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A111DS l&BTIO

NBSIR 85-3280

Nylons: A Review of the Literature on

Products of Combustion and Toxicity

NBS

PUBLICATIONS Reference

Emil Braun

Barbara C. Levin

U S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

National Engineering Laboratory

Center for Fire Research

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

February 1986

Sponsored in part by:

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission —• q c —

asda, MD 20207

100

• U56

85-3280

1986

NBS keseaech informattojt CENTER

NBSIR 85-3280

NYLONS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON

PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AND TOXICITY

Emil Braun

Barbara C. Levin

U S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

National Engineering Laboratory

Center for Fire Research

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

February 1986

Sponsored in part by:

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Bethesda, MD 20207

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS. Ernest Ambler. Director

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES iv

LIST OF FIGURES vii

ABSTRACT 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION 2

2.0 CHEMICAL STRUCTURE AND THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES 4

3.0 DECOMPOSITION 5

3.1 VACUUM PYROLYSIS 7 3.2 DECOMPOSITION IN INERT AND AIR ATMOSPHERES 8

3.2.1 GENERAL DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS 8

3.2.2 SPECIFIC GAS SPECIES 11

3.2.2.

1

PURE MATERIALS 11

3. 2. 2.

2

COMPOSITE MATERIALS 14

4.0 TOXICITY 17

4.1 DIN 53 436 19

4.2 FAA TOXICITY PROTOCOL 20

4.3 NASA/USF TOXICITY PROTOCOL 22

4.5 MISCELLANEOUS 27

5.0 LARGE-SCALE TESTS 31

6.0 CONCLUSIONS 35

7.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 36

8.0 REFERENCES 37

iii
LIST OF TABLES

Page

TABLE 1. Thermophysical Properties of Nylons 43

TABLE 2. Mass Spectrometric Analyses of Gaseous Fractions From

the Pyrolysis of Polyamide Copolymers 44

TABLE 3. Hydrocarbons Detected in the Pyrolysate of Polyamide

Copolymers 45

TABLE 4. Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Volatile Fractions From the

Pyrolysis of Various Polyamides 46

TABLE 5. Pyrolysis Products of Four Polyamides Determined by Gas

Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry 47

TABLE 6. Thermooxidation Products of Four Polyamides Determined by

Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry . 48

TABLE 7. Combustion Products of Nylons Decomposed in Different

Oxygen Concentrations 50

TABLE 8. Combustion Products Generated by Decomposing Nylon 6 and

Nylon 6,6 in a TGA in Air at 370° C 51

TABLE 9. Analysis of Cup Furnace Decomposition of Flaming Nylon 6,6

in Air 52

TABLE 10. Production of HCN and CO during Flaming Degradation of

Nylon 6,6 in a Tube Furnace in an Air or Nitrogen

Atmosphere 53

TABLE 11, Production of N0 2 From the Thermal Degradation of

Nylon 6,6 54

TABLE 12. Concentration of Selected Products from the Thermal

Decomposition of Nylon 6 in Air 55

TABLE 13. HCN Production From the Thermal Degradation of Three

Nylons in Nitrogen or Air Atmospheres 56

TABLE 14. Concentrations of Specific Combustion Products Found During

NBS Smoke Chamber Tests of Materials Containing Nylon ... 57

TABLE 15. Comparison of Colorimetric Detector Tubes and Instrumental

Methods for Analyzing Gases Generated from the Thermal

Decomposition of Two Flame Retarded 90% Wool, 10% Nylon

Upholstery Fabrics in the NBS Smoke Chamber 58

iv
LIST OF TABLES (continued)

Page

TABLE 16. Comparison of Combustion Products Generated by a Combustion

Tube Furnace From Two Flame Retarded 90% Wool, 10% Nylon

Upholstery Fabrics 59

TABLE 17. Thermal Decomposition of Three Nylon Carpet Samples in an Infrared Pyrolysis Instrument 60

TABLE 18. Summary of Toxicity Protocols 61

TABLE 19. DIN Toxicity Test Results of a Treated and Non-Treated

85% Wool, 15% Nylon Carpet with a Jute Back 62

TABLE 20. Description of Nylon Containing Materials Evaluated by

FAA Toxicity Test Method 63

TABLE 21. Incapacitation and Lethality Results from Exposures to

Thermal Degradation Products from Nylon-Containing Materials

Decomposed According to the FAA Protocol 64

TABLE 22. Effects of Backcoating on the Toxicity of a Nylon 6,6

Fabric 65

TABLE 23. Effects of Acid Dyes on the Toxicity of a Nylon 6,6

Fabric 66

TABLE 24. Effects of Various Heating and Airflow Conditions on the

Toxicity of the Pyrolysis Products from Upholstery Fabrics

Containing Nylon 67

TABLE 25. NASA/USF Toxicity Protocol B Results for a Series of Nylon

Containing Fabrics 68

TABLE 26. Mean Times to Death and Incapacitation for Some Nylon

Containing Materials Tested According to NASA/USF

Toxicity Protocol B 69

TABLE 27. Comparison of Dynamic and Static Exposures for Nylon

Materials

TABLE 28. Results of Animal Exposures to the Combustion Products of

Nylon 6,6 Generated at Three Different Temperatures

TABLE 29. Results of Animal Exposures to Nylon 6,6 Decomposition

Products Produced at 550°C and 850°C

TABLE 30. Gas Analysis of Large-Scale Tests of Innerspring Mattresses

and Upholstered Chairs ....

v
LIST OF TABLES (continued)

Page

TABLE 31. Large-Scale Nylon Carpet Tests Using NBS Corridor

Facilities 74

TABLE 32. Results of Gas Analysis for Large-Scale Tests of Nylon

Carpet and Various Underlayment 75

Table 33. Results of Large-Scale Tests of a Fully Furnished Burn Room

Connected to a Corridor and Target Room 76

vi
LIST OF FIGURES

Page

FIGURE 1. The Production of Specific Gases from the Decomposition

of Nylon 6 in an Atmosphere of Nitrogen 77

FIGURE 2. The Production of Specific Gases from the Decomposition of

Nylon 6 in an Atmosphere of Air 78

FIGURE 3. Comparison of HCN and NH 3 Production from the Decomposition

of Nylon 6 in a Nitrogen Atmosphere 79

FIGURE 4. Production of HCN During Decomposition of Nylon 6 80

vii

NYLONS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON PRODUCTS

OF COMBUSTION TOXICITY

Emil Braun

Barbara C. Levin

ABSTRACT

The literature on polyamides was reviewed to determine the nature and

extent of information available on these materials which are commonly used in

consumer and industrial applications. This review was limited to aliphatic

polyamides normally called nylon and excludes aromatic polyamides such as

Nomex and bicomponent polymers consisting of nylon and other polymers. The

review was further limited to those publications in English through June

1984.

Typical pyrolysis products from a broad range of nylons do not appear

to differ greatly. Many of the decomposition products detected in vacuum

pyrolysis experiments appear as products of thermal degradation in inert and

air atmospheres. In air, a general reduction in the quantities of heavier

hydrocarbons is noted along with an increase in the production of CO, C0 2 ,

H 2 0, NH 3 , HCN, and N0X

.

The toxicity of the thermal degradation products from various types of

nylon has been evaluated by nine different protocols. Reported LC 50 values

range from 10.8 mg/ 8- to 61.9 mg/8,. Dyes apparently do not affect the

materials' combustion products toxicity, but an increase in the amount of

backcoating on a nylon fabric increases toxicity. Time to death measurencn'

1
show that volatile products from nylons are less toxic than those from rayons

or cotton, while the blending of wool with nylon greatly increases the

toxicity of the thermal decomposition products. In general, however, the

overall toxicity of the thermal degradation products from nylon do not appear

to be greatly different than those from many other polymeric materials.

