Effect of Deposited Urea on the Flame Retardancy Imparted to Cotton Fabric

Abstract

The effect of urea as a non-durable finish on the flammability of 100% cotton fabric, plain construction, weighing 168 g/mM² has been of interest in this study. The laundered, oven-dried, weighed fabrics were impregnated with suitable concentrations of aqueous urea solutions by means of squeeze rolls and dried at 110°C for 30 min. Afterwards, they were cooled in a desiccator, weighed with analytical precision and kept under ordinary conditions before the accomplishment of the vertical flame test. The optimum add-on value to impart flame retardancy expresed in g anhydrous urea per 100 g fabric was about 25%. The results obtained with the impartation of urea into the cotton fabric is in favour of gas theory and also condensed phase retardation.