How can modified plastics meet the latest environmental standards for household appliances?

In the current era where the home appliance industry is accelerating its transformation towards greening, low-carbonization and high-endization, environmental compliance is no longer just an added benefit; it has become the minimum requirement for entry. A series of new national and industry-level environmental protection standards for home appliances have been implemented intensively, covering restrictions on harmful substances, halogen-free flame retardancy requirements, VOC emissions, odor levels, and low-carbon utilization of recycled materials, etc., with each level tightening the standards.

And modified plastics, as the core basic materials for the shells, structural components, and functional parts of home appliances, directly determine whether the entire machine can pass the inspection and be put on the market for circulation. How to simultaneously achieve both halogen-free flame retardancy and low VOC compliance, and meet the latest environmental protection standards for home appliances, has become a core issue of common concern for both home appliance manufacturers and material suppliers.

I. First, understand: The three latest core environmental protection standards for home appliances

In recent years, environmental protection standards for the home appliance industry have undergone a concentrated update. These are also the strict requirements that must be aligned for modified plastic formulations, material selection, and production.

1. QB/T 8053-2024 Special VOC Standard for Home Appliances

This standard will be officially implemented in January 2025. It is the first industry standard specifically regulating VOC and odor in the home appliance industry. It focuses on controlling 9 types of volatile substances such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzene series, and TVOC, and clearly sets limits for the entire home appliance unit:

• Whole-unit TVOC ≤ 0.10mg/m³ (measured in the whole-unit compartment)

• Strict upper limits for harmful volatile substances such as formaldehyde and benzene

• Unified detection using a 10m³ environmental test chamber, with a 23℃ constant temperature and humidity static test

The plastic interiors, exteriors, foaming components, and structural parts of home appliances are the main sources of VOC. Resin monomers, flame retardants, plasticizers, lubricants, and other additives are all key causes of excessive volatile substances.

2. GB 26572-2025 New Version of China RoHS 2.0

This standard was released in August 2025 and will be officially implemented on August 1, 2027. It has a 2-year transition period + 1-year inventory absorption period, and the controlled substances have expanded from the original 6 items to 10 items. 4 new types of phthalate esters are controlled, and harmful substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers are strictly restricted. Traditional bromine-based flame retardants and common phthalate-based plasticizers are phased out, forcing home appliances to switch to a halogen-free modified plastic system without flame retardants.

3. General Specifications for Green Design and Halogen-Free Flame Retardancy

For high-end home appliance models, kitchen appliances, air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, etc., plastic parts are generally required to reach UL 94 V-0 halogen-free flame retardancy; at the same time, the policy encourages the application of recycled modified plastics, requiring the reasonable blending of environmentally friendly recycled materials to reduce the carbon footprint of the product and comply with domestic green product certification and EU export compliance requirements.

II. Industry pain points: Where are the difficulties in complying with the new environmental protection standards for home appliances?

1. Balancing flame retardancy and low odor: Ordinary halogen-free flame retardants have a large addition amount, which easily leads to excessive odor, leaching, and VOC超标 problems；

2. Confusion during the transition period between old and new standards： Old formulations do not meet the new VOC and RoHS standards， and the cost of changing formulations is high， with a long debugging period；

3. Unstable quality of recycled materials： Recycled ABS and recycled PP have many impurities and high volatile substances， making it difficult to achieve both halogen-free flame retardancy and low odor；

4. Low pass rate for whole-unit detection： A single material is qualified， but when assembled with adhesives and paints， the whole-unit VOC may exceed the limit.

III. Core solutions for modified plastics to adapt to the new environmental protection standards for home appliances

To perfectly adapt to the latest environmental protection standards for home appliances， the core lies in two aspects： upgrading the halogen-free flame retardant system + optimizing the low-VOC and low-odor formulation process.

1. Completely replace bromine-based materials and adopt an environmentally friendly halogen-free flame retardant system

Eliminate traditional bromine-based modified plastics and promote phosphorus-based， nitrogen-based， and expanded halogen-free flame retardant systems：

• Adapt to common base materials such as PP， ABS， PC/ABS， and HIPS in home appliances；

• Accurately control the addition ratio of flame retardant additives to achieve UL 94 V-0 flame retardancy level；

• No smoke， no leaching， no harmful substances， fully meeting the new RoHS control requirements.

2. Formula upgrade， strictly control VOC and odor from the source

• Select new base resins with low residue and low odor to reduce monomer volatilization；

• Prohibit phthalate-based plasticizers and replace them with an environmentally friendly and non-toxic additive system；

• Combine adsorption-type functional masterbatches to adsorb small molecule volatile substances， controlling the release of TVOC from the formulation end；

• Select environmentally friendly lubricants and antioxidant systems throughout to avoid secondary pollution by additives. 3. Process optimization to further reduce VOC

• The extrusion process adopts a high-temperature vacuum evaporation method to remove residual monomers and volatile small molecules;

• The entire process of raw material drying, modification, granulation, and packaging is carried out in a sealed and dust-free environment;

• The finished products undergo constant temperature aging treatment to release volatile substances in advance, ensuring stable odor and VOC compliance upon arrival for use.

4. Customized material matching for specific home appliance scenarios

For different home appliance categories, specialized modified materials are customized:

• Air conditioning inner components, refrigerator shells: low odor + halogen-free flame retardant + weather resistance;

• Kitchen appliance shell structural components: high heat resistance + halogen-free flame retardant + low VOC;

• Small appliances, white home appliances interiors: antibacterial + low odor + environmental compliance;

Achieving one machine one formula, one scenario one adaptation.

Four. Future trends: Halogen-free + low VOC + low carbon recycling as the mainstream

With the continuous upgrading of environmental protection standards, modified plastics for home appliances have left the era of simply competing in strength and price, and entered a new stage of green compliance and technology-driven. The three major development directions in the future are very clear:

1. All universal plastic parts for home appliances will gradually adopt the standard of being halogen-free flame retardant and low VOC;

2. The proportion of environmentally friendly recycled modified materials will continue to increase, and GRS certification and carbon footprint accounting will become essential requirements in the supply chain;

3. Material manufacturers will shift from simply providing materials to customizing formulas, conducting compliance inspections, and providing integrated services for overall solutions.

The countdown for the new standards has begun. The environmental compliance of the home appliance industry has entered the deep water zone.

For home appliance enterprises, locking in a modified plastic supply chain that meets halogen-free flame retardant, low VOC, and new RoHS standards in advance can avoid the risks of production suspension and退市； for modified plastic enterprises， upgrading formulas， optimizing processes， and deeply specializing in home appliance-specific materials are the core competitiveness to seize the green home appliance trend. Greening is the inevitable trend. Only by keeping up with standard iterations and upgrading materials to adapt to new industry regulations can achieve win-win and long-term development of the industry chain.