Hazard identification posed by plant protection products during warehouse fires

In addition to fertilisers, plant protection products are essential in today's agricultural production. The increase in the human population leads to the need to optimise agricultural production, with an increasing demand for plant protection products. Historically, there have been serious fires at plant protection product storage facilities with devastating consequences for the environment. For this reason, it is worth investigating what risks arise for people and the environment during a fire at storage sites for these substances. In this article, tests were carried out for three plant protection products containing azoxystrobin as the active substance, in order to investigate the effects of the additives on combustion processes. Tests of combustion parameters were performed using a cone calorimeter. A tube furnace with asphyxiating and irritant gas analysers and gas chromatography with a mass spectrometer were used to analyse the resulting gas products. The Plant Protection Products tested achieved high values for combustion parameters. Analysis of the substances produced during their combustion showed that large amounts of asphyxiating and irritating gases (CO, N2O, NO, SO2, NH3, HCl, CH2O, HCN) were generated.

An Approach to Testing Antivandal Composite Materials as a Function of Their Thickness and Striker Shape-A Case Study

Our research material comprised antivandal fire-retardant hybrid composites modified with inorganic and organic fillers intended for application in public transport vehicles. This paper presents an approach to studying their impact strength as a function of the composite thickness (3 to 6 mm) and striker shape (hemispherical, semicylindrical, wedge-shaped) used in the experimental stand. Group A composites, made of single fabric layers (n = 5), were thinner and their impact strength was lower by 73% than that for Group B composites made of double fabric layers. Study results show an almost threefold improvement in impact strength for a thickness increase of as little as 0.3 mm. Statistical analysis (the Shapiro-Wilk test, p > 0.05) did not show any significant differences in the quantitative evaluation of changes (n = 3) on the surface of the examined materials caused by impacts with strikers of different shapes. In turn, a linear correlation (Shapiro-Wilk test, W = 0.0857, p = 0.022) was found between impact strength and the thickness of the studied materials. It was observed that appropriate arrangement of fabrics and powder fillers can lead to a different distribution of forces and energy absorbed by the tested material. A lower impact strength was observed for the composite which had powder fillers in its composition, which caused the formation of microvoids in the structure of the material and thus led to a weakening in their strength properties. An effect of the placement of the glass fabric layer in the composite on the results was also observed. Moreover, SEM evaluation of the composites revealed their layered structure and the impregnation of woven fabrics with resin.

Analysis of Flammability and Smoke Emission of Plastic Materials Used in Construction and Transport

This study provides valuable data on the specific toxic products that could be released from the commercially used, flexible polyurethane foams (FPUFs) during a fire. The steady-state tube furnace (Purser furnace) was used to generate combustion and thermal degradation products under different fire conditions. The concentrations of asphyxiates and irritant gases were determined using a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy gas analyser. The volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds released in the fire effluents were collected using the solid-phase microextraction technique and identified by gas chromatography with a mass selective detector. In addition, the thermal stability of the FPUFs was evaluated by simultaneous thermal analysis. The cone calorimetry test was used to determine the flame retardancy of the selected materials. The obtained results show that the emission of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide during the thermal degradation and combustion of the tested foams exceeded the permissible values and pose a serious threat to human life and health. Moreover, substituted benzenes, aldehydes, and polycyclic hydrocarbons were found in the released gases during all of the test conditions.

Spent Coffee as a Composite Filler for Wastewater Treatment

Currently composites play an important role in all aspects of engineering and technology, with constantly growing applications. Recently, more attention was focused on natural fillers due to their suitability as reinforcement materials in thermo-plastic matrices which improve the mechanical properties of these polymers. Biofillers are used due to their low cost, high strength rigidity, non-toxicity, biodegradability, and availability. Currently, spent coffee grounds (SCG) are attracting more attention as a natural filler since high amounts of SCG are generated every day (food waste of coffee processing). This study allowed us to determine the long-term effect of activated sludge microorganisms with known technical and technological parameters on the mechanical properties of composites with spent coffee grounds filler. The fittings consisted of high-density poly-ethylene (PE-HD), which was used as the matrix, and a filler based on spent coffee grounds (SCG), which was used as a modifier. It was established that the composition of the composite and its residence time in the bioreactor directly influenced the contact angle value. The shift of the contact angle value is associated with the formation of the biofilm on the tested materials. An increase in the contact angle was observed in the case of all samples tested in the bioreactor, with the lowest values equal to approx. 76.4° for sample A (PE-HD) and higher values of approx. 90° for the remaining composite samples with a coffee grounds filler. The research confirmed that the increased ratio of coffee grounds in the composite results in the increased diversity and abundance of microorganisms. The highest number and the greatest diversity of microorganisms were observed in the case of the composite with 40% coffee grounds after more than a year of exposure in the bioreactor, while the composite with 30% SCG was second. Ciliates (Ciliata), especially the sessile forms belonging to the Epistylis genus, were the most common and the most numerous group of microorganisms in the activated sludge and in the biofilm observed on the samples after immersion in the bioreactor. The conducted research confirms that the use of polymer composite mouldings with a filler in the form of spent coffee grounds as a carrier allows the efficient increase in the population of microorganisms in the bioreactor.

