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Luna Issued Patent for Flame Retardant
April 11, 2006
Media Contact Information
Name: Karin Clark
Title: Director, Marketing and Communications
E-mail: kclark@lunainnovations.com
Phone: 1.540.769.8400
Blacksburg, VA - Luna Innovations Incorporated announces the issuance of U.S. Patent 7,001,942 entitled “Flame Retardant Thermoset Resins and Methods of Making the Same.” The patent is for Luna's discovery of a novel composition of matter for next-generation fire safety of resin systems used in coatings, adhesives, plastics and composites. Luna's flame retardants are based in inorganic materials which do not raise concerns related to environmental impact and toxicity associated with halogenated flame retardants. Luna flame retardant technology is highly effective at low concentrations and generates much less smoke.
Flame retardant additives work to interfere with the chemical and physical processes involved in the combustion process and are necessary in plastics, coatings and fiber-reinforced polymer composites to prevent rapid combustion and to reduce the spread of fire through these materials. The discovery was made by scientists Martin E. Rogers, Pascal Deschatelets, and Janice P. Phillips, when the team was looking for new ways of providing fire resistant resin for Navy applications. By using superabsorbent polymer (SAP) particles incorporated into synthetic resins, Luna's flame retardants produce a non-combustible surface under fire conditions and slow heat transfer through the material.
The Director of Luna's Advanced Materials Group Martin Rogers says there are potential markets for Luna's new discovery in plastics and resins - for use in materials on naval ships and commercial marine vessels, housing, electronics, aircraft, automobiles and textiles among other industries. Luna's flame retardants have proven effective in a variety of composite resins, including epoxy, vinyl ester, and unsaturated polyester resins. A video example of Luna's flame retardants can be viewed from Luna's Web site at http://www.lunainnovations.com/videos/videos.htm.
