Comparative study of thermal degradation and flame retardancy between straw flour and wood flour on wood–polypropylene composites

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the thermal degradation and flame retardancy of straw flour (SF)-polypropylene (PP) composites and wood flour (WF)-PP composites. Biomass silica exists in SF, despite only 18 wt% loading of ammonium polyphosphate (APP); the APP in combination with biomass silica can effectively improve the flame retardancy on total heat release, heat release rate (HRR), mass loss rate, time to ignition (TTI), and limited oxygen index; it can obtain UL-94 V-0 rating, reduce the average and peak HRR by 44% and 41%, respectively, and increase the TTI by 8%. It attributes to the interaction effect between biomass silica in SF and APP, which more effectively enhances the thermal stability of the SF/PP/APP composites at high temperature and increases the char residue. The silica could form an intercalated network in char structure and then boost the physical integrity. The enhanced physical integrity and thermal stability lead to an effectively synergetic effect on flame retardancy of SF/PP/APP composites.