Impact of Basalt Filler and Ceramizable Additives on the Toxicity of Gaseous Products Emitted from Thermal Decomposition of Silicone Rubber Composites

The article illustrates the impact of basalt filler in the form of flakes and fibres on the toxicity of gaseous products that formed during the thermal decomposition of silicone rubber composites. The values of specific emissions of gases were determined with the help of the IR spectroscopy and further applied to calculate the toxicometric index. The presented method of measuring the concentrations of gaseous products resulting from thermal decomposition consists in the application of a fluidised bed reactor, which makes it possible to conduct the decomposition of a sample at a precisely assumed temperature value and imitate the conditions of a real fire. At a temperature lower than 700 °C, the gases resulting from the thermal decomposition of composites are particularly toxic due to the presence of significant concentrations of formaldehyde that does not undergo oxidation to more stable inorganic products. At a temperature of 600 °C the toxicity of gases for the samples with ceramizable additives and without them was similar. In the first case, there appeared to be a positive synergistic effect of mineral and basalt additives, and the basalt additives themselves increased the toxicity of gases. At higher temperatures of decomposition, the exponentially increasing rate of the oxidation reaction in the gaseous phase results in the lack of significant differences between the toxicity of gases for the samples with and without basalt additives. The toxicometric index value at temperatures of 700 °C and 800 °C was by one or two orders of magnitude higher, respectively, than the one that was observed in the temperature range of 500–600 °C, as inorganic components appear in the place of formaldehyde.