Large-scale test results are ambiguous, and it is difficult to

interpret the results in terms of a single component in a multicomponent

system.

Keywords: Combustion products; literature reviews; nylon; pyrolysis, thermal

decomposition; toxicity.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

It is generally agreed that the quantity of smoke produced and its

toxicity play an important role in determining the likelihood of surviving a

building fire. Researchers over the past two decades have become increasingly concerned with the measurement of toxic effects from burning materials

under a great many combustion conditions. Recently, many laboratories have

attempted to develop standard laboratory-scale toxicity protocols. In the

wake of this research and testing, much information has been scattered

throughout the technical literature on a great many materials. In an effort

to collect, compare, and systematize this information, the fire toxicology

group within the Center for Fire Research at the National Bureau of Standards

conducted a literature review on several classes of synthetic materials.

2
In this report, the literature on polyamides is reviewed to determine

the nature and extent of information available on these materials which are

commonly used in consumer applications, such as wearing apparel and interior

furnishings, and industrial applications (e.g., belts, filters, and molded

components). This review is limited to aliphatic polyamides normally called

nylon and excludes aromatic polyamides such as Nomex^ and bicomponent

polymers consisting of nylon and other polymers. The review is further

limited to those publications in English through June 1984. A total of 10

databases (Chemical Abstracts, Environmental Abstracts, Excerptica Medica,

FRIS Library, Medline, NTIS, RAPRA, RTECS, TRIS, and Toxline) were searched

for pertinent publications.

The primary purpose of this review was to determine the possible

products of combustion that aliphatic polyamides would yield under various

fire conditions and to evaluate the toxicity of these products of

combustion. In general, fire investigators, either combustion scientists or

toxicologists, do not specifically identify the exact formulation of nylon

used in their respective studies. This severely limits the validity of any

comparison of results between different investigators. Differences in

experimental procedures may be overshadowed by the use of different nylons.

Nevertheless, a range of values can be obtained that are descriptive of the

•*- Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials are identified

in this paper in order to adequately specify the experimental procedure. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the

National Bureau of Standards, nor does it imply that the equipment or material identified is necessarily the best available for the purpose.

3
class of materials called nylon. This includes thermophysical properties as

well as products of combustion and, therefore, toxicity.

2.0 CHEMICAL STRUCTURE AND THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Nylon is a generic name referring to a series of aliphatic polyamides.

These polymers contain the recurring amide group, -C0NH-. The usual method

for describing a particular type of nylon is by attaching a number designation to the word nylon that represents the number of carbons in the repeating

units of the raw stock. For example, nylon 6,6 is made from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid - each containing 6 carbons. There are four methods

available for the production of nylon: l)hydrolytic polymerization; 2)

anionic polymerization; 3) interfacial polymerization; and 4) solid-state

polymerization. Of these, hydrolytic polymerization is the most common [l] 2 .

Nylons may be formed by either polycondensation of a diamine and a dibasic

acid, as in the case of nylon 6,6, or polymerization of a caprolactam or

amino acid as in the case of nylon 6. Nylons can be formed into fibers,

films, or cast into molded end products which are either reinforced or

unreinforced.

The thermophysical properties of nylons can vary depending on formulation. Table 1 summarizes the range of values found during this review.

Nylons have a melting point that ranges from approximately 172 to 260°C

[1,2]. Nylon 12 had the lowest melting point temperature, while nylon 6,6

2 Numbers in brackets refer to the literature references listed at the

end of this review.

4
had the highest reported value. Nylon 6 was found to be in the 215 to 220°C

range [2]. Ignition temperatures were also found to vary from 421 to 590°C

for flash ignition [3, 4, 5, 6, 8] and 424 to 532°C for self- ignition [4,8].

These values also varied according to nylon type. Nylon 6,6 had the highest

values, while nylon 6 had mid-range values. The lowest values were reported

for a set of undefined nylons.

Jellinek [6] determined that the thermal decomposition activation energy

for nylon 6,6 was 223 kJ/mole. Reardon and Baker [7] reported a value of

approximately 180 kJ/mole for nylon 6.

Hilado [8] reported Oxygen Index values for various nylons ranging from

20.1 to 28.7. The higher values represented undefined nylons that may

contain flame retardant compounds.

3.0 DECOMPOSITION

The thermal decomposition of nylons has been shown to begin with a

primary scission reaction of an -NH'CH 2 - bond followed by a complex series of

secondary reactions [11,12]. Subsequent intermediate mechanisms of decomposition depend upon the specific structure of the nylon, but combustion end

products do not differ greatly among the nylons studied. Some reaction

schemes require the presence of free radicals, as in the case of nylon 6

[11], while other schemes require the production of water which later leads

to hydrolysis of polymer fragments [12]. Strauss and Wall [13] studied

various nylons and concluded that decomposition was caused by free radical

5
formation and random scission. The primary site for scission was the C-N

bond. Conway and Harak [14] postulated that in the pyrolysis of nylon 6,6,

substituted cyclopentanone groups are formed by NH-CO bond scission and ring

closure. Large quantities of carbon dioxide (C0 2 ) and ammonia (NH 3 ) would be

expected along with n-hexylamine. These were detected by chemical ionization

mass spectrometry when nylon 6,6 was pyrolyzed directly into the ion source

of a mass spectrometer (MS).

The experimental work on thermal reactions of this type has been done

either in vacuum or in inert gas atmospheres. This research has been aimed

at deducing the chemical mechanisms and energies involved in each reaction

step. Studies under normal atmospheric conditions of 21% oxygen (0 2 ) are

limited to describing the nature of the combustion products.

In the next few sections of this report, we will describe the gaseous

products that evolved during thermal decomposition in each of three environments - vacuum, inert atmospheres, and air. While it may not appear relevant

to the real fire situation to review work done under oxygen- free conditions,

it must be realized that studies such as these provide information about the

effects of well controlled conditions on the nature and amounts of volatile

products of thermal decomposition. As will be seen, some of these volatile

products survive the passage through or past the flame and appear ultimately

as products of incomplete combustion during atmospheric burning of the

polymer

6
3.1 VACUUM PYROLYSIS

Achhammer et al. [12] used a mass spectrometer to analyze the gases

generated when nylon was heated to 400°C for 30 minutes in a vacuum. Two

nylon copolymer samples were used. One was a copolymer of nylon 6,6 and

nylon 6, while the other was a copolymer of nylon 6,6 and nylon 6,10.

Approximately 5% of the original weight of a sample was converted to gaseous

fractions. Table 2 summarizes these results. The copolymer of nylon 6,10

produced no carbon monoxide (CO) and very little water. This is in contrast

to the nylon 6 results which produced significant amounts of water and CO.

Table 3 is a tabulation of the hydrocarbons detected by Achhammer et al. [12]

from the copolymers of Table 2.

Strauss and Wall [13] pyrolyzed various nylon polymers in a vacuum oven

at 400°C for 30 minutes. Table 4 compares the pyrolysis products of a nylon

6 and nylon 6,6 copolymer similar to one of the copolymers studied by

Achhammer et al. [12] with the pyrolysis products of two types of nylon 6,

differing in molecular weight, and a nylon 6,10. For these samples tested,

carbon dioxide and water represented 80-95% of the total volatiles detected.

A large number of simple hydrocarbons was identified. Cyclopentanone was

only detected with the copolymer.

Peebles and Huffman [15] heated nylon 6,6 at 305°C under vacuum and

found that the major volatiles were C0 2 , NH 3 , and H2 0. In addition, they

7
also detected cyclopentanone, 2-cyclopentylidinecyclopentanone, 2-cyclopentylcyclopentanone, hexylamine, hexamethyleneimine, hexamethylenediamine,

and 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 -hexahydrodicyclopenta [ b , e ] pyridine

3.2 DECOMPOSITION IN INERT AND AIR ATMOSPHERES

Investigations into the decomposition products of aliphatic polyamides

in inert atmospheres and air can be divided into two general categories.

