Fume Hood Liner Materials Compared

The liner is the surface that takes the most abuse inside a laboratory fume hood. It sees acid fumes, solvent vapors, spills, heat and constant wipe-downs, and it has to meet the fire rating in the hood specification. Each liner material handles those demands differently, and each comes with a different cost and weight. This guide compares the five materials fume hood manufacturers use most often.

 

Fiberglass Reinforced Polyester (FRP)

FRP is the most common liner for general-purpose and teaching-lab fume hoods. It is a glass-fiber-reinforced polyester sheet with a smooth, non-porous surface that resists a wide range of acids, bases and solvents and wipes clean.

• Chemical resistance: good to excellent for most general lab chemistry

• Fire performance: Class A grades (ASTM E84 flame spread 25 or less) are available; CS1000 tests at flame spread 15

• Weight: light, about 1.7 lb per square foot at 3/16"

• Fabrication: cuts, routs and drills with standard carbide tooling

• Cost: the lowest of the five materials

• Limitations: not suited to perchloric acid, and concentrated hydrofluoric acid, concentrated phosphoric acid or strong oxidizing acid mixtures can etch the surface

 

Epoxy Resin

Epoxy resin panels offer excellent chemical and heat resistance and a very hard surface. They are also heavy and among the most expensive options, so epoxy is more common as a work surface than as a full hood liner. It is usually chosen when a hood will see high heat or chemistry that is more aggressive than FRP is rated for.

 

Phenolic Resin

Chemical-resistant phenolic panels are durable, moisture resistant and stand up to many common lab chemicals. They cost more and weigh more than FRP, and are often used when a hood is built into phenolic casework so the materials match.

 

Polypropylene

Polypropylene resists strong acids, including hydrofluoric acid, better than most other liner materials, which makes it the standard for acid digestion and trace-metals hoods. The trade-offs are lower heat tolerance and fire performance: polypropylene is combustible and generally does not reach a Class A flame spread rating, so it is used where its acid resistance is required.

 

Stainless Steel

Type 316 stainless steel is used for perchloric acid hoods, which require a wash-down system, and for radioisotope work where the surface must be easy to decontaminate. Stainless is non-combustible but is attacked by hydrochloric acid and chlorides, and it is the most expensive option to buy and fabricate.

 

Fume Hood Liner Materials at a Glance

• Most cost-effective general-purpose liner: FRP

• Perchloric acid hoods: stainless steel with a wash-down system

• Hydrofluoric acid and acid digestion: polypropylene

• Highest heat resistance: epoxy resin

• Matching phenolic casework: phenolic resin

 

Why Most Fume Hood Manufacturers Standardize on FRP

For the majority of hoods built for research, quality-control and teaching labs, FRP delivers the chemical resistance and Class A fire rating the specification requires at the lowest installed cost, and it runs on the fabrication equipment already on the shop floor.

 

ChemShield CS1000 is a 3/16" FRP liner board that is UL Listed, ASTM E84 Class A (flame spread 15) and SEFA 3 tested. See the full CS1000 specifications, review the CS1000 test results or request samples for qualification testing.