Beijing, China – Beijing Building Construction Research Institute (BBCRI) has launched a new nano-synergistic high fire-resistance PU panel in March 2014.
The BBCRI develops applied technology in construction engineering areas such as construction materials and apparatus.
According to Dong Quanxiao, director of the BBCRI-affiliated Beijing Engineering Center for Architectural Functional Macromolecular Materials, the new product contains aluminium hydroxide nanoparticles in its polyurethane base, generating synergistic effect with conventional fire retardants.
Quanxiao also said it has a 92.8 LOI (limiting oxygen index).
The new product’s fire-resistance performance has obtained B1-class accreditation, the highest rating for organic fire retardants under China’s national standards.
Compared to conventional methods for enhancing the fire-resistance performance of PU panels, the new technology can also improve the material’s dimensional stability and mechanical properties said Quanxiao.
The firm and its two partners in the project, Beijing Aogesen New Materials Technology and Shandong Qixiang Energy-saving Construction Materials, have built three continuous production lines with a capacity of 4m m2/year. So far, the panels have been used to renovate Beijing's older residential properties.
“Beijing is the only city in China where B1-class materials are strictly required,” said Quanxiao. “In other places, although there is such requirement on paper, the regulation is much looser and B2 and B3 materials are often used as substitutes.”
BBCRI is also a coating manufacturer with an 8kT/year production volume for PU coatings and a 6kT/year production volume for polyurea coatings in 2013, according to Dong. It currently holds more than 100 patents and employs 230 people, of which 200 are technicians.
The firm was first set up in 1956 as an academic institute called Beijing Building Construction Bureau Construction Technology Research Institute with the help of former Soviet Union experts. It was renamed BBCRI in 1993.
