Citation

Einhorn IN, Chatfield DA, Voorhees KJ, Hileman FD, Mickelson RW, Israel SC, Futrell JH, Ryan PW. Fire Safety J. 1977; 1(1): 41-56.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1977, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A detailed review is presented of the analytical methodology which has been developed in recent years by personnel of the University of Utah's Flammability Research Center to elucidate the mechanisms pertaining to the thermal decomposition of natural and synthetic materials. Special emphasis has been directed toward advanced analytical procedures utilizing computerized analytical systems required to separate, identify, and quantify components of complex mixtures of low-boiling volatiles, high-boiling volatiles, and solid residues resulting from pyrolysis, oxidative degradation, and flaming combustion processes.Specifically, this strategy involves the determination of a material's response to a thermal flux administered under dynamic conditions. Derivative thermogravimetric analysis indicates regions where the material being evaluated undergoes major changes in chemical composition. The degradation products are separated using gas chromatography and identified by retention indices. Specific compound structures are confirmed using both electronic impact and chemical ionization mass spectrometric data. Ancillary techniques for separation and identification of degradation products include high-pressure liquid chromatography, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray micro-analysis, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Using the combined procedures covered in this paper, a material balance for a specific polymer system is presented.