The Effect of Manufacture Process on Mechanical Properties and Burning Behavior of Epoxy-Based Hybrid Composites

The production of hybrid layered composites allows comprehensive modification of their properties and adaptation to the final expectations. Different methods, such as hand lay-up, vacuum bagging, and resin infusion were applied to manufacture the hybrid composites. In turn, fabrics used for manufacturing composites were made of glass (G), aramid (A), carbon (C), basalt (B), and flax (F) fibers. Flexural, puncture impact behavior, and cone calorimetry tests were applied to establish the effect of the manufacturing method and the fabrics layout on the mechanical and fire behavior of epoxy-based laminates. The lowest flammability and smoke emission were noted for composites made by vacuum bagging (approximately 40% lower values of total smoke release compared with composites made by the hand lay-up method). It was demonstrated that multi-layer hybrid composites made by vacuum bagging might enhance the fire safety levels and simultaneously maintain high mechanical properties designed for, e.g., the railway and automotive industries.

Composites of Poly(vinyl chloride) with Residual Hops after Supercritical Extraction in CO2

The common applications of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) in many industries mean that the topic of recycling and disposal of post-consumer waste is still very important. One of the methods of reducing the negative impact of PVC waste on the natural environment is to use technological or post-consumer waste of this polymer to produce new composite materials with favorable utility properties, with the addition of natural fillers, among which agro-waste, including hop residue, is deserving of special attention. In this study, the effect of the addition of residual hops (H) on the mechanical and physicochemical properties of poly(vinyl chloride) was investigated. PVC blends containing 10, 20 and 30 wt % of hop residue were mixed in an extruder, while the specimens were obtained by the injection molding method. It was observed that the addition of H increased their thermostability, as shown by a Congo red test. Furthermore, thermogravimetric analysis showed that the degradation rate of PVC/H composites in the first and second stages of decomposition was lower in comparison with unmodified PVC. In turn, composite density, impact strength and tensile strength decreased significantly with an increasing concentration of filler in the PVC matrix. At the same time, their Young's modulus, flexural modulus and Rockwell hardness increased. Flame resistance tests showed that with an increasing residual hop content, the limiting oxygen index (LOI) decreased by 9.0; 11.8 and 13.6%, respectively, compared to unfilled PVC (LOI = 37.4%). In addition, the maximum heat release rate (pHRR) decreased with an increasing filler content by about 16, 24 and 31%, respectively. Overall, these composites were characterized by a good burning resistance and had a flammability rating of V0 according to the UL94 test.

Effect of the Addition of Biobased Polyols on the Thermal Stability and Flame Retardancy of Polyurethane and Poly(urea)urethane Elastomers

Due to the current trends in sustainable development and the reduction in the use of fossil fuels (Green Deal strategy and the circular economy), and thus, the increased interest of the polyurethane industry in polyols derived from renewable sources, it is important to study the impact of these polyols on the flammability of new bioelastomers. The goal of this study was to check the influence of biobased polyols, such as tall oil (TO)-based polyols, soybean oil (SO)-based polyol, and rapeseed oil (RO)-based polyol, on the reduction in the burning and fume emissions of polyurethane and poly(urea)urethane elastomers (EPURs and EPUURs). The thermal stability of these materials was tested using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). In turn, the flame retardancy and smoke emissions were checked using a cone calorimetry test. The released gases were identified using TGA coupled with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy (TGA/FT-IR). Moreover, the morphological and structural characteristics of the char residues were characterized using FT-IR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The obtained data were compared to the results received for elastomers produced with petroleum substrates. The addition of biobased polyols led to a reduction in the burning as a result of the formation of char, especially RO polyol. Moreover, the TO and RO polyols increased the thermal stability of the elastomers.

Moisture Resistance, Thermal Stability and Fire Behavior of Unsaturated Polyester Resin Modified with L-histidinium Dihydrogen Phosphate-Phosphoric Acid

In this paper, the fire behavior of unsaturated polyester resin (UP) modified with L-histidinium dihydrogen phosphate-phosphoric acid (LHP), being a novel intumescent fire retardant (IFR), was investigated. Thermal and thermomechanical properties of the UP with different amounts of LHP (from 10 to 30 wt. %) were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) as well as dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). Reaction to small flames was studied by horizontal burning (HB) test, while fire behavior and smoke emission were investigated with the cone calorimeter (CC) and smoke density chamber. Further, the analysis of volatile products was conducted (TGA/FT-IR). It was observed that the addition of LHP resulted in the formation of carbonaceous char inhibiting the thermal decomposition, burning rate and smoke emission. The most promising results were obtained for the UP containing 30 wt. % of LHP, for which the highest reduction in maximum values of heat release rate (200 kW/m2) and total smoke release (3535 m2/m2) compared to unmodified polymer (792 kW/m2 and 6895 m2/m2) were recorded. However, some important disadvantage with respect to water resistance was observed.