FRX Polymers’ phosphorus-based flame retardants Nofia CO3000, CO4000, and CO6000 have been granted a GreenScreen Benchmark 3 score, one of the industry’s highest green non-toxic indicators of compliance with environmental, social, and governance principles. GreenScreen is one of the most broadly recognized methods of comparative benchmarking of toxicity in the chemical industry, according to FRX.

This certification complements a series of recent actions taken by the European Union, as part of its eco-design regulation, and by the state of New York, which bans the use of all brominated flame retardants in consumer electronic displays such as TVs and monitors. Nofia polymeric flame retardants offer the assurance of the GreenScreen 3 Benchmark score without compromising fire safety while simultaneously achieving exceptional and often superior physical properties, said FRX.

“The new EU and US legislation will cause an industry-wide transformation to green flame-retardant formulations in consumer products and will quickly materialize into significant demand for non-brominated fire retardants, especially polymeric solutions like Nofia,” said FRX CEO Marc Lebel. “We are already seeing compliance with this initiative being pushed both by national consumer electronics retailers in the US and responded to by leading OEM manufacturers throughout the world. This is just the start of an important shift away from hazardous flame retardants into solutions that offer the same flame-retardant efficacy without the health and environmental liabilities,” said Lebel.

GreenScreen is well recognized across the global electronics supply chain, with Hewlett Packard being one of the earliest adopters. FRX management believes that this GreenScreen accreditation is further validation of the human health and environmental credentials of the Nofia range of halogen-free, polymeric flame retardants. The copolymer grades of Nofia join the other homopolymer grades of Nofia flame retardants previously granted a GreenScreen Benchmark 3, suitable for demanding molding and sheet extrusion applications.

FRX said it plans to further expand capacity of Nofia flame retardants to meet growing demand. Polymer Compounders Ltd. recently launched Notoxicom, a product based on Nofia flame retardants targeting electronic and medical device applications, including electronic displays, as well as the rapidly growing lithium-ion battery market.

Nofia products are manufactured at FRX's plant at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, one of the world's largest chemical-producing clusters. Nofia polyphosphonates are produced using sustainable green chemistry principles, such as a solvent-free production process that produces no waste by-products at near 100% efficiency.