Cotton, fireproofing

In order to fireproof wood and cotton products and to thermally convert biomass into chemicals, researchers must understand cellulose pyrolysis. Extensive research has been conducted in this area and several reviews are available (1-7). 

Neither cotton nor wood celluloses can be made fireproof in the sense that glass or asbestos fibers are, as they cannot be prevented from charring but they can be made flameptoof in that they will not support combustion after removal of the source of ignition. According to federal specifications (27), flameproofed cloth must not propagate a flame after exposure under standard conditions for 12 seconds to the luminous flame of a Bunsen burner. 

Leatherman, M., Weather-Resistant Fireproofing Treatment for Cotton Fabrics, U. S. Dept. Agr., Circ. 466(1938). 

Use Weed killer, cotton defoliant, fireproofing compositions, glass manufacture, B supplement for tree fruit and truck crops. 

In the textile industry, where it is used for weighting and sizing silk, as a mordant, for treating finished cotton fabric, and in fireproofing fabrics ... 

In many cases, even normal textiles must be made fireproof. In principle, this objective can be achieved in three ways copolymerization with small amounts of a flame-retarding comonomer, addition of flame-retarding low-molar-mass substances to the spinning solution, or post-treatment of the textiles with flame retardants. The last method is indeed very flexible and economic but does not always yield completely technologically satisfactory results. Consequently, it is only used for the natural fibers wool and cotton. 

The chemical fibers rayon and cellulose acetate are made fireproof by adding flame-retardant additives to the spinning solution. The active substance in this case is distributed throughout the whole fiber and is not only on the surface, as in the case of wool and cotton. 

One of the earliest compounds to be used for fireproofing cotton was THPC (12.207a), and this was followed by compounds such as Pyrovatex (12.207b) and Tyrol (12.207c), all of which were applied to the finished fabric [41]. 

---