FIREPROOFING
For Textiles.
Equal parts, by weight, of commercial white copperas, Epsom salt, and sal ammoniac are mingled together and mixed with three times their weight of ammonia alum. This mixture soon changes into a moist pulp or paste, that must be dried by a low heat. When dressing the material, add 1/2 part of this combination to every 1 part of starch.
II.—Good results are also obtained from the following formula: Supersaturate a quantity of superphosphate of lime with ammonia, filter, and decolorize it with animal charcoal. Concentrate the solution and mix with it 5 per cent of gelatinous silica, evaporate the water, dry, and pulverize. For use mix 30 parts of this powder with 35 parts of gum and 35 parts of starch in sufficient water to make of suitable consistency.
III.—As a sample of the Melunay process, introduced in France, the following has been published: Apply to a cotton fabric like flannellet, or other cotton goods, a solution of stannate of soda (or a salt chemically equivalent) of the strength of 5 to 10° Bé., then dry the fabric and saturate it again, this time with a solution of a titanium salt; any soluble titanium salt is suitable. This salt should be so concentrated that each 1,000 parts may contain about 62 parts of titanium oxide. The fabrics are again dried, and the titanium is ultimately fixed by means of a suitable alkaline bath. It is advantageous to employ for this purpose a solution of silicate of soda of about 14° Bé., but a mixed bath, composed of tungstate of soda and ammonium chloride, may be employed. The objects are afterwards washed, dried, and finished as necessary for trade. A variation consists in treating the objects in a mixed bath containing titanium, tungsten, and a suitable solvent.
IV.—Boil together, with constant {342} stirring, the following ingredients until a homogeneous mass results:
| Linseed oil | 77 parts |
| Litharge | 10 parts |
| Sugar of lead | 2 parts |
| Lampblack | 4 parts |
| Oil turpentine | 2 parts |
| Umber | 0.4 parts |
| Japanese wax | 0.3 parts |
| Soap powder | 1.2 parts |
| Manila copal | 0.7 parts |
| Caoutchouc varnish | 2 parts |
V.—For Light Woven Fabrics.—Ammonium sulphate, 8 parts, by weight; ammonium carbonate, 2.5 parts; borax, 2; boracic acid, 3; starch, 2; or dextrin, 0.4, or gelatin, 0.4; water, 100. The fabric is to be saturated with the mixture, previously heated to 86° F., and dried; it can then be calendered in the ordinary way. The cost is only 2 or 3 cents for 16 yards or more of material.
VI.—For Rope and Straw Matting.—Ammonium chloride (sal ammoniac), 15 parts, by weight; boracic acid, 6 parts; borax, 3; water, 100. The articles are to be left in the solution, heated to 212° F. for about 3 hours, then squeezed out and dried. The mixture costs about 5 cents a quart.
VII.—For Clothing.—The following starch is recommended: Sodium tungstate, perfectly neutral, 30 parts; borax, 20; wheat or rice starch, 60. The constituents are to be finely pulverized, sharply dried, and mixed, and the starch used like any other. Articles stiffened with it, if set on fire, will not burst into flame, but only smolder.
VIII.—For Tents.—
| Water | 100 parts by weight |
| Ammonium sulphate, chemically pure | 14 parts by weight |
| Boracic acid | 1 parts by weight |
| Hartshorn salt | 1 parts by weight |
| Borax | 3 parts by weight |
| Glue water | 2 parts by weight |
Boil the water, put ammonium sulphate into a vat, pour a part of the boiling water on and then add the remaining materials in rotation. Next follow the rest of the hot water. The vat should be kept covered until the solution is complete.
IX.—For Stage Decorations.—Much recommended and used as a fireproofing composition is a cheap mixture of borax, bitter salt, and water; likewise for canvas a mixture of ammonium sulphate, gypsum, and water. Ammonium sulphate and sodium tungstate are also named for impregnating the canvas before painting.
X.—For Mosquito Netting.—Immerse in a 20 per cent solution of ammonium sulphate. One pound of netting will require from 20 to 24 ounces of the solution to thoroughly saturate. After withdrawing from the bath, do not wring it out, but spread it over a pole or some such object, and let it get about half dry, then iron it out with a hot iron. The material (ammonium sulphate) is inoffensive.
Fireproofing Of Wood.
Gay-Lussac was one of the first to lay down the principal conditions indispensable for rendering organic matters in general, and wood in particular, uninflammable.
During the whole duration of the action of the heat the fibers must be kept from contact with the air, which would cause combustion. The presence of borates, silicates, etc., imparts this property to organic bodies.
Combustible gases, disengaged by the action of the heat, must be mingled in sufficient proportion with other gases difficult of combustion in such a way that the disorganization of bodies by heat will be reduced to a simple calcination without production of flame. Salts volatile or decomposable by heat and not combustible, like certain ammoniacal salts, afford excellent results.
Numerous processes have been recommended for combating the inflammability of organic tissues, some consisting in external applications, others in injection, under a certain pressure, of saline solutions.
