Eco Friendly Flame Retardant Finish For Cotton Fabric

Abstract

Functional finishes enhance the natural appeal of cotton fabrics while providing value-addition. The use of eco-friendly natural ingredients to obtain the functionality opens up niche markets for such products. In line with this concept, our paper reports the combination of spinach leaf juice (SJ) and coconut shell extract (CSE) being employed to impart flame retardant properties to cotton fabric. Researchers have investigated the two components separately for similar activity and therefore we are seeking a synergistic effect. Vertical flammability and Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) were used to compare the flammability characteristics of treated and untreated fabrics. The results indicate an increase by 1.25 times of the LOI values of the treated fabric. This was also higher than the LOI values of fabrics treated individually. Similar results were also obtained in vertical flammability tests. The capacity of the treatment to withstand soap washing and rubbing has also been investigated. Application of SJ and CSE on cotton fabric sample produced natural green and yellowish brown colors respectively while the combination yielded a darkish green color. Other physical properties were not altered significantly. The importance of the work is that a common bio-waste and easily procurable spinach can be applied by a simple cost-effective process to impart a desirable finish to cotton fabric. An additional advantage is that the treated fabric can also be considered as a natural dyed material. Further work is needed to optimize the process and to determine additional effects of the treatment