Biomaterials in intumescent fire-retardant coatings: A review

As the high-performance renewable resource, biomaterials not only have reduced the consumption of petrochemical products, but also promoted the innovation of energy-saving and emission reduction technologies. Applying biomaterials to prepare intumescent fire-retardant coatings can greatly improve the fire resistance, thermal stability, and smoke suppression. In this review, the advantages of biomaterials are first clarified, then the mechanism and engineering application scenarios of intumescent fire-retardant coatings are briefly introduced. The main part of this article focuses on the preparation of fire-retardant coatings with lignin, chitosan, cyclodextrin, soybean protein, starch, deoxyribonucleic acid as fire-retardant systems and egg shell, biomass ash, seashell shell as synergistic fire-retardants. The effects of these biomaterials on the properties of intumescent fire-retardant coatings were discussed. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of the application of biomaterials in intumescent fire-retardant coatings are prospected.