Handbook of Fiber Science and Technology Volume 2

Chemical Processing of Fibers and Fabrics-- Functional Finishes Part B

Menachem Lewin

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9780824771188
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351442695
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Chemistry
• Index: Chemistry

Continuing the outstanding coverage from Part A, the authoritative information inFunctional Finishes, Part B makes your work with fibers and fabrics cost-effective ...offers practical guidance in finishing techniques-including flame retardancy, water andoil repellency, soil release, electroconductivity, and radiation ... and eases your continuingstudy of this expanding field with numerous, current references-with manyoriginal findings not previously cited.As new advances widen the scope of this field, each volume of Handbook of Fiber Scienceand Technology becomes an indispensable acquisition for researchers. Textile ,fiber, polymer, organic, physical, and biological chemists; textile finishers and chemicalmanufacturers; R & D personnel in the polymer, fiber, chemical, and textile industries;plastics and chemical engineers; materials scientists; and wood and paper technologistswill find them essential references. They are also superior sources of supplementaryreading for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in polymer, fiber, and textilechemistry and technology ; chemical processing of fibers, chemical technology andengineering, and polymer processing.

1

FLAME RETARDANCE OF FABRICS

MENACHEM LEWIN / Israel Fiber Institute, and School of Applied Science and Technology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

1. Introduction

1.1 Importance of problem

1.2 Legislation and flame retardant development

1.3 Flame retardance and other textile properties

1.4 FR plastics and textiles

2. Flammability and Hazards: Definitions, Principles, and Testing

2.1 Short glossary of terms

2.2 Hazards and testing

3. Flame Retardants and Mechanisms

3.1 condensed-phase mechanisms

3.2 Fine structure and pyrolysis

3.3 Gas-phase mechanism

3.4 Physical effects

3.5 Differentiation between FR mechanisms

3.6 Mechanisms of FR activity of phosphorus and sulfur derivatives

3.7 FR activity of halogen derivatives

3.8 Mechanism of smoldering (glowing)

3.9 Mechanism of formation and inhibition of smoke

4. Flame-Retarding Systems for Textile Materials

5. Flame-Retarding Processes for Cellulosic Fibers and Wool

5.1 Cotton

5.2 Rayon

5.3 Wool

6. Flame-Retarding Processes for Synthetic Fibers

6.1 Polyester (PET)

6.2 Cotton-PET blends

6.3 Nylon fibers

6.4 Acrylic fibers

6.5 Polypropylene (PP) fibers

References

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Importance of Problem

Flammability of fibrous products is one of the major problems posed to scientists and technologists at the present time. The U.S. national projection for fires caused by textiles per year based on averages computed for 1977–1978 is 214,800 [1]. These fires would cause 3500 deaths and 8800 injuries, and up to $656 million in direct losses and $2 billion in fire-related expenditures. Although all fiber and textile products may be involved in starting of fires as well as materially contributing to the flame, mattresses, upholstered furniture, and bedding are the most prominent with regard to the number of fires. They are followed in this order by nonworn clothing, curtains, carpets, and worn clothing [1]. Fires involving worn clothing, however, appear to be the most dangerous and show the highest rate of deaths per fire. It was recently concluded by Tovey and Katz [1] that most textile fires “start because someone misused a source of heat or misused the material ignited. But this does not relieve the textile industry from the responsibility for working to reduce the flammability of textile products.”

Hazards from flammable fabrics were recognized for many centuries and repeated attempts have been made to cope with them [3]. One of the first recorded efforts in this direction was made in 1735 by Jonathan Wyld of England, who patented a flame-retarding mixture of alum, ferrous sulfate, and borax [4]. Gay-Lussac [5] in 1821 developed a flame-retarding finish for jute and linen based on borax, ammonium phosphate, and chloride. Perkin [6] in 1912 precipitated stannic oxide within the fiber and obtained a durable flame resistance albeit with a severe afterglow.

Many further attempts were made by the military during World Wars I and II to reduce fire hazards by introducing fire-retardant treatments and suitable clauses in fabric specifications [7].

1.2 Legislation and Flame Retardant Development

Only in 1952, following a number of deaths from garment fires, were the hazards from flammable fabrics viewed for, the first time as a general consumer problem, which brought about the Flammable Fabric Act of 1951, regulating flammability of textile products purchased directly by consumers [8, 9]. Subsequently the 45° angle test was accepted as a commercial standard in the United States [10] with the aim of indicating textiles used for apparel “which ignite easily and, once ignited, burn with sufficient intensity to be hazardous when worn.” Similar standards were subsequently adopted in Britain [11], Switzerland [12], Canada [13], and Japan [14].

Further developments led to the Ammended Flammable Fabric Act of 1967 [9], which gave to the U.S. government, e.g., to the Secretary of Commerce, the authority and duty to “set mandatory flammability standards as needed to protect the people against unreasonable risk.” It also authorized investigation of deaths and inquiries, research, and development of test methods and devices. The Act related to standards applicable to wearing apparel and interior furnishings for homes, offices, and places of assembly or accomodation. The standards according to this Act should be “reasonable and practicable.” This meant that they had to be acceptable to all sectors of the industry and the public, i.e., producers, distributors, consumers, enforcement offices, and politicians. It was also realized that compromises would have to be reached between the degree of protection and the cost of protection. Tribus [15] illustrated this trade-off (see Fig. 1.1) as an exercise in risk-taking: the reduction in the number of burns expected for a given standard is plotted against the severity of the tests required by it and against the cost.

The philosophy has subsequently changed with the passing of the Consumer Product Safety Act and the establishment of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1972. According to this Act, the government is empowered to issue standards protecting the public from unreasonable hazards even without prior interaction with industry.

At about the same time, new Federal Standards were issued by the Department of Commerce for the surface flammability of carpets in 1970 [16, 17]. Although these did not require the addition of special chemicals to carpets, except alumina trihydrate, they did increase the awarenes...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Series
• Introduction to the Handbook
• Introduction to Volumes I and II
• Preface
• Contributors
• Contents of Other Volumes
• 1. Flame Retardance of Fabrics
• 2. Repellent Finishes
• 3. Soil-Release Finishes
• 4. Antistatic Treatment
• 5. The Chemical Technology of Wool Finishing
• 6. Radiation Processing
• Index