Kinetic modeling of generation and decay of HCl from burning PVC

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Abstract
Assessing the fire hazard of a material has three facets: (a) the generation of heat and combustion products; (b) their transport to the vicinity of the building occupant; and (c) the response of each subject to specific exposures. In this study, interest has focused on the aspect of HCl decay. Two models for HCl generation, transport, and decay have been developed: an empirical and a rigorous model. Both have been applied to predict the behavior of HCl in small and large scale fire experiments. The rigorous model accounts for primary variables (humidity and type and extent of surface) in such a way that it is essentially independent of scale and specific geometry. The results show that the fire hazard of chlorinated materials is exaggerated unless HCl decay is considered.