Flame-Retardant ABS Flame-retardant ABS has excellent properties and processability and therefore has been most widely

used as the parts of office automation (OA) equipment including copiers and printers and various kinds of electric and electronic equipment as well as computer monitor housings. Further, since recently safety has been emphasized, the application field and use of flame-retardant resin have been expanded, and the requirements in the market have been diversified according to the environmental problems. In this section, we review the overall present situation and future prospects of flame-retardant ABS resins. The flame-retardant ABS resin is prepared by addition of flame retardant, impact modifier, lubricant, and stabilizer. As the flame retardant, halogen-based organic compounds containing bromine, chlorine, etc., are mainly used. Although phosphorus-based flame retardant may be used, its use is limited to only low levels of flame-retardant products (V-2). Therefore, in the following we focus on halogen-based flame retardant, as flame-retardant ABS generally uses halogen-based flame retardant. As the flame retardant, organic halogen compounds having a bromine (Br) content of at least 50% are mainly used, and they can be added to the level of at least 5 to 20 parts by weight per 100 parts of resin (phr) depending on the flame-retardant rating of the final product and the flame-retarding efficiency of flame retardant, to readily obtain UL-94 V-2 to V-0. Since the flame retardant in flame-retardant resin determines the flame-retardant property, and furthermore, influences the properties and characteristics of the resin itself, it is important to select the flame retardant according to the desired characteristic properties required for the final product. The kinds and properties of flame retardants used in flame-retardant ABS are shown in Table 6.1. Tetra-bromo bisphenol-A is the most widely used flame retardant for flame-retardant ABS, since it is relatively inexpensive and has excellent flame resistance, in comparison to other flame retardants. Although it has the advantage of excellent fluidity, it is required to use a suitable