The Effect of Different Concentrations of Flame Retardant on Cotton
Researched by Landin A. 2001-02	PURPOSE  HYPOTHESIS  EXPERIMENT DESIGN  MATERIALS  PROCEDURES  RESULTS  CONCLUSION  RESEARCH REPORT  BIBLIOGRAPHY  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The purpose of this experiment was to determine how various concentrations of a fire retardant affect the flammability of cotton cloth. 

I became interested in this idea when I learned that most fires each year are in homes and are caused by bedding, and other materials catching on fire.

The information gained from this experiment will help buyers know how much retardant to put on cloth to protect them from fire.

My hypothesis is that the more Fyrex there is in the flame retardant the better it would be at retarding fire. The more powder flame retardant diluted with water the more Fyrex there would be in the retardant.

I based my hypothesis on the Azko Nobel Chemicals Inc., which said, " Products treated with Fyrex or Flexible Fyrex must be evaluated by the user to determine weather the treated material satisfies fire test(s) for the application intended." So it seemed that Fyrex was a big part in the flame retardant to be used. 

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• The constants in this study were: 
•  Amount of retardant on cotton
• Where candle was held on cloth sample 
• Temperature in room 
• Type of cloth  (cotton)
• Time flame left on material (10 sec) 
•  Stopwatch 
•  Size of test fabric
•  Candle
•  General test procedure

The manipulated variable was the concentrations of flame retardant used on the cotton.

The responding variable was the time it took for the cloth to ignite, and the area of the cloth that was left UN burned in square centimeters. 

To measure the responding variable I used a stopwatch to determine the time taken for the cotton to ignite. I also measured how much of the sample was left UN burned by placing it on a 10cm by 10cm clear plastic grid, and counting the square cm left.

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1. Obtain all materials, do all tests over non-flammable cookie sheet.
2. Separate the 20 squares of cotton into 4 groups of 5.
3. Taking 28 grams of chemical add it with 120 ml of water into a spray bottle. Shake.
4. For group 2 mix only 14 grams with 120 ml of water into a separate spray bottle. Shake.
5. For group 3 mix it with 42 grams of chemical with 120 ml of water into another spray bottle. Shake.
6. Group 4 is the controlled group it only gets sprayed with water.
7. Take the first group and spray all squares with flame retardant 1, 5 times on each side.
8. Do the same for the second and third group, but spray them with flame retardant2 & 3.
9. Spray the controlled group with just water.
10. Hang all groups on a string by small paper clips to dry.
11. Let all test samples dry for at least 24 hours.
12. After the samples have dried, hang, one by one, the squares from the controlled group from the clamp on the ring stand.
13. Take the light candle and ignite the edge of the cotton and using a stopwatch determine the time it takes for the material to ignite.
14. After ignition leave candle in place for 10 seconds.
15. Measure how much of the material was left UN burned by placing a clear plastic 10 cm. by 10 cm. grid under burned cloth.
16. Repeat steps 12 to 15 for the other groups.
17. If all of the material burns record it on the grid as a zero.
18. Record all data.

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The original purpose of this experiment was to determine how various concentrations of a fire retardant affect the flammability of cotton cloth. 

The results of the experiment were, the cotton treated with half an ounce of powder retardant caught on fire, where as the other two didn’t. They just charred.

See data and graph.

My hypothesis was that the more Fyrex there is in the flame retardant the better it would be at retarding fire. The more powder flame retardant diluted with water the more Fyrex there would be in the retardant.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted.  The amount of time until combustion began was about twice as long when the flame retardant was used on the cloth.  In addition the amount of the cloth that was consumed by the flames was much less when the retardant was used.  In fact almost none was consumed at all.

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if the results would have been changed if I were to use a different type of cloth. Or three different kinds of the flame retardant, not different dilutions of one would have effect..

