Difficulty on the FR finishing of polyester/cotton fabrics

Polyester/cotton fabric is popular due to excellent performance and durability. However, it's easy to burn to cause fire accidents and lead to huge losses.The research of flame retardant finishing are widespread concerned. So far, people found that flame retardant finishing on polyester/cotton fabrics is far more difficult than any one of the components. 

 

The main reasons are:

(1) because the cotton is a fiber which is no melt and no shrink when ignition, when the polyester-cotton products burning, the cotton fiber carbonization, the polyester played a role similar to the candle stent, making it hard to keep from the flame source;

(2) the mutual induction of the two polymers of polyester and cotton or their lysates accelerates the spillage of the lysate, so that the firing rate of the polyester-cotton fabric is higher than that of the pure polyester and the pure cotton.

(3) in the combustion process, the flame retardant will be in the polyester and cotton between the two components of the migration, therefore, making the polyester-cotton fabric flame retardant difficult;

(4) polyester-cotton blended fabric heat , The hot melt of the polyester component will cover the surface of the polyester fiber, and polyester fiber and its cracking of the carbon will form a skeleton, to prevent the fabric shrinkage, resulting in molten polyester into a fire area of ​​a fuel, so that the fabric burn more intense.

 

Therefore, to reduce the flammability of polyester/cotton fabric, the following points need to be done:

(1) blended fabric in each component must be flame retardant;

(2) blended fabric flame retardant finishing, use appropriate resistance

(3) to eliminate the skeletal effect and the two components of the interference effect.

 

For a long time, the developed polyester-cotton fabric flame retardant finishing technology and its flame retardant performance is difficult to meet the requirements of certain uses. The main problem is that after finishing the hand feel or mechanical strength is not satisfactory; secondly the production ecology needs to be improved. At present, it has not been able to find a good flame retardant and finishing process which can play a flame retardant effect with two kinds of fibers at the same time. The current main application is decabromodiphenyl, but it has the nature of coating finishing, handfeel is not very satisfactory. Until now, China's polyester/cotton textile fabrics on the fire-retardant fabric is still continuing to study.

 

At present, Drotex "FIREPRO" CVC flame retardant is the first choice when choosing strong and durable to meet the flame retardant performance requirements.The fabric is made of more than 60% of cotton fiber, 40% of the following polyester fiber blended. Keeping both characteristics ofcotton, polyester fiber.It has better strength and better wrinkle resistance and wearing durability.

Comfort innovations lead to greater FR clothing compliance

Simply owning a treadmill doesn’t make you fit. And simply owning flame-resistant clothing doesn’t protect you from thermal hazards. In order to reap the full safety benefits, workers need to actually wear their FR garments – and they need to wear them consistently and correctly.

 

The use of FR clothing is mandated in a variety of workplaces by multiple OSHA standards, including 1910.132, 1910.269 and 1910.335. Several other industry standards, such as NFPA 2112 and NFPA 70E, provide additional guidelines regarding FR clothing requirements. If employees do not wear their FR clothing in compliance with these standards, they not only increase their chance of injury from heat- and fire-related hazards, but also put their workplaces at risk of incurring fines.

 

Just as discomfort is a major factor in opting to stay off the treadmill, it is also a major factor in employees choosing not to wear their FR clothing compliantly. In an attempt to cool off on a hot day, workers may push up their sleeves, leaving areas of the skin exposed. Or, in an effort to escape the restricting feel of stiff fabrics or clothing designed with poor mobility, wearers may untuck or unbutton their shirts, increasing the likelihood of their garments getting caught on something and of exposing the skin to hazards. Worst of all, if FR clothing is too uncomfortable, employees may decide not to wear it at all.

 

Fortunately, FR clothing manufacturers have made significant improvements in comfort over the years. One of the more recent innovations is improved FR denim, which offers a casual, relaxed alternative to classic FR work pants, in styles workers will want to wear both on and off the job.

 

Another recent innovation is FR clothing designed specifically for women, such as pants with a lower rise and tailored shirts. By providing a better fit, these styles help increase wearer compliance.

 

A variety of compliance-inspiring options are now available – if you know what to look for. In general, it is best to select FR garments made from flexible, lightweight fabrics with excellent breathability and moisture management. Additionally, it is important to identify styles that will provide the best possible fit for each individual employee and seek options that support job performance by offering greater mobility.

 

Of course, comfort is largely subjective and preferences may vary between individual workers and/or work environments. To help identify the best fit for your needs, consider doing wear trials to experiment with various fabric and style options.

 

Compliance matters when it comes to safety, and selecting comfortable FR clothing can go a long way toward encouraging employees to get up on that metaphorical treadmill and wear their protective apparel properly.

"Proban" flame retardant treatment for fabric

There are two kinds of flame retardant fabrics:inherently FR fabrics and chemical treated flame retardant fabrics. For treated flame retardant fabrics,there are also many kinds.Nowadays 3 kinds of flame retardant treatment are most popular in the market.Today we introduce one of them to you------"Proban" FR chemical.
"Proban" pure cotton flame retardant finishing technology,is a patent of Rhodia company in UK.It uses polyester phosphate chemical additive and unique finishing technology to conduct reaction to cotton fabric,making textile carbonize when heated and form an isolation layer so that textile stop burning and self-extinguish immediately,making the fabric have flame retardant property and a very short after-flame and after-glow time.Fabric treated by "Proban" flame retardant technology has good laundering performance.If kept properly,the flame retardant feature will keep effect for the life of the garment.Generally speaking,the flame retardant property can meet International standards of EN ISO 11611,EN ISO 11612,EN ISO 14116,NFPA 2112,and ASTM F1506 even ater 50 times washing.Besides,fabrics treated by "Proban" has soft handfeel and no smell.So it's a widely-used FR finishing technology.
Our company adopts "THPC" as one of our FR technology,it is similar with "Proban" but is produced in China and is more competitive in price.
In next article,we will introduce "Pyrovatex CP" FR technology.
Our company------Drotex is aiming to provide best protection for global workers and will continue develop high quality protective fabrics for customers all over the world.

Contact:Sandy
E-mail:sandy@zcsafety.com