Several researchers have studied the broad range of decomposition products

produced by the thermal degradation of polyamides, while other researchers

have concentrated on the parameters affecting the production of specific

chemical species. The chemical species usually investigated have been NH 3 ,

hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and oxides of nitrogen (N0X

) along with CO, C0 2 * and

water.

3.2.1 GENERAL DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS

Senoo et al. [16] used pyrolysis/gas chromatography with a nitrogen

carrier to analyze the degradation products from a copolymer of nylon 6 and

nylon 6,6. By varying the pyrolysis temperature from 400 to 840°C, they were

able to determine that cyclopentanone and e-caprolactam first appeared at

480°C. The production of cyclopentanone was temperature dependent and went

through a minimum around 550°C. The low boiling point gases detected were:

acetonitrile, acrylonitrile, benzene, hexamethylenediamine, pyridine,

pyrrole, and styrene.

8
Michal et al. [17] used Curie point heating to decompose four polyamides

cast on ferromagnetic wires. They analyzed the decomposition products

produced at three temperatures, 510, 610, and 770°C, using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) system (Table 5). They did not analyze for

CO, CO 2 , or water, but concentrated on characterizing hydrocarbons with a

carbon chain of greater than five. They found that the production of nitrile

compounds depended on both the temperature and formulation of the polyamide.

Nylon 11 produced nitrile compounds at all three temperatures. The first

nitrile compound produced by nylon 6 was acetonitrile at 770°C. As the

carbon length of nylon was decreased, higher temperatures were required to

produce nitrile compounds.

Michal et al. [17] continued their investigations into the decomposition

of these materials by conducting thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) experiments

with laboratory air flowing through the system. The samples were heated at

15°C/min over the temperature range of 200 to 700°C. Initial sample weight

was 5 mg. The analysis of the combustion products was conducted by GC/MS.

Table 6 is a list of the combustion products reported for all four polyamides. In comparing the results of Tables 5 and 6, it should be noted that,

under conditions of nitrogen pyrolysis, nylons 7, 8, and 11 produced cyclopentanone when heated above 600°C, while nylon 6 did not produce any cyclopentanone at any temperature. However, in an air environment, nylon 6

produced cyclopentanone, while the other polymers did not.

Dufour [18] cites the unpublished work of Hobbs and Patten who used

Vycor combustion tubes heated in a tube furnace to 800°C. "Free burning"

9
tests were conducted with laboratory air (20.9% 0 2 ), while smoldering tests

employed a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen (11.7% 0 2 ). While the specific

type of nylon was not defined, Table 7 indicates that as the oxygen concentration increased, the production of C0 2 increased and the production of

other gas constituents decreased. They did not measure the production of H 2 0

or NOx which would be expected to increase with increasing oxygen.

Using similar equipment, Hartstein and Forshey [19] determined the

combustion products of nylon 6, while Christos et al. [20] evaluated the

combustion products of nylon 6,6. They decomposed these polymers in air at

370°C, and measured the components of the effluent gas stream using a TGE

apparatus coupled to a GC/MS system (Table 8). Both polymers produced

similar gas constituents, but at different concentrations. The nylon 6

results reported by Hartstein are consistent with the nylon 6 results of

Michal et al. [17] as shown in Table 6.

Morimoto et al. [21] decomposed 0.1 g samples of nylon 6,6 in a cup

furnace at 700°C with an airflow of either 50 2,/h or 100 2,/h (Table 9). In

addition, the data tabulated in Table 9 were determined by infrared spectrophotometry. Increasing the airflow rate increased the concentration of all

of the decomposition products. They found that during flaming combustion,

69% of the nitrogen contained in the polymer was converted to N 2

. Small

amounts of NO and N0 2 were also detected - 0.3 mg/g and 0.07 mg/g, respectively. However, they did not specify the flow conditions under which the N0X

measurements were made.

10
3.2.2 SPECIFIC GAS SPECIES

Since nylon contains nitrogen in its chemical structure, some researchers

have directed their efforts at measuring nitrogen-containing gaseous species

produced during thermal decomposition. In general, emphasis has been placed

on monitoring the production of HCN, NH 3 , and N0X

to the exclusion of other

combustion products.

3.2.2. 1 PURE MATERIALS

Dufour [18] references the unpublished work of McDermott and Critchfield

who measured the amount of HCN produced by pyrolyzing nylon (type not

specified) in a one liter round bottom flask. They placed a 20 mg sample of

nylon in the flask and heated it with a Terrill burner for 60 seconds. When

the flask was initially filled with nitrogen, they measured 280 yg/g of HCN.

This increased to 780 yg/g in a subsequent experiment when the flask was

filled with air.

Using a Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA)-GC/MS system, Murata and

Takahashi [22] were able to determine that nylon 6, heated at 10°C/min in an

air atmosphere, began producing HCN and NH 3 at about 375°C.

Bott et al. [23] used a tube furnace to decompose a nylon sample (type

not specified) in air and nitrogen atmospheres. With a flow rate of 250

m2,/min of air, they reported a temperature of 350°C for the initial evolution

of HCN and NH 3

. Carbon monoxide also began evolving at this temperature.

11
The presence of N0X was first detected at 600°C. In a nitrogen atmosphere,

similar experiments showed that CO and NH 3 were initially liberated at 300°C.

At 350°C, HCN was detected, while N0X appeared at 650°C. Using 1 g samples,

they reported that the percent by weight of HCN produced by heating nylon in

air and in nitrogen was 0.04% and 0.03%, respectively. At a fixed temperature of 500°C, they measured the following gas concentrations:

Concentration in

Air Nitrog

Gas (ppm) (ppm)

HCN 200 80

CO 1200 600

nh 3 20000 10000

Mapper ley and Sewell [24] also used a tube furnace to measure the

production of HCN and CO from the thermal decomposition of nylon 6,6 in

either air or nitrogen atmospheres. With a gas flow of 50 mH/min, 10 mg

samples were placed in the furnace. Decomposition was conducted at fixed

temperatures within the range of 700 to 1100°C. Their results indicate that

the production of CO increased with increasing temperature and was higher for

an air atmosphere than for an nitrogen atmosphere at temperatures above 900°C

(Table 10). The HCN yield was not significantly affected by the combustion

atmosphere, and appeared to have a maximum yield between 900°C and 1000°C.

12
Skidmore and Sewell [25] repeated the work of Mapper ley and Sewell [24]

but added N0X measurements. Using colorimetric detector tubes'3 and an

airflow rate of 500 m2,/min through the tube furnace, they found that N0X

(reported as N0 2 ) production decreased as the temperature increased from 600

to 800°C and then increased as the temperature increased from 800 to 1000°C

(Table 11). At 1000°C, they found that considerably less N0X (0.94% of the

sample weight) was produced than HCN (11.6% of the sample weight). Approximately 54% of the available nitrogen was converted to HCN, while only 2.3%

appeared as N0X.

Sugihara [26], Sumi and Tsuchiya [27], and Morikawa [28] employed tube

furnaces to thermally degrade nylon 6 over the temperature range of 400 to

1000°C in air or in nitrogen atmospheres. Sugihara [26] monitored the

production of HCN, CO, NH 3 , and N0 2 , while Sumi and Tsuchiya [27] monitored

HCN, CO, and C0 2. Morikawa was concerned with the production of NH 3 and

HCN. All three found that the production of HCN increased with increasing

temperature in either air or nitrogen atmospheres. Sugihara reported that

the production of CO in air or in nitrogen increased with temperature, while

Sumi noted that it was relatively independent of temperature. Sugihara 1 s

data for CO, CN", and NH 3 are summarized in Figures 1 and 2, while Figure 3

shows the results of Morikawa 1 s work comparing the production of HCN and NH 3

as a function of temperature in a nitrogen atmosphere. Figure 4 shows

Morikawa 1 s results for HCN production in air and nitrogen atmospheres.

