Flame Retardants: Rondol Extruder in research project at M.E. Technical University, Ankara

The Rondol 10mm Twin Screw Extruder proved to be a useful tool to improve the flame retardant properties of High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) and to further reduce its production cost. HIPS is widely used for housings of electric and electronic equipments from TV sets to refrigerators. The flame retardancy is achieved by an expensive combination of brominated additives and antimony oxide. Scientists at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, discovered a way to replace half of the antimony oxide, by the bromine free Colemanite. The new compound now contains 23% brominated additive, 2% Antimony Oxide and 2% Colemanite. Nihat Ali Isitman, Researcher at the Middle East Technical University states: “The 10mm Twin Screw Extrusion line allowed us to easily produce several different compounds to find the optimum balance between conventional additives and Colemanite (23%/2%/2%). Production of small batches with good compositional accuracy, heating zones, steady melt flow and easy cleaning abilities makes the equipment most suitable for university based research. “