properties value was used as the FDS parameter to evaluate the risk of fire. Results show that the cellulose-based building finishing material meets the life safety standard of NFSC 203 during the simulation time and has a FED value that does not exceed 0.001 at maximum. This confirms its effectiveness in providing safe egress time for residents.