Sumi's results are tabulated in Table 12.

^ See ASTM E 800, Standard Guide for Measurement of Gases Present or Generated During Fires, for cautionary notes on the use of gas detector tubes

[63].

13
Using a commercial oven with a 15 in 3 cavity, Rigby [29] determined that

NH 3 was the major decomposition product when nylon 6, nylon 6,6, and nylon 11

were heated at 250°C in air. The concentrations of NH 3 produced by the three

nylon samples were:

Material

NH 3 (ppm/m3

)

nylon 6 2.9

nylon 6,6 4.3

nylon 11 2.9

Michal [30] compared the HCN production of three nylons when thermally

decomposed in a tube furnace between 600°C and 1200°C with air or nitrogen

flowing at 50 m!l/min (Table 13). He found that, in all three cases, the HCN

concentration increased with increasing temperature and was independent of

combustion atmosphere. In general, from 600 to 1000°C, nylon 6,6 produced a

higher concentration of HCN than nylon 11 or nylon 12. At 1200°C, nylon 11

produced a little more HCN than nylon 6,6 or nylon 12.

In general, combustion tube experiments are not well suited for the

analysis of combustion products from composite materials; the primary problem

being the testing of representative portions of the composite material. For

this reason, several researchers have adapted the NBS Smoke Chamber [65] to

3. 2. 2.COMPOSITE MATERIALS

14
generate combustion products from a wide range of composite materials. These

combustion products are then analyzed employing many of the same techniques

used in combustion tube experiments.

One of the earliest attempts at characterizing combustion products

produced by composite materials in the NBS Smoke Chamber was done by Gross et

al. [31]. They used colorimetric or gas detector tubes in an effort to

measure the amounts of specific low molecular weight compounds found in the

chamber's atmosphere. They tested a total of 141 aircraft interior

materials, eleven of which contained nylon. A description of the nylon

containing materials and concentrations of specific gases reported in terms

of the mass of material tested are presented in Table 14. It is interesting

to note that, except for two materials, HCN was detected in all samples under

both flaming and non-flaming conditions. Also, in the majority of samples,

the flaming condition produced higher concentrations of CO, HC2,, and HCN.

In a similar set of experiments, Speital et al. [32] decomposed

composite materials in the flaming mode in an NBS Smoke Chamber and measured

the presence and concentrations of low molecular weight compounds in the

combustion gases. They compared colorimetric detector tubes with instrumental methods of analysis. Two fire retarded upholstery fabrics, both

containing 90% wool and 10% nylon, were tested. The results were reported in

terms of mass of gas per mass of consumed material (Table 15). These

findings are in contrast to those of Gross et al. [31] who reported their

results in terms of material initially placed in the smoke chamber. It

be seen that no pattern appears. For S0 2 and N0 2 , the colorimetric d :t <

-

15
tubes greatly overestimate the presence of these gases in comparison to the

instrumental methods, while the colorimetric detector tubes underestimated

the concentration of H2 S. The data also show inconsistent results for CO and

HCN.

Speital et al. [32] also designed and built a combustion tube furnace

capable of holding 250 mg samples. They heated the previous two wool/nylon

samples for 5 minutes at 600°C with an ambient airflow rate of 2 il/min. The

combustion gases were analyzed by a set of instrumental methods similar to

those previously cited (Table 16). Comparing Table 16 and Table 15, it can

be seen that these combustion tube experiments yielded higher concentrations

of HCN and CO than the NBS Smoke Chamber tests.

Melvin [33] decomposed 10-30 mg samples from three nylon carpets in an

infrared pyrolysis instrument in the temperature range of 400 to 650°C.

Table 17 contains a description of the carpet samples and the test results.

The reported results are normalized to a one square foot of carpet per cubic

meter of air. As expected, the specimen containing PVC also produced HCi.

While the exact products of decomposition depend on the specific nylon

used, several generalizations can be made regarding the effects of atmosphere

and temperature on the decomposition of these polymers. Vacuum decomposition

of nylons, at 300 to 400°C, produced large quantities of C0 2 and H 2 0. In

some cases, NH 3 was detected in significant amounts. Many of the same

compounds detected under vacuum conditions of decomposition were also

produced during heating under inert or air atmospheres. Several researchers

16
have shown that HCN, NH 3 , and N0X were produced during thermal degradation in

both inert and air atmospheres. Due to heat losses to the furnace walls, the

design of some combustion systems may prevent flaming combustion from

actually occurring, although decomposition had taken place in an air atmosphere with a sufficiently high temperature to cause flaming under other

experimental conditions.

4.0 TOXICITY

At least nine different protocols have been used to assess the toxicity

of the thermal degradation products of nylon materials. These protocols are

briefly summarized in Table 18, and can be divided into two classes. The

first class (no. 1-4) of protocols represent widely recognized procedures for

evaluating combustion product toxicity. These procedures were developed for

the purpose of providing information on a broad range of materials. The

second group of protocols (no. 5-9) were developed on an ad hoc basis to

evaluate the combustion product toxicity of selected materials. It appears

that the researchers in the second group did not intend to design a general

purpose test protocol that could be used for material toxicity evaluations.

Those protocols marked with an asterisk in Table 18 are described in greater

detail by Kaplan et al. [34]. Additional citations that provide for a more

complete description of each test protocol will be given as each method is

discussed in the following sections.

17
Toxicologists have developed numerous terms for describing a material's

toxicological potency. Combustion toxicologists have used either incapacitation or lethality endpoints as characteristic indices of a material's

toxicity. These values are reported for a given exposure concentration as

the time to effect or the percent of affected animals within a fixed exposure

time. In combustion experiments, the exposure concentration is a measure of

the amount of combustion products present in the exposure atmosphere based on

the material placed in a combustion apparatus or the fraction actually

decomposed. The biological endpoint most often used by combustion

toxicologists has been that concentration of combustion products affecting

50% of the exposed animals. Therefore, terms such as LC 50 , LL 50 , LA 50 , and

L(Ct) 50 refer to a lethal amount of combustion products which affect 50% of

the exposed animals.

An LC 50 is the lethal concentration reported in terms of mass of

material loaded or consumed in the furnace per unit volume of the exposure

chamber (e.g., mg/ 8,). Some researchers have misused this nomenclature by

assigning to it units of mass only. In this report, LL 50 , lethal loading, is

employed to indicate mass (e.g., gm) which has not been normalized by volume.

The LA 50 , lethal area (e.g., cm2 ), is a description of the initial surface

area of exposed sample that produced the combustion atmosphere which caused

death in 50 percent of the animals. The L(Ct) 50 , whose dimensionality is

typically ppm-min, is determined by calculating the area under the

concentration-time curve generated for a particular gas during the decomposition of a material.

18
4.1 DIN 53 436 METHOD

The DIN 53 436 test method was developed in the Federal Republic of

Germany. It provides a steady output of combustion products and uses a

horizontal moving tube furnace to decompose the sample in a flowing air

stream [35]. The combustion air stream is diluted with room air and then

introduced into an animal exposure chamber. The combustion products flow

past the animals and are exhausted out of the system. Material is introduced

into the combustion system based on equal specimen volume or weight per unit

length.

Herpol [36] exposed three male and three female rats per test to the

combustion products generated by two carpet samples composed of 85% wool and

15% nylon and backed with jute. One carpet sample was treated with K 2 ZrF 6

.

