PURPOSE
The purpose of this experiment was to determine:
* The effect that washing in one recommended soap and three non-recommended
detergents had on flame retardant materials.
* The effect that repeated washings in the cleaning compounds had on
the materials.
* The effect that the cleaning compounds and repeated washings had
on two different materials ? smooth and nappy.
I became interested in this idea when I was reading a book that involved
children being trapped in burning homes.
The information gained from this experiment may be used to educate the
public about the dangers of washing flame retardant materials in ways other
than recommended by the manufacturers.
HYPOTHESIS
My hypotheses were that the flame retardant characteristics would:
* Be significantly reduced by washing in non-recommended detergents.
* Be significantly reduced after repeated washings in non-recommended
detergents.
* Be less in the nappy material than in the smooth material.
I base my hypothesis on information gained through a website that stated
the federal requirements for the flame retardancy of children’s clothing.
EXPERIMENT DESIGN
The constants in this study were:
* The height from which the fabric was held
* The size of the fabric patch ( 10 x 10 cm)
* The type of fabric used in the experiment
* The amount of detergent used in each wash
* The type of flame retardant
* The test procedure followed
* The ignition source
* The distance between the patch and the ignition source
* The wash cycle ( time)
* The drying time and temperature setting
The manipulated variable was the brand of detergents used to wash the
fabric.
The responding variable was the time that it took for a 10 x 10 cm.
patch of cloth to ignite and how much area was left unburned after the
flame had been extinguished.
To measure the responding variable I used a stopwatch to time how long
it took for the patch to ignite. To measure the amount of area left unburned
I used a 10 x 10 cm. laminate grid that the unburned material was placed
on.
MATERIALS
| QUANTITY |
ITEM DESCRIPTION |
| 4 |
Washing detergents |
| 1 |
Type of fabric(polyester) |
| 42 |
10 x 10 cm patches |
| 1 |
Stopwatch |
| 1 |
Ignition source(alcohol burner) |
| 1 |
100 square grid ( 10 x 10 cm) |
PROCEDURES
1. Gather the materials required for this experiment.
2. Receive authorization from a professional firefighter to perform
the experiment.
3. Cut 50 (25 patches each of nappy and smooth fabric) 10 x 10
cm patches out of the flame retardant material.
4. The fabric was divided into four groups of ten pieces ( five
pieces each of nappy and smooth).
5. Label each group with the cleaning compounds ( Ivory Snow,
Tide, ERA, Woolite).
6. Two pieces (one nappy and one smooth) were labeled unwashed.
7. Each group of material were washed with the labeled cleaning
compounds ( Ivory Snow,
Tide, ERA, Woolite).
8. Each group was dried separately.
9. A set of material (one nappy and one smooth) was removed from
each group and set
aside for testing.
10. Procedures 7,8, and 9 were repeated five times.
11. The unwashed set was tested first.
12. Have one person light the alcohol burner while you hold the
stopwatch.
13. The burner was placed under the material. The stopwatch
was started at this time.
14. Once the material was ignited, the burner was removed.
15. The stopwatch was stopped when the material had stopped burning.
16. The material that was left unburned was placed on the grid.
17. Count the number of visible squares and subtract from 100.
18. The difference will be the unburned material expressed as
a percentage.
19. Repeat steps 13-18 for the four groups of five washings (
20 more times).
20. After the testing has been completed take the data you recorded
and make a graph.
RESULTS
The original purpose of this experiment was to determine:
* The effect that washing in one recommended soap and three non-recommended
detergents had on flame retardant materials.
* The effect that repeated washings in the cleaning compounds had on
the materials.
* The effect that the cleaning compounds and repeated washings had
on two different materials ? smooth and nappy.
The results of the experiment were that, for the nappy fabric, the burn
time for the non-recommended detergents decreased and the percent of unburned
material increased as compared to the recommended soap. The results
of the repeated washings paralleled these findings. The results for
the smooth fabric was just the opposite; the burn time increased and the
percent of unburned material decreased.
View My Data and Graphs
CONCLUSION
My hypotheses were that the flame retardant characteristics would:
* Be significantly reduced by washing in non-recommended detergents.
* Be significantly reduced after repeated washings in non-recommended
detergents.
* Be less in the nappy material than in the smooth material.
The results indicate that all three of these hypotheses should be rejected.
Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if laundry softeners
would affect the flame retardant characteristics of children’s clothing?
I wonder if there were remnants of laundry detergents on the patches, which
may have affected the outcome of the experiment?
If I were to conduct this project again I would use a single type of
fabric. I would also rinse the patches in water several times to get rid
of any residue left by the laundry detergents. I would also include more
trials.
| Research Report
Introduction
Fire has been a part of human civilization for thousands of years.
Fire has been advantageous for civilizations since it was discovered. Washing
soaps and detergents have not been around as long as fire has, though.
The public uses detergents and soaps to wash clothing. Can fire and detergents
make a deadly combination? Civilization has made a bulwark against
getting burned in a fire and if soaps and detergents effect the way the
bulwark functions.
