Flame Retardant Cotton Blend Highlofts

Highloft nonwovens are low density fabrics characterized by a high ratio of thickness to weight per unit area, which means that highlofts contain considerable void volume. They are usually made of synthetic fibers. The present research effort was directed to study cotton blended highlofts. The major problems with using cotton in highlofts are cotton's high flammability and lack of resiliency. The objective of this research was to carry out single-bath chemical finishing of perpendicular-laid (P-laid) highlofts to afford the composites' improved flame resistance (FR) and physical resiliency. We have developed two finishing formulations containing the flame retardants (a) diammonium phosphate (DAP)/urea, and (b) DAP and cyclic phosphonate ester along with the crosslinking agent DMDHEU. Both the formulations imparted flame resistance to the highly flammable highlofts, protecting them completely. However, the formulation containing DAP/urea is preferred because it is of lower cost. Using the vertical flame test, damage sustained was limited to charring in the vicinity of the instigating flame. The crosslinking agent was effective in improving compressional resistance and recovery. So, the finishing treatment produced P-laid cotton blend highlofts that were both FR and resilient.