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Addition of wood flour improve the mechanical properties of thermoplastics, on the other hand it increases the burning speed of the materials. To modify the flammability of wood-plastic composites(WPC), various fire retardants, such as ammonium polysphosphate (APP), melamine polyphosphate (MPP) and aluminum hydroxide were added to WPCs. Burning tests based on UL94 and cone calorimetry were conducted to evaluate a fire performance of WPCs with fire retardants. The addition of fire retardants could lead to self-extinguishing materials when 10 wt% of APP was used. However, in the case of pure polypropylene, addition of 10 wt% of APP did not improve the flammability. Wood flour accelerates the burning behavior of PP, but it can reduce the use of APP to achieve self-extinguishing materials. Synergy effects between wood flour and APP was confirmed. Wood flour facilitates the forming of foamed char layer by APP during the combustion. This protective char surface can reduce the heat and oxygen diffusion toward the WPCs. The effect of fire retardants of mechanical properties of WPCs was also investigated. Tensile strength and modulus of composites decreased with addition of fire retardants.

Technical Information Center, Corporate Intellectual Property, Asahikasei Corporation is established in 1998 as a result of integration of research function separately operated in several sections. The Center's primal missions are to provide the high-quality information for research, and to contribute in research education. Constructing and utilizing the Strategic DataBase (SDB), recognized as the basis both for planning patent strategy and taking advantage of intellectual property right, are continually pursued by the Center. This article briefly reports the process of its construction and dissemination in three stages: infrastructure development, active promotion and establishment in company culture. The detail of SDB and its successful results are described; furthermore, action plans, challenges and solutions in each three stages are discussed.

ABSTRACT:An attempt was made to establish a novel electron micrographic method (aslant sliced thin sectional (ASTS) method) for evaluating pore characteristics, such as mean pore radius, pore radius distribution and porosity on inner layer at a given distance from the outer or inner wall of a porous polymeric hollow fiber membrane and to apply the method for clarifying the effect of preparatory conditions of the membrane on pore characteristics. Regenerated cellulose, cellulose diacetate, poly(vinyl alcohol) and polypropylene hollow fiber membranes for electron microscopic observation were sliced obliquely along the fiber axis at an angle 0 (0<0<2.5") to give a thin section with a thickness less than I µm. The method affords us the information on continuous changes in pore characteristics along the radial direction, where the normal line of the section intercepts the fiber axis at angle 90-0 degree. The electron microscopic image obtained for a portion of an aslant sliced thin section could not be distinguished from those obtained by a thin section cut strictly parallel to the fiber axis (i.e., 0=0). The ASTS method has the following advantages: (I) The location of a sliced section film can be evaluated accurately; (2) only a single operation to slice the sample section is needed; and (3) information on pore characteristics can be obtained continuously along the membrane thickness.

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