All of the tests were conducted for 30 minutes with combustion air flowing at

200 2,/hr. Tests were conducted at 500, 600, and 700°C (Table 19). The

treated carpet sample flamed at all three temperatures, while the non-treated

sample did not flame at 500°C, but did flame at 600 and 700°C. As the

temperature increased above 500°C, CO production decreased for both samples;

C0 2 production increased for the non-treated sample and remained relatively

constant for the treated sample. This was as expected since the treated

sample flamed at all three test temperatures. At a given temperature, the

mean respiration frequencies (percent of normal pre-exposure value) were

lower for those animals exposed to the combustion products from the treated

sample than the non-treated sample. For those tests that had animal deaths,

(500°C for the non-treated sample and 500 and 600°C for the treated samph:)

19
the mean carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) was found to be 37% in those animals

exposed to the decomposition products from the non- treated sample and 60% and

25%, respectively, from the treated sample. Herpol [36] found that

preliminary experiments with CO showed that deaths would first occur when the

CO concentration was 4000 ppm, resulting in COHb levels of 65%. Except for

the treated sample tested at 500°C, all other values were well below this CO

exposure level and corresponding COHb levels were below the critical value of

65%. Therefore, in these experiments, death can be considered to be caused

by the presence of combustion products in the gas stream in addition to CO.

4.2 FAA TOXICITY PROTOCOL

Crane et al. [37], at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), have

developed a small-animal inhalation toxicity system in which the system

atmosphere is recirculated between a tube furnace set at 600 °C and an animal

exposure chamber. In each experiment, three albino rats are exposed for a

maximum of 30 minutes in a whole body mode. The biological endpoints are time

to incapacitation, as determined by the animals' inability to move in an

exercise wheel, and time to death. The samples tested were commercially

available aircraft interior materials. Sample mass was fixed at 750 mg,

which would be equivalent to a concentration of 60 mg/ 8, if completely

consumed. Crane et al. reported three sets of time values. One set was the

actual time to effect, while the other two were values normalized to a 200

gram animal and a sample weight of 1 gram (sample weight was either that

charged to the system or that consumed during the test). Data based on

charged weight was called "standard" and that based on consumed weight was

20
called "loss." Of the 75 materials tested by Crane et al., three contained

nylon. Their descriptions are listed in Table 20 and the test results are

presented in Table 21. Sample 142, a flame retarded wool/nylon upholstery

fabric was the most toxic, while sample 89, a flame retarded PVC/nylon

fabric, was the least toxic. In fact, sample 89 produced no animal deaths

during exposure. Normalizing the data as described above does not change the

toxic order of the materials.

Fewell et al. [39] used the same protocol to evaluate the toxicity of a

flame retarded treated nylon fabric and found that the time to incapacitation

was 2.89 minutes and the time to death was 4.00 minutes (values were

normalized to a 200 g rat and 1 gram of sample). Speith and Trabold [38]

compared the results of Fewell et al. to a 90% wool and 10% nylon upholstery

fabric. In both cases, the combustion tube furnace was also set at 600°C and

the total exposure time was 30 minutes. The first 200 seconds involved the

active decomposition of the sample. Reporting their results in terms of a

value normalized to 1 g of material per 25 g of animal body weight, they

found that the blended fabric was more toxic than the 100% nylon.

Mean Timea to

Loading Incapacitation Death

Fabric (mg/ SI) (min) (min)

100% nylon 86 2 . 89+0 . 93b 4.00+0.61

90%wool/ 10%nylon 35 0.83+0.18 2.59+1.66

^ normalized to 1 g of material and 25 g of animal body weight,

k standard deviation.

21
A. 3 NASA/USF TOXICITY PROTOCOL

The NASA/USF Toxicity Protocol was developed for the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) and used extensively by Hilado at the

University of San Francisco (USF). This method exposes four Swiss-Webster

male mice to the combustion products developed in a horizontal tube furnace.

The animals are allowed to move freely in a A. 2 liter animal exposure

chamber. The exposure chamber is connected to the furnace by a glass tube.

The furnace can be operated at fixed temperatures or ramped at a rate of

A0°C/min from 200 to 800°C. Movement of the combustion products is due to

thermal expansion except under a modified test protocol using flow-through

conditions when a pump is used to move air through the system at 3 2,/min.

Because of the nature of the apparatus and the use of incapacitation time as

the figure of merit, results from this method are highly sensitive to the

thermal stability of the polymer being tested.

Young et al. [AO] used this method to characterize generic polymers.

They ramped the furnace at A0°C/min until 700°C at which temperature the

furnace was maintained for 30 minutes. The total exposure time was, therefore, A7.5 minutes. Specific gases were detected by colorimetric detector

tubes. For a polyamide, they found an LC 50 of 32 mg/ 2, along with a CO

concentration of 2000 ppm and a CN“ concentration of 1000 ppm.

Kourtides et al. [Al] evaluated the combustion product toxicity of three

types of nylons and reported the mean times to death and the mean times to

22
incapacitation where the means are calculated from the average values

obtained from at least three tests. They decomposed one gram samples by

ramped heating at 40°C/min. The results are shown below.

Mean Time (min) To

Material Death Incapacitation

nylon 6,10 13 . 28+1 . 63a 11.48+1.59

nylon 6 13.47+1.13 11.55+0.66

nylon 6,6 16.34+0.85 14.01+0.13

a standard deviation of results of at least three tests.

In addition, they determined an apparent lethal concentration, ALC 50 , of

10.75 mg/ 2, for a 30 minute exposure to the decomposition products of nylon 6.

Hilado and Huttlinger [42] repeated this work for nylon 6. They

reported a mean time to death of 21.04 + 2.78 minutes. In another report,

Hilado [43] reported CO and CHU measurements of 5480 ppm and 1970 ppm,

respectively, from the decomposition of this material. Using two different

sources of nylon 6,6 and two different sources of nylon 6,10, Hilado and

Cumming [44] found the following results for the mean times to death:

Mean Time to Death (min)

Sample nylon 6,6 nylon 6,10

A 18.15 15.48

B 16.20 13.47

23
They also measured the CO and C0 2 concentrations at the end of each test and

found that for nylon 6,6, the CO concentration was 9300 ppm and 13000 ppm for

samples A and B, respectively. The comparable results for nylon 6,10 were

11560 ppm and 14260 ppm. The C0 2 results varied from 3.5% to 4.5%.

Hilado and Huttlinger [45], Hilado et al. [46], Hilado and Brauer [47],

and Hilado and Huttlinger [48] investigated the effects of dye and

backcoating on the toxicity of the pyrolysis products of a nylon fabric

exposed to ramped heating of 40°C/min. The results in Table 22 indicate that

dyes do not appear to affect the toxicity of nylon, however, an increase in

the amount of backcoating applied to the nylon fabric decreased the mean

times to death (Table 23).

Table 24 is a tabulation of the mean times to incapacitation and times

to death for two upholstery fabrics exposed to seven different combinations

of heating and airflow test conditions. In general, the 100% nylon fabric

appeared to be substantially less toxic than the 86% wool/ 14% nylon fabric.

Hilado and Brauer [47] and Hilado et al. [49] measured the time to death

of mice exposed to the pyrolysis products from a series of nylon-containing

fabrics decomposed by ramp heating the materials at 40°C/min without any

forced airflow. The maximum animal exposure time was 30 minutes. The

calculated mean times to death from replicate tests ranged from 19.97 + 0.40

minutes for a 28% nylon/ 72% rayon fabric to 8.93 + 1.06 minutes for a 14%

nylon/ 86% wool fabric (Table 25). For reference purposes, the mean time to

death was 11.91 minutes for a 100% cotton fabric and was either 12.40 minutes

24
or 18.61 minutes for a 100% rayon fabric depending on the type of rayon.

Calculated mean times to death of animals exposed to the decomposition

products from several 100% nylon fabrics ranged from 18.52 minutes to 19.10

minutes

Hilado et al. [50] reported mean times to death and incapacitation for

another series of nylon blended fabrics and one nylon plastic (nonfibrous)

material (Table 26). These values are consistent with the other reported

values. The nonfibrous nylon produced results comparable to that from the

100% nylon material reported in Table 25. The presence of wool appears to

greatly reduce the time to death and time to incapacitation.

