By David Reed, UT EditorBaton Rouge, Louisiana- Albemarle Corp., claiming to be the world's leading producer of fire retardant chemicals, says it has a replacement for pentaBDE for the production of flame-retardant polyurethane foam.PentaBDE will soon be phased out of production, but Albemarle says its material, tradenamed Saytex RZ 243, offers high-efficiency flame retardancy and superior thermal stability. It also offers good anti-scorch properties when used to make high- and low-density foams for used in furniture, bedding, automotive and packaging applications, the firm adds.Although Albemarle does not make or market pentaBDE, "We recognised the limited choice of pentaBDE replacements available to the marketplace, and focused our research on finding more acceptable alternatives," said Nelson Clark, Albemarle's global business manager for flame retardants, in an 11 Oct. statement issued by the firm."The result is a product that performs extremely well and is easy to place into existing formulations," Clark said, adding that, "We believe many current pentaBDE users will find Saytex RZ 243 flame retardant to be a perfect fit for their needs."
