Eco-friendly flame retardants are greatly required to meet the expectations of low-toxicity, environmental compatibility and sustainability. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the biopolymers recovered from excess granular wastewater sludge, have been successfully incorporated into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by a solution casting method. Self-extinguishment of EPS was observed in a vertical burn test. Positive effects of EPS on the reduction of heat release rate and CO emission of EPS/PVA composites were also demonstrated. The presence of various types of phosphates was detected in the EPS and a possible flame-retardant mechanism has been proposed. The investigation of using granular sludge EPS to reduce the flammability of synthetic polymers may open the possibility of converting wastewater sludge into bio phosphorus-based flame retardants.

In this research, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), such as EPS_flocs and EPS_granules, were successfully extracted from activated and aerobic granular sludge, respectively, and tested as bio-based flame retardant materials. Flax fabric was coated by the biopolymeric substances and its flammability was evaluated based on a vertical burning test defined in US Federal Aviation Regulation. Both EPS_flocs and EPS_granules coated flax fabrics achieved the self-extinguishment due to effective char formation. In particular, the result of the EPS_granules coated sample met the aviation requirements for the aircraft interior. Moreover, the presence of carbonated hydroxyapatite was identified in EPS_granules char residue by using FTIR and XRD analysis. It can contribute to the self-extinguishing property of the fabric by enhancing char formation. Thermogravimetric analysis also demonstrated that EPS_granules coated flax was able to produce greater amount of char residue and its decomposition rate was significantly reduced. This research indicates that there is a great potential to use this biopolymer as a resource for developing high performance bio-inspired flame retardant materials and contribute to a circular economy.