4.4 NBS TOXICITY PROTOCOL

The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) toxicity protocol has been

described in detail by Levin et al. [66] and Kaplan et al. [34]. The sample

is introduced into a cup furnace set at 25°C above or below the sample's

auto- ignition temperature. It is a static system in that all of the

combustion products are contained in an exposure chamber that provides for

the head-only exposures of six male rats. The exposure lasts for 30 minutes

at which time the animals are withdrawn and survivors held for 14 days of

observation. Sample mass is varied in order to determine an LC 50 value based

on the amount of material loaded in the furnace divided by the volume of the

exposure chamber (200 £). Grand et al. [64] found that a nylon carpet with

polypropylene primary and secondary backing in the flaming mode at 460°C had

25
a 30 minute LC 50 value of 73.2 mg/ 2,. The LC 50 values of the non-flaming

tests were indeterminable because of an insufficient number of fatalities.

A modification to the NBS Toxicity Protocol that replaced the cup

furnace with a pair of radiant quartz heaters has been developed by

Weyerhaeuser Co. [67], This furnace arrangement was capable of delivering up

to 75 kW/m 2 to the surface of a sample. Grand et al. [64] used this modified

NBS Toxicity Protocol to determine LC 50 values for three nylon carpet samples

at two different energy levels. For non-flaming tests, the radiant heaters

were set to deliver 25 kW/m2 to the sample surface, while flaming tests

involved exposing the sample to an initial incident energy level of 50 kW/m 2

for 10 minutes followed by 20 minutes of exposure at 25 kW/m 2. One of the

carpet samples (82-11-1-1) was evaluated under both non-flaming and flaming

conditions. In the non-flaming mode, the 30 minute LC 50 value was 76.6 mg/ 2,

and the LA 50 value was 69.4 cm 2. The flaming mode resulted in a 30 minute

LC 50 of 52.4 mg/ 2, and an LA 50 value of 47.5 cm 2. Two additional carpet

samples were evaluated in the flaming mode. One sample, CT3-1, was tested

with and without an underlayment . The carpet /under layment combination had a

30 minute LC 50 value of 45.5 mg/ 2, while the carpet, alone, had a 30 minute

LC 50 value of 56.2 mg/ 2,. Carpet sample CT3-2 with a rubberized hair pad had

a 30 minute LC S0 value ranging from 60 mg/ 2, to 73 mg/2,. The 30 minute LC 50

results for the flaming mode are summarized below.

26
LC 50

Sample Under layment (mg/ Z)

82-11-1-1 No 52.4

CT3-1 No 56.2

CT3-1 Yes 45.5

CT3-2 Yes 60-73

Grand et al. believed that the predominant toxic effects were caused by CO

and HCN which were generated in sufficient quantities to produce the observed

toxicities

4.5 MISCELLANEOUS

Cornish [51] developed two different combustion systems to evaluate the

toxicities of the combustion products from a series of materials. The first

test method consisted of a static system in which the whole bodies of 15 rats

were placed in a 1500 liter stainless steel exposure chamber along with a

combustion tube furnace. A sample was inserted into the combustion tube

furnace and heated to 700°C for 6 to 10 minutes. The second system contained

a flow-through combustion tube furnace connected to a Pyrex cylinder which

allowed 5 rats to be exposed in a nose-only mode. In the flow-through

system, the temperature was increased at either 3°C/min or 5°C/min to a

maximum of 800°C with a 1.0 2,/min airflow in the furnace. The combustion

effluent was mixed with 1.0 8,/min laboratory air prior to entering the animal

exposure chamber. A 4 hour exposure was used in the static system, while in

the dynamic system, the animals were exposed to the combustion gases for 10

27
minutes. Cornish [51] and Cornish et al. [52] found that nylon had an LL 50

(exposure plus 7 days) of 33 g to 47 g (LC 50 of 22 to 33 mg/8,) in the static

system and 2.7 g to 4.3 g (LC 50 of 9 to 15 mg/8,) in the dynamic system (Table

27). No correlation seems to exist between the dynamic and static exposures.

Using the static system, Cornish et al. [52] compared rat and rabbit

responses to the combustion products generated by degradation of 20 g of a

flame retarded and non-flame retarded nylon 6,6. They found that no rats

died due to either exposure, but 1 out of 4 rabbits died following exposure

to the non-fire retarded nylon 6,6. The degradation products of the flame

retarded nylon 6,6 produced no rabbit deaths.

Cornish et al. [53] conducted a detailed blood analysis of rats exposed

to a flame retarded nylon 6,6. Animals were exposed to either non-flaming

(415°C) or flaming (800°C) combustion products from 35 g of nylon 6,6

decomposed in the static system. They measured plasma thiocyanate levels and

found that, under non-flaming conditions, exposed animals had an average

concentration of 54 pmol/m8, of thiocyanate as compared to 60 pmol/m8, detected

in a control group. Under flaming conditions, the exposed group had 249

pmol/m8, of thiocyanate, while the control group had 67 pmol/mS,. In addition,

they found in the static system that 30 g or less produced no deaths but that

50 g or more produced 100% mortality under flaming decomposition conditions.

Comparable values for the dynamic system were 2.5 g for 0% mortality and

5.0 g for 100% mortality.

28
MacFarland and Leong [54] designed a 300 liter steel box that contained

12 individual animal baskets and a set of three cone heaters. Flaming

combustion was initiated by using a match ignited by one heater, while nonflaming combustion was initiated and sustained by use of all three heaters.

Twelve rats were exposed in the whole body mode for 60 minutes. Survivors

were kept for two weeks of observation. They reported the results of tests

conducted with polyurethane foam and a nylon material coated with

polyurethane such that 30% of the total mass was urethane and 70% was nylon.

Non-flaming data were reported as L(Ct) 50 values and were 2100 mg‘min/2. and

1900 mg*min/t for polyurethane foam and polyurethane/nylon, respectively.

Histological examinations showed that flaming combustion was less toxic than

non-flaming combustion. In the case of non-flaming polyurethane, death was

attributed to acute asphyxia resulting from occlusion of the upper

respiratory tract. Pulmonary edema appeared to be the cause of death from

the non- flaming polyurethane/nylon.

Kishitani and Nakamura [55,56] exposed the whole bodies of individual

mice to the combustion products generated by heating the test polymer in a

quartz-glass tube and monitored animal activity during the exposure. The

quartz-glass tube was heated by a set of gas burners to one of three temperatures - 350, 500, or 750°C. A natural draft of about 4 2,/min caused the

smoke to flow from the combustion system to the exposure system. The

exposure system was a 56 liter glass chamber containing a wire cage with a

vibration sensor installed in the cage floor. The time that animals died was

determined from the vibration sensor. Surviving animals were observed for a

post-exposure period of one week. The concentrations of CO and HCN were

29
measured continuously and HC2, was sampled periodically. Smoke density was

also recorded continuously. Exposures lasted 15 minutes. Table 28 tabulates

the results of burning nylon 6,6 rods in air. No deaths were recorded during

the exposures conducted at 350 or 500°C. At 750°C, animals died in 2.92 to

3.67 minutes, CO levels were approximately 0.23% and HCN was 417 ppm. Since

more CO was generated at the lower temperatures where no deaths occurred,

these deaths cannot be attributed to CO alone. The high concentration of HCN

generated at the higher temperature added to CO is more likely the cause of

these deaths.

Kishitani and Yusa [57] developed an empirical relationship between

sample weight of material and the time a set of mice in freely revolving

cages would collapse. Their apparatus consisted of a combustion system

similar to that of Kishitani and Nakamura [55], but exposed 5 mice at a time

rather than one. The animals were in individual free-wheeling cages within a

55 liter glass chamber. The maximum exposure time was 15 minutes. During

this period, they monitored the number of revolutions of each animal cage.

