Czech scientists develop new solution to help protect rare documents from fire

Rare manuscripts, historical documents and books stored in archives can now be better protected from the devastating effects of fire. Experts from the Faculty of Chemistry at Brno University of Technology (FCH BUT), the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (UCT Prague), the Technical Institute of Fire Protection (TIFP), and EMBA have developed a new method for reducing the flammability of paperboard and cardboard, particularly for use in archival storage. The result of several years of joint research was presented in Prague on 18 September, where its effectiveness was also demonstrated in live fire tests.

Archival boxes protect documents from light, dust, mechanical damage and other environmental factors. In the event of a fire, however, the cardboard itself is a combustible material. The aim of the research was therefore to develop archival cardboard with reduced flammability, capable of providing better protection for stored documents while meeting the requirements for their long-term preservation.

“At UCT Prague, we have been researching flame-retardant treatments for archival boxes and cardboard packaging for quite some time as part of our student’s master’s and doctoral research. Archives, as well as libraries, museums and galleries, have only limited fire protection. According to our findings, only around 5% of repositories are equipped with fixed fire suppression systems, while the rest are not. This was one of the reasons behind the project, which also involved a Czech manufacturer of archival packaging. Our aim is to enable the industrial production of archival cardboard treated with a flame retardant. The need for such a solution was also highlighted by the recent large-scale fire in nearby Banská Štiavnica,” said Professor Michal Ďurovič from UCT Prague.

From the laboratory to industrial production

The development brought together expertise from several fields. UCT Prague focused on the composition of flame-retardant mixtures and their impact on archival materials, while experts from FCH BUT worked on the technology for applying the flame retardant to cardboard and scaling the process up from laboratory to industrial production. TIFP tested the behaviour of the resulting material under fire conditions, while EMBA contributed its expertise in the production of archival cardboard and the possibilities for implementing the technology in practice.

“It is not enough to develop a material that performs well on a laboratory scale. If research is to have a real impact, we also need to find a technology that can be used reliably and repeatedly in industrial production,” said Professor Michal Veselý from FCH BUT.

The development process also had to take into account more than just fire resistance. Materials used for the long-term preservation of archival collections must be chemically stable and must not adversely affect the documents, they are designed to protect. The researchers therefore also monitored the physical and chemical properties of the treated cardboard and assessed its suitability for archival use.

Fire tests confirm effectiveness

The effectiveness of the developed solution was verified through fire tests comparing the behaviour of conventional archival cardboard with material treated with the flame retardant. In tests carried out according to standardised procedures, the newly developed archival boxes did not ignite significantly, while the conventional reference boxes and their model contents were completely destroyed by fire during the test. In the treated boxes, the fire did not spread further.

The research results were presented on 18 September at the TIFP premises in Prague. The press conference also included a live demonstration in which experts showed the difference between the behaviour of a conventional archival box and a box treated with the newly developed flame retardant.

The developed technology could contribute to better passive protection of archival collections, historical documents and other cultural heritage. Its aim is to combine the properties required for the long-term preservation of archival materials with greater resistance of the packaging material to fire.

A utility model application has been filed to protect the research results. The project’s industrial partner, EMBA, is already preparing for production and plans to launch the new solution on the market.
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Published	2026-09-21
Link	https://www.fch.vut.cz/en//f96620/d366393