Wastage Tea (Camellia Sinensis) Extract: A Natural Green Flame Retardant and Suppressant for Cotton Textiles

ABSTRACT

The present study explores the use of a wastage tea extract, as a green flame retardant for application on cotton fabrics. The treated cotton fabric was characterized by limiting oxygen index (LOI), vertical flammability, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR) studies and wastage tea extract was characterized by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis. Results revealed that the fabric treated with wastage tea extract demonstrated the LOI value of 29 as compared to LOI value of 18 observed for control fabric. Treated fabric also exhibited self-extinguishing behavior with specific char length of 30 mm. GC-MS study of tea extract revealed that it contains various large molecular weight polyphenolic compounds and the presence of tannin containing products, responsible for the fire retardancy action. Mechanism of fire retardancy unveiled the fact that the various nitrogen containing alkaloids, long-chain carbon molecules and polyphenolic compounds deposited on the cotton fiber surface, combinedly assist on the flame retardancy and stable char formation of the underlying cellulosic structure. This study opens up the scope for the application of wastage tea extract on cotton textiles, which is a promising and emerging field in sustainable flame retardancy.

摘要

本研究探讨了一种废弃茶叶提取物作为绿色阻燃剂在棉织物上的应用. 通过极限氧指数 (LOI)、垂直可燃性、傅立叶变换红外光谱 (FT-IR) 研究对处理后的棉织物进行了表征, 并通过气相色谱和质谱 (GC-MS) 分析对茶叶提取物的损耗进行了表征. 结果表明, 经损耗茶提取物处理的织物的LOI值为29, 而对照织物的LOI值为18. 经过处理的织物也表现出自熄性能, 比炭长度为30mm. GC-MS对茶提取物的研究表明, 它含有各种大分子量的多酚化合物和存在的含单宁的产物, 对阻燃作用负责. 阻燃机理揭示了这样一个事实, 即沉积在棉纤维表面的各种含氮生物碱、长链碳分子和多酚化合物, 结合起来有助于阻燃性和潜在纤维素结构的稳定成炭. 本研究为废茶提取物在棉织物上的应用开辟了新的领域, 这是一个很有前景的新兴可持续阻燃领域.

KEYWORDS:

• Bio macromolecule
• cotton
• green fire retardant
• tea
• thermal properties
• carbonaceous char

关键词:

• 生物大分子
• 棉花
• 绿色阻燃剂
• 茶叶
• 热性能
• 碳质焦

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Research highlights

1. In this study, a wastage tea extract, natural biomacromolecule has been explored as a green flame retardant treatment on cotton textiles.

2. LOI value of treated cotton demonstrated the LOI of 29, indicating the flame retardancy.

3. Treated cotton fabric showed self-extinguishment behaviour with specific char length of 30 mm.

4. Thermo-gravimetric (TG) analysis of the treated cotton fabric maintained more than 40% of its weight at around 480°C.

5. Mechanism of fire retardancy revealed the various nitrogen containing alkaloids, long chain carbon molecules and polyphenolic compounds were deposited on the cotton fiber surface.