In experiments where nylon 6,6 rods were decomposed at 550 and 850°C, they

found that the equation

W=kTP

where

W = weight of sample (g)

T = collapse time (min)

k,p = computed constants

30
was a reasonable representation of the data within the range of 2.5 to 3.5

minutes (Table 29). At 550°C, k was found to be 1.48 and p was -1.09, while

at 850°C, k was 0.68 and p was -1.11.

Wright and Adams [58] investigated the toxicity of the combustion

products from a series of polymeric materials. They used two 54 liter

polytetraf luoroethylene-coated stainless steel chambers, one for a combustion

chamber and the other for an exposure chamber. In the combustion chamber,

samples were heated by a hot plate for a maximum of 5 minutes and by an

acetylene/air burner 8 cm above the sample surface for 30 seconds. The

atmosphere was moved between the two chambers at 200 £./min. Six animals were

exposed per test in a whole body mode for 5 minutes. Nylon, under these

conditions was found to have an LL 50 of 6.8 g or an LC 50 of 61.9 mg/ 2,. Under

the same conditions, red oak had an LL 50 of 11.40 or an LC 50 g of 103.6 mg/ 2.

5.0 LARGE-SCALE TESTS

Several researchers have conducted large scale fire testing of furnishings and finishing materials containing nylon components. These investigators monitored the production of a number of gaseous combustion products in

order to analytically quantify the toxicity of the combustion atmosphere. In

general, nylon was tested in combination with other materials. It thus

becomes very difficult to assess the toxic contribution of one material as

compared to another since the overall toxicity is a result of the total

31
combustion products. However, comparisons between tests that differ in only

one or two components can be made.

Hafer and Yuill [59] and Yuill [60] conducted a series of room fire

tests that were designed to measure the fire performance of an innerspring

mattress with various combinations of mattress pads, blankets, and pillows.

In a second series of tests, the mattress was replaced by a chair upholstered

with different fabrics in each test. The mattress tests were initiated by a

dropped match, while the chair tests were started with a dropped cigarette.

Carbon monoxide, C0 2 , and 0 2 concentrations were monitored. In all the

tests, the innerspring mattress had a rayon ticking and was covered with a

cotton sheet. The effect of changing the mattress pad from a cotton/nylon

one to a cotton/rayon one was examined. Very little difference was noted

between the two match ignition tests (Table 30). The maximum CO and C0 2

concentrations and minimum 0 2 concentration as measured at the 5 foot level

in the test chamber (12 ft x 14 ft x 8 ft) along with the time of occurrence

of the maximum CO level are tabulated in Table 30. The upholstered chairs

consisted of wood frames with urethane foam cushions. One of the chairs was

covered with a nylon upholstery fabric which, when tested, appeared to yield

similar results in comparison to other materials studied. The acetate

covered chair produced the highest peak concentration of CO; on the other

hand, the nylon and polypropylene covered chairs caused the lowest oxygen

values

Birky et al. [61] reported on large-scale floor covering tests conducted

at the National Bureau of Standards. In these tests, a burn room and 30 foot

32
corridor were covered with various floor coverings. In two tests, nylon

carpets were evaluated. The concentration of CO, C0 2 , and 0 2 were continuously monitored and samples of the combustion atmosphere were taken in

evacuated bulbs for later analysis on a gas chromatograph and/or infrared

spectrophotometer. The results showed that while CO and C0 2 values were

relatively constant throughout the two tests, large quantities of HCN were

generated after the corridor had undergone flashover (Table 31).

Alderson and Breden [62] utilized the same facility to evaluate the

importance of a carpet under layment in fire growth. In all tests, they used

a nylon carpet as the primary floor covering and varied the padding material

below the carpet. Four wood cribs (total of 170 lbs) were placed in the burn

room for use as an energy source to induce flame spread on the carpeting. A

carpet runner was extended from the burn room into the corridor. The section

of carpeting in the burn room ignited 180 to 240 seconds into the test.

Table 32 summarizes the results of these tests. In those tests resulting in

flashover, large quantities of HCN only appeared in post-f lashover gas

samples. Although flames spread along the carpet runner and into the

corridor, no HCN was detected in those tests that did not achieve flashover.

The maximum HCN concentration (8000 ppm) and CO concentration (5.5%) occurred

with a urethane pad below the nylon carpet.

Grand et al. [64] conducted a series of furnished large-scale fire

tests in a burn room/corridor/target room configuration. The overall test

design consisted of a 12 ft x 18 ft burn room perpendicular to the closed end

of a 45 ft corridor, with an 8 ft x 12 ft target room located 16 feet from

33
the burn room. Of the four tests performed in this facility, two tests

included carpeting (sample // CT3-2; also discussed in section 4. A) and an

under layment. The burn room was furnished to duplicate a "typical" hotel

room and included a dresser, desk, desk chair, table, two upholstered chairs,

a sofa, two night stands, and a queen size bed with all bedding. In addition

to analytical measurements of temperature, gases (CO, C0 2 , 0 2 , HCN, and HC2,),

and smoke density, rats were exposed in a head-only position to the

combustion products collected in the target room.

Two groups of animals were used in each test. One group of seven

animals was exposed to the combustion products beginning with the initiation

of the fire test, while a second group of five animals were inserted into the

target room wall when the target room door was closed. Time to death was

noted for each exposure group.

Each test began with the smoldering ignition of an upholstered chair

that was in contact with the sofa. Smoldering combustion continued until the

chair burst into flames. Fire growth continued until flashover occurred

(tests 2,3,4). In tests 3 and 4, the carpet became involved prior to flashover. The door to the target room was open 1 inch at the start of tests

2,3,4 and 12 inches for test 1. Five minutes after a thermocouple at the 7

ft level in the burn room indicated 1200°F, the target room door was closed.

Table 33 summarizes the maximum or minimum gas values for the burn room and

target room as well as the mean time to death for each group of animals.

With the exception of test one, which began with a larger target room door

opening, the presence or absence of carpeting had little effect on the mean

34
time to death of either group of animals. Although test one shows shorter

times to death, the values of the measured gases in the target room were not

significantly different from the other tests with the exception of the

minimum oxygen and maximum HCN concentrations. Grand et al. noted that HC1

or HCN were not detected until flaming was noted in the burn room.

6.0 CONCLUSIONS

Typical pyrolysis products from a broad range of nylons do not appear to

differ greatly in their nature. Many of the decomposition products detected

in vacuum pyrolysis experiments appear as products of thermal degradation in

inert and air atmospheres. There is a general reduction in the quantities of

heavier hydrocarbons and an increase in the production of CO and C0 2 as the

temperature or the oxygen content of the atmosphere are increased. The

predominant gaseous products of decomposition in an air atmosphere were

identified as: CO, C0 2 , H 2 0, NH 3 , HCN, and N0X

. Many other volatile

products were identified and are tabulated in this review.

The toxicity of the thermal degradation products from various types of

nylon have been evaluated by nine different protocols. Reported LC 50 values

ranged from 10.75 mg/ 2, [41] to 61.9 mg/ 2, [58]. This variation is attributed

to differences in nylon formulations used by various researchers as well as

variations in test protocols. Dyes [45,46,47] apparently did not affect the

material's combustion product toxicity as indicated by the exposure time

necessary to cause death, but an increase in the amount of backcoating

[47,48] on a nylon fabric decreased the time needed to produce death. Time

35
to death measurements showed that the volatile products from nylon are less

toxic than those from rayon or cotton, while the blending of wood to nylon

greatly increased the toxicity of the thermal decomposition products. In

general, however, the overall toxicity of the thermal degradation products

from nylon do not appear to be greatly different than those from many other

polymeric materials.

