Effect of False Ceiling Materials: An Evaluation of Coconut Shell Powder Reinforced PLA with Various Fire Retardants

It investigates using Coconut Shell Powder (CSP) composites reinforced with Polylactic Acid (PLA) as fire-resistant and environmentally friendly false ceiling materials. Out of these, PLA is a biodegradable thermoplastic, while CSP, which is made from agricultural waste, helps improve the material's mechanical strength and thermal stability. Using the TOPSIS approach, many composite formulations, both with and without fire retardants, have been compared against traditional ceiling materials based on a number of characteristics. Fire retardants containing CSP-PLA composites outperformed those containing ammonium polyphosphate and zinc borate, particularly those concentrating on mixed retardants (Ci=0.690) to maintain physical strength and effectiveness. The results showed that CSP-reinforced PLA with a combination of fire retardants was the top-performing option. It obtained the highest rank and a Closeness Coefficient (Ci) of 0.690. Further, making the intensity of CSP-PLA capacity to produce strong fire retardance thoroughly was the concentration of CSP-reinforced PLA with Ammonium polyphosphate (Ci=0.649) and CSP-reinforced PLA with Zinc Borate (Ci=0.587). Although CSP-PLA without retardants performed remarkably well in terms of cost and sustainability, fire retardants significantly improved overall performance, particularly in terms of fire safety. According to the results, CSP-PLA composites show promise as environmentally caring substitutes for interior building applications.