If I were to conduct this project again I would have burned the cotton horizontally, not vertically so the fire would be directed onto a flat surface. I would have also have found another way of measuring the data, and do more trials, and redo the experiment over as a check.
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REPORT Introduction Fire is energy that comes from burning. A man named Antoine Lavoisier proved that burning is the result of rapid union of a substance, and oxygen. Fire is a cause of many deaths, and injuries around the world, mainly in homes due to carelessness, like smoking in bed and falling asleep, or leaving rags with gas on them lying around. If people were more careful with fire there would be a lot fewer deaths and injuries. Cotton is one of the most widely used fabrics in a home, but is highly flammable. Chemical fire retardant makes cotton safer.  Fire Triangle There are three requirements of a fire: heat, fuel, and oxygen. If you take any one of those three away a fire will not burn. That is what a flame-retardant tries to do, is take one of those away. The flame retardant in this experiment creates a layer around the cotton and tries to cut off the oxygen source. It does make the cotton a little stiff.  Combustion  As a substance burns, heat and light are produced. Fire is combustion, which happens between a gaseous fuel and oxygen at certain temperatures. For the fire to combust the fuel must be heated to its ignition point, that is the lowest temperature fire can begin or continue. Fuels are in three forms: solid, liquid, and gas. Coal and wood are examples of solids, gasoline and oil are liquids, and natural gas and hydrogen are gases. The ignition temperatures for different substances are different. For a solid or liquid fuel it must be heated to the point where it vaporizes. For wood, the ignition temperature is between 500° and 900° F. A liquid fuel such as gasoline can ignite at temperatures as low as -36° F.  Dangers Every 13.5 seconds a fire starts in a home. Every year thousands of people die and thousands more get injured, and billions of dollars of property is destroyed. Fire is useful when controlled but can also be destructive. Fire has burned down huge sections of London, Chicago, San Francisco, Tokyo, and it burns wild and destroys large areas of trees and sometimes-entire forests. Benefits Fire has many benefits also. The earliest use of fire was just to keep warm. As people have advanced they learned to use fire in different ways. They learned to shape weapons for hunting and fighting, tools for building or cutting, and they figured out how to use fire to cook food. Earlier people had slow ways of kindling fires, but now we have not only improved our ways kindling fires we have many more uses for fire. Fire furnishes the power in engines and machines to keep industries running. It generates the power for trains, ships and planes, and it also generates electricity. Fire is used to destroy waste, separate metals from theirs ores, and melt and shape metals into useful things. Flame Retardant   Nothing flammable can really be fire proof. You can treat a material with a flame retardant to reduce the ability to burn. Some flame retardant increases the time it takes for the material to ignite. Some cause the material to extinguish itself. Some raise the ignition temperature, and some cut off the oxygen source to the material by forming a protective layer over it. Temporary fire retardance can be obtained by soaking materials in Borax, ammonium, and phosphate. Prevention To try and prevent fires, firemen inspect buildings, and also teach people about fire safety. Most of the deaths caused by fires occur in private homes. By leaving the kitchen while something is cooking, not disposing of cigarettes properly, or leaving flammable substances to close to a heat source the fire increases danger. It is important to know what to do if a fire breaks out in a home.  It is important to get out of your house quickly and safety. Families are supposed to have an escape plan but many do not. People also should have fire detectors in their homes. A fire detector is a device that sounds an alarm when there is smoke in the air, warning you of a fire. Chemical retardant can be put on cotton, and other fabrics to stop or delay burning when exposed to a flame. Kinds of Fire Not all things burn in the same way. Charcoal gives of heat with a low glow, but other things like gas, wood, oil, or coal give off heat with a big flame. The color of the flame, red, yellow, or blue, depends on the substance of the material and the temperature of the fire. Although things burn differently they all need oxygen to burn. Very rapid burning can cause explosions like when  Gunpowder catches on fire.  How Fires Behave Uncontrolled fires fuel themselves by vaporizing the solid or liquids they burn. As a fire burns it radiates more heat, which contributes to its growth, and the process accelerates as long as the fuel and oxygen remain. In a regular house fire, a phenomenon can occur called "flash over", when this happens a relatively small fire can ignite the remaining material and fill the rooms with fire. In forest fires the twigs, leaves, and branches on the ground are usually the fuel. In some cases due to wind, the fire can spread on the tops of the trees.  Conclusion Fire is both dangerous, and helpful. If you’re not careful with it you could be seriously hurt. With new products dealing with flame saying the product works the best.  Top of page

BIBLIOGRAPHY Alveres, Norman. "Fireproofing."  World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 Blair, William. "Fire Prevention."  World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 Mcginley, P.A  "Oxidation."  World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 Nguyen, Hux. X. "Flame Retardant."  Microsoft Encarta. 2001 Nguyen, Hux. X. "Bromine." Microsoft Encarta. 2001 O’Brien, Donald. M. "Fire Prevention and Control" American Encyclopedia. 1999 Paulsgrove, Robin. "Fire Department." World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 Quintiere, James. G. "Fire."  World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 "What Fire Control and Safety Tech’s Do," Career Discovery. 2000

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the following people. Without them my project would not have been possible.

• My mother for picking me up from the after school work sessions 
• My dad for helping me get my supplies and to do my experiment 
• Mrs. Helms for helping me get my research, and research report done
• My friends Kyle and Aaron for helping me with my board, and project
• Mrs. Hostetler  for teaching me enough about science to do this project mostly on my own
• Mr. Newkirk who helped me with correcting, and lending me the ring stand and stopwatch, and pushing me to do my best

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