FLAME RETARDANT FINISHING AND FLAME RETARDANT TEXTILES

This article is a brief review of the flame retardant finishing technology used by the textile industry. The non-durable and semi-durable flame retardants based on phosphate and phosphonate salts are widely used in the industry, whereas the most successful durable flame retardant finishes for cotton continue to be one based on tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium (THPX) salts reacted with urea and ammonia, and N-methylol dimethyl phosphonopropionamide (commercially known as "Pyrovatex CP") and its analogs. Modification of those traditional flame retardants and new development in this field are discussed. Polyester continues to be flame retarded using a phosphonate or hexabromocyclododecane "thermosol" process, and the use of the flame retardant melting additives for flame retardant polyester fibers are also discussed. The flame retardant textiles covered also include rayon and wool fibers. A number of inherently flame retardant fibers, including aramid fibers, melamine-based fibers, halogen-containing modacrylic and oxidized acrylic fibers, are discussed. Backcoating is still one of the most effective techniques and has been widely applied to synthetic fibers and blends. The leading flame retardant for textile backcoating is decabromodiphenyl ether plus antimony oxide. This article also discusses the trend in textile flame retardant development and production.