Title
Imparting flame-retardant properties to commercial papers using the immersion method
Authors
HÜLYA VARLIBAŞ BAŞBOĞA and ARIF KARADEMİR

Received March 31, 2026
Published Volume 60 Issue 5-6 May-June
Keywords commercial papers, fire-resistant chemicals, impregnation method, thermal stability, LOI test

Abstract
The objective of this study was to develop fire-resistant paper by immersing commercial paper samples into various fireretardant chemical solutions. In the experimental work, untreated commercial papers were treated with fire-retardant chemicals boric acid (BA), borax (BX), and aluminum hydroxide (AH) at different concentrations. The papers were impregnated for a fixed duration using the impregnation method, and following drying under controlled conditions, their weight, thickness, thermal stability (TGA), limiting oxygen index (LOI), and printability were evaluated in accordance with relevant standards. The results revealed that impregnation increased both paper weight and thickness, whereas the liquid-penetration behavior was strongly dependent on the flame-retardant type, concentration, and immersion frequency, with low-concentration BA and BX treatments and repeated AH treatments generally providing improved resistance to water penetration. However, the TGA analysis indicated an increase in residual mass. Furthermore, the LOI test demonstrated that papers treated with BA and BX could be classified as fire-resistant, and the printing tests confirmed an improvement in print quality.