FLAME RETARDING OF POLYMERS WITH SULFAMATES .1. SULFATION OF COTTON AND WOOL

Some results of work carried out on flame retarding of cotton and wool fabrics are reviewed. Cotton fabrics are rendered flame retardant up on treatment with ammonium sulfamate (AS) with urea or a urea-based cr osslinking agent, as co-additive,in the pad-dry-cure finishing treatme nt, with curing at 180-200 degrees C for one to three minutes. Wool fa brics are similarly treated with sulfamic acid (SA) in the presence of urea at 140-160 degrees C. In both cases a very high degree of flame retardancy is obtained and the treated fabrics pass the vertical strip test (VST) also after fifty hard water alkaline launderings. In both cases, the fabrics retain their soft hand. In order to overcome the af terglow in cotton, a combined sulfation-phosphorylation process was de veloped.