Materials variously treated with
sodium silicate were studied until enough information was obtained to find a way to solve the problems that have prevented
sodium silicate from being the used as a
fire retardant. These problems are: 1) water
solubility (miscible with water), which results in extensive leaching when exposed to water, 2)
cracking, chipping and peeling of treated surfaces, and 3) surface
granulation. During
flame tests it was discovered that
sodium silicate formed a foam-like material, and this material was found to have become
water insoluble, yet its
elemental composition had remained virtually identical to that of the unmodified
sodium silicate. This investigator proposes that under the influence of heat and
dehydration,
sodium silicate undergoes a
polymerization process resulting in particles sizes too large to dissolve in water, and then developed a mechanism to explain how the process could occur. The temperature and
moisture conditions in treated samples were then manipulated to cause the
polymerization process to occur while protecting the wood from damage. Thus samples were prepared that were both
water insoluble, and possessed effective
fire retardant properties. These samples also proved to be stronger than untreated wood, thus providing an improved product that was
fire retardant and
moisture resistant. Since aqueous
sodium silicate can be combined with other inorganic fire retardants, this technique is a
potential method for making any inorganic fire retardants
moisture resistant. This represents a potential breakthrough in fire retardants that has been sought for approximately 100 years. In addition, sodium silicate treated samples were made moisture resistant by the application of a micro-
thin layer of
silicon monoxide to the surface of samples. This technique, also never tried before, represents a second method for providing moisture resistant, fire retardant substances.