Flame Retardancy, Physiological Comfort and Durability of Casein Treated Cotton Fabrics

The present work was aimed to develop the flame retardant textiles for prevention of second-degree burn injuries from low intensity heat flux accidents. The different concentration of casein suspension was applied on cotton fabrics and their thermo-oxidative properties, flame retardant behavior as well as physiological comfort were examined. From thermo gravimetric analysis, the percentage increase in char residue indicated improvement in thermo-oxidative properties. The maximum improvement in flame retardant behavior was found in case of 30 w/v% casein suspension due to higher production of thermally stable char. Their SEM micrographs also showed the formation of stronger and coherent char with presence of local intumescence. Furthermore, for estimating small differences in burn length and burn area, the flame propagation was studied in detail using the image analysis. The lower concentration of casein below 20 w/v% was found to provide adequate flame retardancy with acceptable physiological comfort and mechanical properties. Finally, the short term durability of casein treatment was verified under the effect of washing and ageing conditions.