By simple superficial applications only illusory protection is attained, for these coverings, instead of fireproofing the objects on which they are applied, preserve them only for the moment from a slight flame. Resistance to the fire being of only short duration, these coatings scale off or are rapidly reduced to ashes and the parts covered are again exposed. It often happens, too, that such coatings have disappeared before the occurrence of a fire, so that the so-called remedy becomes injurious from the false security occasioned. {343}
Some formulas recommended are as follows:
I.—For immersion or imbibition the following solution is advised: Ammonium phosphate, 100 parts; boracic acid, 10 parts per 1,000; or ammonium sulphate, 135 parts; sodium borate, 15 parts; boracic acid, 5 parts per 1,000. For each of these formulas two coats are necessary.
II.—For application with the brush the following compositions are the best:
a. Apply hot, sodium silicate, 100 parts; Spanish white, 50 parts; glue, 100 parts.
b. Apply successively and hot; for first application, water, 100 parts; aluminum sulphate, 20 parts; second application, water, 100 parts; liquid sodium silicate, 50 parts.
c. First application, 2 coats, hot; water, 100 parts; sodium silicate, 50 parts; second application, 2 coatings; boiling water, 75 parts; gelatin, white, 200 parts; work up with asbestos, 50 parts; borax, 30 parts; and boracic acid, 10 parts.
Oil paints rendered uninflammable by the addition of phosphate of ammonia and borax in the form of impalpable powders incorporated in the mass, mortar of plaster and asbestos and asbestos paint, are still employed for preserving temporarily from limited exposure to a fire.
| III.— | Sodium silicate, solid | 350 parts |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos, powdered | 350 parts | |
| Water, boiling | 1,000 parts | |
| Mix. Give several coatings, letting each dry before applying the next. | ||
| IV.— | Asbestos, powdered | 35 parts |
| Sodium borate | 20 parts | |
| Water | 100 parts | |
| Gum lac | 10 to 15 parts | |
Dissolve the borax in the water by the aid of heat, and in the hot solution dissolve the lac. When solution is complete incorporate the asbestos. These last solutions give a superficial protection, the efficiency of which depends upon the number of coatings given.
V.—Prepare a syrupy solution of sodium silicate, 1 part, and water, 3 parts, and coat the wood 2 to 3 times, thus imparting to it great hardness. After drying, it is given a coating of lime of the consistency of milk, and when this is almost dry, is fixed by a strong solution of soluble glass, 2 parts of the syrupy mass to 3 parts of water. If the lime is applied thick, repeat the treatment with the soluble glass.
VI.—Subject the wood or wooden objects for 6 to 8 hours to the boiling heat of a solution of 33 parts of manganese chloride, 20 parts of orthophosphoric acid, 12 parts of magnesium carbonate, 10 parts of boracic acid, and 25 parts of ammonium chloride in 1,000 parts of water. The wood thus treated is said to be perfectly incombustible even at great heat, and, besides, to be also protected by this method against decay, injury by insects, and putrefaction.
VII.—One of the simplest methods is to saturate the timber with a solution of tungstate of soda; if this is done in a vacuum chamber, by means of which the wood is partly deprived of the air contained in its cells, a very satisfactory result will be obtained. Payne’s process consists in treating wood under these conditions first with solution of sulphate of iron, and then with chloride of calcium; calcium sulphate is thus precipitated in the tissues of the timber, which is rendered incombustible and much more durable. There are several other methods besides these, phosphate of ammonia and tungstate being most useful. A coat of common whitewash is an excellent means of lessening the combustibility of soft wood.
Fireproofing Wood Pulp.
Fireproofing For Wood, Straw, Textiles, Etc.
Miscellaneous Formulas For Fireproofing.
I.—In coating steel or other furnaces, first brush over the brickwork to be covered a solution made by boiling 1 pound each of silicate of soda and alum in 4 gallons of water, and follow immediately with composition:
| Silica | 50 parts |
| Plastic fire clay | 10 parts |
| Ball clay | 3 parts |
Mix well.
Fireproof Compositions.—II.—For furnaces, etc.:
| Pure silica (in grain) | 60 parts |
| Ground flint | 8 parts |
| Plaster of Paris | 3 parts |
| Ball clay | 3 parts |
Mix well together by passing once or more through a fine sieve, and use in the same way as cement.
Fireproof Paper.—Paper is rendered fireproof by saturating it with a solution of
| Ammonium sulphate | 8 parts |
| Boracic acid | 3 parts |
| Borax | 2 parts |
| Water | 100 parts |
For the same purpose sodium tungstate may also be employed.
Fireproof Coating.—A fireproof coating (so-called) consists of water, 100 parts; strong glue, 20 parts; silicate of soda, 38° Bé., 50 parts; carbonate of soda, 35 parts; cork in pieces of the size of a pea, 100 parts.
Colored Fireproofing.—I.—Ammonium sulphate, 70 parts; borax, 50 parts; glue, 1 part; and water up to 1,000 parts.
II.—Solution of glue, 5 parts, zinc chloride, 2 parts; sal ammoniac, 80 parts; borax, 57 parts; and water up to 700 parts.
If the coating is to be made visible by coloration, an addition of 10 parts of Cassel brown and 6 parts of soda per 1,000 parts is recommended, which may be dissolved separately in a portion of the water used.
FIREPROOFING CELLULOID: See Celluloid.
FIREPROOFING OF PAPER: See Paper.
FIREWORKS: See Pyrotechnics.
FILIGREE GILDING: See Plating.