Flame-retardant mattresses will be regulated from July 2007 in U.S.

Omikenshi (H.O.: 2-5-14, Kawara-machi, Chuo-ku, Osaka) has begun promotion of its flame-retardant rayon fiber for mattresses in the U.S. Fire caused by smoking has become a problem in the U.S. Poison gas is produced when urethane foam inside mattresses catches fire. The State of California currently has “TB 603”, a mattress flame proofing standard, which went into effect in 2005, earlier than any other state in the U.S., which regulates to prevent urethane foam inside mattresses from catching fire by covering urethane foam with flame-retardant materials.

The subsequent federal CFR 1633 standard after TB 603 is scheduled to be put into effect from July 2007.Responding to it, Omikenshi has developed HOPE-FR, flame-retardant non-woven rayon materials to cover urethane foam inside mattresses to prevent it catching fire, and begun its coast-to-coast promotion in the U.S.Along with this, the company has been proceeding with the promotion of NEXT-FR, flame-retardant rayon for car interior materials for the bullet train.

Flame-retardant rayon at economical price.
Omikenshi aims to bring it in all over U.S.

According to Mr. Masaki Oda from Rayon Group, Textile Material Division of Omikenshi, fires caused by smoking have become a social problem in the U.S.

To avoid such accidents, California has already regulated to prevent urethane foam inside mattresses from catching fire with TB 603 standard, for fire prevention.

Mattress fires caused by cigarettes are recognized not merely as a problem for California but as an issue in the U.S. as a whole, and it is a reality that those fires which result in burning down houses are increasing across the U.S.

As a result, the federal CFR 1633 standard based on California’s TB 603 is to be put into effect from July 2007.

Therefore, after July 2007, stores can only sell flame-retardant mattresses which meet the new standard.

Mattress manufacturers in the U.S. have launched fully into seeking non-woven materials to prevent urethane foam inside mattresses from catching fire.

It has been an issue for them to buy non-woven material which has a high fireproofing effect at an economical price, since expensive flame-retardant materials only stuffed into mattresses would drive pricing of beds higher.

Mr. Masaki Oda said Omikenshi is confident that its flame-retardant rayon fiber will satisfy their needs.

Establishing contact with non-woven manufacturers in U.S.
for flame-retardant rayon fiber to cover urethane foam.

As the president of Omikenshi, Mr. Nobuo Ryuho, explained at a press conference for the announcement of financial statements, saying, “Our flame-retardant rayon HOPE-FR is economical and has a highly efficient flame resistance. We are expecting it to receive high evaluations from each bed and non-woven manufacturer in the U.S.,” the company has already begun its coast-to-coast promotion for flame-retardant rayon HOPE-FR as a rising star to increase demand.

It expects that demand for flame-retardant rayon HOPE-FR for mattresses will amount to more than 150 tons per month.

There are two types of flame-retardant rayon fiber developed by Omikenshi; one is the above-mentioned HOPE-FR for non-wovens for mattresses, and the other is NEXT-FR for car interior materials including for the bullet train.

HOPE-FR is rayon with silica type inorganic substances as a fire retardant incorporated, and is to be produced as flame-retardant non-woven rayon fabric by non-woven manufacturers. This non-woven fabric does not flame out and allow fire to make a hole, just being charred when exposed to flame from a lighter (refer to Picture-1). Non-woven manufacturers which are dealing with bed companies in the U.S. are showing interest in this.

According to Omikenshi, when polyester material is exposed to flame, it will ignite and allow fire to make a big-size hole observed after extinction of the flame, even if it is flame-proofed.

Therefore, if it is applied to mattresses, fire will spread into the urethane foam inside immediately after a hole has started to appear.

Flame-retardant HOPE-FR.
Flame to be extinguished without making hole.

A carbonized fiber can be used to avoid such issue, but the cost is high. Market research in the U.S. shows that bed companies in the U.S. prefer inexpensive rayon fiber with fire retardant incorporated.

For its flame-retardant rayon, Omikenshi is targeting non-woven manufacturers producing non-wovens to cover urethane foam inside mattresses, not bed companies as direct clients. Omikenshi has carried out inflammability tests with non-woven fabric produced in-house. The result as described above, is shown in Picture-1.

Pic.-1Flame resisting effect of needlepunched nonwoven using flame-retardant rayon HOPE-FR （JIS L-1091 A-1 methodAfter 1- minute exposure to heat）
Front	Back (No hole produced)

Omikenshi has developed and promoted two types of flame-retardant rayon (1) HOPE-FR, rayon fiber with silica type inorganic substances incorporated and (2) NEXT-FR rayon fiber with phosphorous and sulphur type fire retardants incorporated.

HOPE-FR with silica type inorganic substances incorporated has been developed for non-wovens which require no dyeing.

Since silica series are used as fire retardants, there will be no problem with worldwide tightening of chemical regulations. However, it is not suitable for alkaline chemicals.

NEXT-FR is flame-retardant rayon which can be dyed, and has been developed for interior materials for the bullet train. The following are the details of HOPE-FR and NEXT-FR.

1. Details of flame-retardant rayon HOPE-FR

▼Characteristics

* Silica type inorganic substances are kneaded into fibers to flameproof
　 rayon.

* No halogen or antimony fire retardants are used, which makes this flame-
　 retardant rayon extremely safe with no hazardous substances produced.

* This flame-retardant rayon is suitable for non-woven products.However, it is
　 vulnerable to alkaline chemicals and not suitable for dyeing.

▼Flame resisting mechanism

* HOPE-FR is rayon fiber with inorganic substances as fire retardants kneaded
　 into it. Rayon cellulose and inorganic substances make composite layers of
　 carbon char and inorganic combustion residuals at combustion, which
　 breaks the cycle of combustion.

▼Data of flame retardant properties

The result of the inflammability test of HOPE-FR is shown in Table-1, and fiber properties in Table-2.

Table-1 Results of inflammability test of HOPE-FR

Table-2 Fiber properties of HOPE-FR

2. Details of fire-retardant rayon NEXT-FR

▼Characteristics

* Phosphorous and sulphur type fire retardants are kneaded into fibers to
　 flameproof rayon.

* No halogen or antimony fire retardants are used, which makes this flame-
　 retardant rayon extremely safe with no hazardous substances produced.

* It has excellent washing fastness comparing to ones with aftertreatment,
　 which makes it possible to carry out durable flame retarding for especially
　 cellulose/ester blended products to which it is difficult to apply such
　 finishing.

* Since it is a kneaded type, it can maintain rayon’s dyeability, color
　 development and hand.

▼Flame resisting mechanism

* NEXT-FR is rayon fiber with phosphorous and sulphur fire retardants
　 kneaded into it. With combustion heat, it accelerates the carbonization
　 of fiber by removing oxygen and hydrogen atoms from fiber, and controls
　 combustible gas generation. It breaks the cycle of combustion by
　 becoming polyphosphoric acid to cover the fiber.

▼Data of flame retardant properties

NEXT-FR is shown in Table-3, and fiber properties in Table-4.

Table-3 Results of inflammability test of NEXT-FR

Table-4 Fiber properties of NEXT-FR