History of Fire
Since the human civilization began fire has been there to protect
and aid the humans in many ways. Early humans used fire to survive the
icy cold winter s of the Ice Ages and they even used it to confuse their
unsuspecting prey (their major source of food). Once humans had perfected
their technological skills they used fire to melt bronze, iron, and steel
from which weapons were cast. Humans also learned that it was possible
to cook food on the fire. Humans of the present day and time, people
have further refined the way they cook their food and make weapons for
war. Although fire has been an ally to humans it is also a dreaded enemy.
The stoves that food is cooked with, the appliances that are used daily,
and the machines that the public rely on for jobs are all possible ignition
sources for a fire. According to an article published on Encarta a fire
broke out in a structure or building every sixty-one seconds in 1998. This
article also stated that 75% of the fires in the United States and in Canada
occur in people’s homes. In 1998 there were about 1,256,000 fires in the
United States alone. These fires resulted in 4,000 deaths, 23,000 injuries,
and 9 billion dollars in property damage. Every 76 seconds a motor vehicle
fire occurred for a total of 413,500 of these fires. When a fire goes out
of control there is usually someone to call upon. Firefighters around the
world have a method of dealing with such circumstances. Fire departments
haven’t always been there to respond to the calls of people in need of
assistance. In fact, fire departments didn’t even exist until the Roman
era. Since then, what where called fire brigades have now become fire departments.
Now, firefighters may physically remove the fuel from the fire.
Chemistry of Fire
The chemistry of fire involves several main elements. It involves
a fuel and oxygen. The most basic part of the chemistry is when a
rapid chemical reaction occurs between a fuel and oxygen. A fuel is one
of the main factors that need to be present for combustion to occur. A
fuel may range from forest trees to furniture to automobile gasoline.
Fuel may be in the form of a liquid, solid, or gas. However, there are
certain things that must happen to a fuel before it can start burning.
If a fuel begins as a solid or a liquid it must be turned into a vapor
before it can begin burning. The lowest temperature a solid of liquid fuel
at which can produce enough gas for combustion to occur is called the ignition
temperature. Once the fuel has begun to burn the energy it gives off is
called the heat of combustion.
Combustion occurs when a fuel and oxygen react to each other chemically.
Chemists often refer to combustion as an oxidation reaction. Once there
is a fuel and oxygen near a spark, flame, or a very hot object the fuel
ignites. Some times there is a fuel that burns very slowly and the combustion
does not cause fire to spread as rapidly as a reaction that begins to burn
and immediately begins to spread. Since oxygen does not burn it needs to
react chemically with a fuel, which liberates the chemical energy that
is stored in the nuclear bonds. The oxygen can be a compound such as nitric
acid or hydrogen peroxide. If the oxygen is in this form it is released
in a series of chemical steps. There are materials other than oxygen that
support combustion. Some of these materials are gases such as fluorine
and chlorine. Combustion originates by the formation of free radicals and
it spreads a chain reaction that increases the number of the free radicals.
Flame retardant materials work by "soaking up" the radicals thereby terminating
the chain reaction.
A fire does not always burn at the same rate as other fires. One fire
may slowly smolder taking longer to consume the fuel while another fire
may burn rapidly completely consuming its fuel. A fire’s burn rate depends
upon the composition of the fuel, the surface area or the fuel, and the
amount of oxygen that is available. Plastics can be a fuel. Most of them
burn twice as fast as cellulose fuels such as wood and leaves because different
chemical reactions are involved. The burning rate of the same fuel can
also vary depending on how much of fuel’s surface is exposed to the air.
As the exposed surface of the fuel increases in comparison to its volume,
so does its burn rate. When a fuel’s gases have more surface area from
which to escape, they come into contact with the air. With the increased
exposure to air the amount of oxygen available for combustion increases.
A fire can only burn if there is a fuel nearby. People tend to believe
that gas, oil, and wood are the only fuel that a fire can burn off of,
but this is in no way true. Common fuels consist of compounds containing
the elements carbon and hydrogen. Quite often fuels may contain oxygen,
nitrogen, chlorine and sulfur. Cellulose is the principle combustible in
wood, paper, and cotton. It also contains carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen.
Plastics that burn such as polyvinylchlorid (PVC), polystyrene, polymethylmethacryate
(PMMA), nylon, and polyurethane are composed mostly of carbon and hydrogen.
Liquid fuels include oil and gasoline. Gaseous fuels include methane, propane,
and hydrogen.
Flame Retardants
A flame retardant is a chemical that is applied to a combustible
material to reduce the rate at which it burns. There are two types of flame
retardants, ones that work well with materials that have a substantial
amount of amount of oxygen, such as cellulose and certain synthetic polymers,
and that carry out the function in the material itself. There are those
that are effective for materials with all carbon structures and little
oxygen polymers such as polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride. Compounds of
phosphoric or sulfuric acid are most commonly used as flame retardants
for the first class materials. As long as wood, paper, and polymers are
in normal use, the acid is neutralized by simple organic substances that
vaporize the onset of fire. The other type of flame retardant is made of
materials that decompose in the fire intervening with the burning process.
