Fire Retardant Cellulosic Fabric

A flame retardant finish has been prepared from the water glass for application in jute fabric. In this study water glass (sodium silicate nonahydrate) has been applied in different concentration to raw jute fabric by the method of direct application followed by drying. Flame retardancy was then evaluated by LOI determination and burning behaviour including horizontal flame spread rate, char length were also investigated. In the case of Horizontal flammability treated fabric shows no flame and at higher % application of silicate propagation rate was almost 8 times lower than that of the untreated one. The Limiting oxygen index was also increased with increasing the % application. Char length was observed and it decreased down with increasing the percentage application of silicate. Wash durability of the silicate treated jute fabric was also measured. The thermal behaviour of flame retardant jute fabrics have been measured using Thermo gravimetric analysis in N₂ atmosphere. It revealed that for the treated fabric the rate of weight loss with temperature was lower than the control fabric sample and more carbonaceous char was formed with silicate add-on. A small decrease in tensile strength was observed for treated fabric whereas the brightness index of all finished fabric was improved.