A new recycled & flame retardant matrial for railway applications!

Recycler Rondoplast AB of Sweden introduces a new interesting material

We can now offer a recycled flame retardant material that fulfils the German railway standard DIN 53438. This is a standard that for instance Deutsche Bahn AG uses informs Mr Fredrik Holst of Rondoplast.

The flame retardancy is an absolute must in its application for cable ducts and the material is specifically developed for this purpose. The exact specification differs from country to country but the market reference is often a K1-rating according to the German DIN-norm 53438.  The material has been evaluated commercially and been proven to fulfil the requirements of Deutsche Bahn AG. With this reference the material is eligible for use in a vast majority of countries across the world states Mr Henrik Eriksson - development manager.

A unique material solution

- The REZYcom PP R15000 FR is given its necessary level of self – extinguishing behavior by a specifically formulated mix of flame retardant ingredients. The recycled raw materials present a special challenge, since they often contain substances that work antagonistic to the ingredients that are supposed to suppress the fire mechanisms. Therefore a special care is taken - not only in the choice of polymer raw material, but it also have to be a particularly rugged flame retardant system present - without succumbing to over-engineering – claims Mr  Henrik Eriksson.

Pic: Concrete cable ducts was yesterday – the future belongs to “ready to use” cable ducts in REZYcom PP R15000FR!

Both cost efficient and environmentally friendly!

Our new grade should be a strong challenger to the commonly used mixtures of virgin materials together with secondary raw materials and a flame retardant master batch.  Since the cable ducts installations follows along the railway lines, the vast stretches quickly translates to huge volumes of material for making the ducts and thus cost competitiveness is a key property for any material considered in this application.

- Plastic cable ducts are making a much less significant environmental footprint   than the concrete version that was used historically and are still used by some contractors. Now a further step towards more sustainable resource utilization is taken by the implementation of recycled plastics in this application underlines Mr Henrik Eriksson.

Applications goes beyond railroad cable ducts!

- The fact that the material is specially adapted to resist fire also when molded into very thick parts, ensures a very stable flame retardant performance in parts of very different design. When tested according to UL94-standard, the material has a stable V2 rating from a very low thickness up to the practical limits of most parts considered for injection moulding, end Mr Henrik Eriksson.

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