Some flame-retardants produce toxic gas that is potentially dangerous especially
to firefighters.
Flame-retardants that contain aluminum or boron increase the amount
of char (burnt material) formed in the early stages of fire. Char prevents
oxygen from getting in the inner layers of the material, thus sustaining
the fire. The chemicals commonly used for this purpose are borax, boric
acid, and hydrated aluminum oxide. Phosphorus can function as a flame retardant
in both its liquid and solid form. Phosphorus containing compounds such
as, phosphoric acid work by forming a layer of char, working like borax,
boric acid and hydrated aluminum oxide. Nitrogen is used mainly in combination
with phosphorus. These combinations have proved to be effective concerning
cellulose, polyester, and polyurethane products. Arsenic is rarely used
as a retardant because of its toxicity. Some retardants are only
effective when used in combination with halogen gases, especially bromine
and chlorine. Bromine works as a flame retardant in its gaseous state.
Bromine gas forms an insulating layer preventing spreading of flames by
inhibiting the access to oxygen and slowing the transfer of heat.
When people buy clothes for their young kids they usually don’t notice
a small notice on the tag that states that the garment is flame retardant.
The truth is that most children’s garments are flame retardant. If a parent
were to sew a garment, most fabric stores won’t sell fabric that has been
treated so the parent would have to buy a flame retardant spray. These
sprays tend to be hard to find so the person trying to find such material
would most likely fail in finding this item. However, parents really don’t
take the time to sew for children these days. The federal government has
set a standard, which can be found online at www.jewishworldreview.com.
This website states that nappy fabrics with a fuzzy surface, such as cotton
fleece, flannel, and terry-cloth, are particularly vulnerable to fire as
are sheer and very light woven fabrics such as voile and T-shirt knits.
This site also states that the greater percentage of polyester in a cotton-poly
blend, the safer the garment is. Many polyester fibers extinguish on their
own. This website shows the federal governments requirements for
smooth fabrics and nappy fabrics. For smooth fabrics to meet the government’s
highest safety level it has to take at least three and a half seconds to
burn a five-inch patch once a flame is applied. For nappy fabrics to reach
this level it must take at least seven seconds.
Washing Detergents and Soaps
Washing detergents and soaps contain a basic cleaning agent called a
surfactant. Surfactants contain molecules that attach themselves to dirt
particles in dirty materials. Manufacturers of the detergents often
make variations of surfactants that have different combinations of chemicals.
These chemicals may improve the detergents cleaning ability or it may make
it easier to use, but not necessarily improving the way it cleans. Mostly
all soaps contain the same surfactants as detergents. Sometimes the soaps
will contain a wide variety of coloring agents and added perfumes. When
the public washes their clothing, they often use soap or detergent that
leaves a residue on the clothing. In a fire, the residue on the clothing
may ignite because of the chemicals in the surfactants. Therefore,
some detergents and soaps may be a potential danger during a fire. On the
other hand, the residue left by a detergent or soap may save a life by
not allowing the oxygen into the inner layers of the clothing, therefore
choking off the supply of oxygen that the fire needs to live.
Summary
When fire was first discovered by the early Neolithic man, it was almost
immediately put to use. Now days the public is more advanced than these
men were but we still use fire much like these men did. Fire often poses
as a threat to civilization because it burns down buildings causing billions
of dollars in damage and it causes thousands of deaths. Tragically, these
deaths do include young children who have gotten hold of a cigarette lighter
and caught themselves on fire. Scientists have developed special materials
that help to repel the onset of fire. As children’s clothing is treated
with flame retardants, small tags are placed on the clothing stating that
it has been treated with a retardant. Most consumers don’t notice this
minor notice and don’t follow the manufacturers directions for washing
the material. Therefore, the flame retardant materials may deteriorate
and cause the fabric to become more flammable
|
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnett, Jonathan R. "Fire" Encarta Encyclopedia 2001
Beaulieu, Robert J. "Textiles" World Book Encyclopedia 1999 vol. 9 pg.
213
"Consumer Reports on Flame Retardant Materials" November 1, 2001
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/consumer081500.asp
Feinstein, Myron E. "Detergents and Soap" World Book Encyclopedia
1999 vol.5 pp.163-166
Kline, Timothy R.
"Fire" World Book Encyclopedia of Science 1997 vol. 3 pg.12
Lyons, John W. "Flame Retardants" Academic American Encyclopedia
1998 vol. 8 pg. 150
Nguygen, Huy Y. "Flame Retardants"
Encarta Encyclopedia 2001
Quintiere, James G. " Fire and Combustion" World Book Encyclopedia
1998 vol.7 pg 120
Smith, Ethan J. "Combustion" Encarta Encyclopedia
2001
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This science project would have not been completed without the help
of the following people:
* My mom, for her help in completing my project display.
* My dad, for all his help with my graphs and data tables.
* My brother, for his help in cutting and measuring the backgrounds
for my display and for correcting my work.
* Captain Conn, of the Kennewick Fire Department for approving my science
project.
* My best friend Crystal, for all of her helpful criticism.
* Mrs. Helms for helping me research my topic.
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