Nonwoven fire barrier with enhanced char performance

Abstract

Basalt fiber and/or glass fiber, when combined with flame retardant (FR) cellulosic fiber, forms a nonwoven fire barrier with enhanced fire barrier performance, such as char elongation and char strength.

1 . Nonwoven, comprising:
 flame retardant (FR) cellulosic fiber; and   performance-enhancing fiber.   
     
     
         2 . The nonwoven of  claim 1 , wherein the FR cellulosic fiber is FR-treated natural cellulosic fiber, FR-treated manufactured cellulosic fiber, manufactured FR cellulosic fiber, or any combination of these fibers. 
     
     
         3 . The nonwoven of  claim 1 , wherein the performance-enhancing fiber is basalt fiber, glass fiber, or a mixture of basalt fiber and glass fiber. 
     
     
         4 . The nonwoven of  claim 1 , further comprising a low-melt binder fiber for thermal bonding of the nonwoven 
     
     
         5 . The nonwoven of  claim 1 , wherein the FR cellulosic fiber and performance-enhancing fiber are mechanically bonded together. 
     
     
         6 . The nonwoven of  claim 1 , wherein the FR cellulosic fiber and performance-enhancing fiber are chemically bonded together. 
     
     
         7 . The nonwoven of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more optional fibers which are different from said FR cellulosic fiber and said performance enhancing fiber. 
     
     
         8 . The nonwoven of  claim 7  wherein said optional fibers are present in sufficient quantity to provide a characteristic to said nonwoven selected from the group consisting of softness, texture, appearance, resilience, and cost benefit. 
     
     
         9 . The nonwoven of  claim 1  wherein said nonwoven has a basis weight ranging from 0.1˜5.0 oz/ft 2  . 
     
     
         10 . The nonwoven of  claim 1  wherein
 said flame retardant FR cellulosic fiber is FR-treated natural cellulosic fiber, FR-treated manufactured cellulosic fiber, manufactured FR cellulosic fiber, or any combination of these fibers, 
 said performance-enhancing fiber is basalt fiber, glass fiber, or a mixture of basalt fiber and glass fiber, and 
 said flame retardant FR cellulosic fiber and said performance-enhancing fiber are present in said nonwoven at approximately 5˜99.99 wt. % and 0.01˜95 wt. %, respectively. 
 
     
     
         11 . The nonwoven of  claim 10  wherein said FR cellulosic fiber is present in said nonwoven at approximately 50˜99.99 wt. %. 
     
     
         12 . The nonwoven of  claim 10  wherein said performance-enhancing fiber is present in said nonwoven at approximately 0.01˜20 wt. %. 
     
     
         13 . The nonwoven of  claim 10  further comprising a low-melt binder fiber at approximately 1˜70 wt. %. 
     
     
         14 . The nonwoven of  claim 13  further comprising a polyester fiber. 
     
     
         15 . The nonwoven of  claim 1  wherein
 said flame retardant FR cellulosic fiber is FR-treated natural cellulosic fiber, FR-treated manufactured cellulosic fiber, manufactured FR cellulosic fiber, or any combination of these fibers, 
 said performance-enhancing fiber is basalt fiber, glass fiber, or a mixture of basalt fiber and glass fiber, and said performance-enhancing fiber is present in said nonwoven at approximately 0.01˜20 wt. %. 
 
     
     
         16 . The nonwoven of  claim 15  further comprising low-melt binder fibers. 
     
     
         17 . The nonwoven of  claim 15  further comprising one or more optional fibers.