Textile finishing with biomacromolecules: A low environmental impact approach in flame retardancy

Recently, the potential use of biomacromolecules as low environmental impact flame retardants for different types of textiles has been proved and investigated: in fact, some selected biomacromolecules, such as proteins (whey proteins, caseins, hydrophobins) and nucleic acids, can be successfully utilized for designing “green” flame retardant finishing systems. The chemical structure and composition of these biomacromolecules, which comprise some key elements (namely, phosphorus, nitrogen, and/or sulfur), are primarily responsible for the formation of a carbonaceous residue (i.e., char) on the underlying textile substrate, upon exposure to a flame or a heat flux. This chapter aims at providing the reader with an overview of the recent advances about the use of biomacromolecules as low environmental impact flame retardant finishing systems for either natural or synthetic fabrics (and for some of their blends). The current limitations of the proposed finishing strategy and some potential further developments will be also reviewed.