Product Basics: Charmor™ Pro
Chemistry can easily become very technical, so can our business and products. Therefore, we will periodically present ‘Product Basics’ – a deep dive into selected products across market segments, explaining the basics of a product, features and applications on a level that everyone can understand. This time we will dive into Charmor™ Pro – our knight in shining armor.
What does it do?
Charmor™ Pro is our knight in shining armor. Not only is it a protector of buildings during fire it also supports sustainable sourcing of renewable raw materials. Like a true knight, Charmor™ Pro protects any underlying metal or wood structure from fire. This since it can swell up to 100 times from a very thin coating into a protective foam.
Why use it?
Using Charmor™ Pro in intumescent coatings and sealants slow the spread of fire, reduce heat and thus minimize spread of dangerous smoke and fumes more effectively than any alternative fire protection products. It ensures the ultimate protection on surfaces including steel and wood. For example, in buildings with structural steel profiles, the very high temperatures cause steel to distort and become weaker, potentially leading to a collapse. Here, the extra time provided by Charmor™ Pro compared to alternative products slows and can potentially prevent the process so that people can get to safety.
How does it work?
When a layer of Charmor™ Pro based intumescent coating, approximately one millimeter thick, is exposed to 200°C heat or higher, it will swell up 10 to 100 times its size to build a foam char barrier that insulates the underlying material. The high purity and consistency of Charmor™ Pro improves the insulation effect of the intumescent coating and ultimately helps prevent the substrate from catching fire or distorting.
What is it?
Charmor™ Pro is a rich carbon source and is included in an intumescent coating together with a acid donor (ammonium polyphosphate), a blowing agent (normally melamine) and a binder. Perstorp offers a range of Charmor™ intumescent components depending on the type and use of the coating. All grades provide superior charring performance for waterborne and solvent borne coatings. And being sourced from renewable raw materials Charmor™ Pro contributes to a lower carbon footprint.
This is chemistry at it’s best – a true winning technology.