As expected, the role of nylon in the reported large-scale tests was

ambiguous and difficult to interpret since the nylon was a single component

in a multicomponent system. Two large-scale test programs indicated that the

generation of HCN in toxicologically significant quantities was limited to

post-f lashover conditions [61,62]. A third set of tests [64] also showed

that the presence of flaming conditions was required to produce HCN.

7 . 0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of N. Jason, M. Diephaus,

A. Durham, and C. S. Bailey, who performed the literature search and compiled

the references.

This work was performed under Contract CPSC-IAG-74-25 , Task Order 84.8

from the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Dr. Rita Orzel,

Project Officer. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and

not those of CPSC.

36
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Moncrieff, R. W., Man-Made Fibers. Fifth Edition, Heywood Books,

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Sayers, L. W. , The Flammability of Fibres, Fabrics, and Garments.

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Patten G. A., Ignition Temperatures of Plastics. Modern Plastics,

Sept. (1961).

Kasem, M. A. and Rouette, H. K. , Flammability and Flame Retardancy of

Fabrics: A Review. J. Fire Flamm. 3:310-325 (1972).

Jellinek, H. H. G. and Dunkle, S. R. , Kinetics and Mechanism of HCN

Evolution from Nylon 66 and Design of Apparatus. J. Polym. Sci.,

Polym. Chem. Ed. 20:85-101 (1982).

Reardon, T. J. and Barker, R. H. , Pyrolysis and Combustion of Nylon 6.

I. Effect of Selected Brominated Flame Retardants. J. Appl. Polym.

Sci. 18:1903-1917 (1974).

Hilado, C. J., Flammability Handbook for Plastics. 3rd Edition,

Technomic Pub. Co. Inc., Westport, Conn. (1982).

Sherwood, L. T., Nylon, Crystalline and Amorphous. Modern Plastics

Encyclopedia, 1983-1984.

Lowrie, R. , Heat of Combustion and Oxygen Compatibility. Flammability

and Sensitivity of Materials in Oxygen- Enriched Atmospheres, ASTM

Sp. Tech. Pub. 812, Philadelphia, PA (1982).

Kamerbeek, B. , Kroes, G. H. , and Grolle, W., Thermal Degradation of

Some Polyamides. High Temperature Resistance and Thermal Degradation

of Polymers, Society of Chemical Industry, Monograph No. 13, MacMillan

Company, New York (1961).

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53. Cornish, H. H. , Hahn, K. B. , and Barth, M. L. , Experimental Toxicology

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41
65. Standard Research Test Method for Determining Smoke Generation of Solid

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to Evaluate Acute Toxicity of Smoke. J. Fare Sci. 2: 306-323 (1984).

42
Table 1

Thermophysical Properties of Nylons

Property Measured Value Reference

Melting point 172-260°C 2,9

Heat of combustion 31-33 MJ/kg 10

Activation energy 180-223 kJ/mole 6,7

Ignition temperature

flash ignition 421-590°C 3, 4, 5, 6,

8

self ignition 424-532°C 4,8

Decomposition temperature 310-380°C 8

Oxygen Index 20.1-28.7 5,8

43
Table 2

Mass Spectrometric Analyses of Gaseous Fractions From

the Pyrolysis of Polyamide Copolymers [12]

Weight % of

original specimen

Product Nylon 6 Nylon 6,10

Carbon monoxide 0.11 0.00

Carbon dioxide 3.50 4.56

Hydrocarbons 0.40 0.18

Cyclopentanone 1.38 0.05

Water 1.67 <0.10

44
Table 3

Hydrocarbons Detected in the Pyrolysate of

Polyamide Copolymers [12]

Product Nylon 6 Nylon 6,10

Benzene + Butane + Butene + Cyclohexene + Cyclopentadiene + Cyclopentanone + Ethane +

Ethylene + n-Hexane + Methane +

Pentadiene + Pentane + Pentene + Propane + Propene +

+ = detected

- = not detected

+

+

+

+

+

++

++

+

++

+

45
Table 4

Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Volatile Fractions from

the Pyrolysis of Various Polyamides [13]

Mixture Nylon 6, m.w. a Nylon Nylon

6 & 6,6 30,000 60,000 6,10

Compounds (Mol %) (Mol %) (Mol %) (Mol %)

CO 2 43.7 55.8 59.4 64.3

H 2 0 47.8 35.4 35.6 16.3

Ethylene 0.4 0.4 0.3 -- Ethane 0.3 -- 0.2 -- Propadiene -- -- 0.1 -- Propylene 0.5 0.4 0.7 -- Propane 0.2 -- -- -- Butadiene -- 0.2 0.4 —

Butene 0.2 0.2 0.6 -- Butane 0.1 0.3 0.5 -- Isoprene -- 0.3 0.2 -- Cyclopentene 0.1 -- -- -- Cyclopentanone 5.8 -- -- -- Pentadiene 0.1 -- -- -- Pentene 0.2 0.1 0.3 -- Pentane -- 0.1 0.1 -- Benzene 0.4 5.8 0.1 13.3

Cyclohexene 0.1 -- -- -- Hexadiene 0.1 0.3 0.7 6.1

Hexene -- 0.4 0.2 -- Hexane -- 0.1 0.2 —

Toluene — 0.1 0.1 -- Dimethylbenzene -- -- 0.1 -- Heptadiene -- 0.1 0.2 -- Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Fraction of pyrolyzed 5 5 10 1 to 2

material (%)

a - molecular weight

46
Table 5

Pyrolysis Products of Four Polyamides

Determined by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry [17]

Temp.

( °C) Compound

510 Hydrocarbons3

Cyclopentanone

C x i-nitrile

Caprolactam

C 7 -lactam

C 8 -lactam

C x i-lactam

Others

Residue (% by weight)

610 Hydrocarbons3

Benzene

Acrylonitrile

Acetonitrile

Pyrrolidine

Cyc lopentanone

Cyc lohexanone

C x i-nitrile

Caprolactam

C 7 -lactam

C 8 -lactam

C x j^-lactam

Others

Residue (% by weight)

770 Hydrocarbons3

Benzene

Acrylonitrile

Acetonitrile

Pyrrolidine

Cyclopentanone

Pyridine

Cyc lohexanone

C x-nitrile

Caprolactam

C 7 -lactam

C 8 -lactam

Others

Residue (% by weight)

Peak Area (%)

nylon 6 nylon 7 nylon 8 nylon

2.5 8.2 2.7 25.8

- 6.5 - -

- - - 14.0

94.9 - 13.4 18.0

- 62.0 - - - - 68.3 11.2

- - - 13.1

2.6 23.3 15.6 17.9

75 25 80 80

33.5 28.6 45.2 31.9

- 3.8 1.6 2.2

- - 1.8 2.4

- 3.8 2.9 2.6

- - 1.8 - - 9.1 2.9 2.3

- 3.3 0.9 0.9

- - - 9.3

62.8 - 5.6 4.4

- 17.6 - - - - 18.0 2.4

- - - 5.9

3.7 33.8 19.3 35.8

50 0 80 70

30.9 40.8 34.2 17.6

- 14.7 1.2 1.4

- - 2.1 2.4

4.6 3.6 4.3 8.9

- 1.3 1.4 1.9

- 4.6 1.4 9.0

- 2.1 - - - 5.1 0.9 1.8

- - - 2.7

59.2 2.6 12.3 7.7

- 4.8 - -

- - 12.3 2.1

5.3 19.1 28.5 41.5

0 0 60 70

3 - Hydrocarbons with five carbons or less

47
Table 6

Thermooxidation Products of Four Polyamides Determined by

Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry [17]

Peak Area %

Identified Substance Nylon 6 Nylon 7 Nylon 8 Nylon !

Butane + butene 9.3 _ 4.0 0.5

Diazomethane + diazoethane - 2.3 - - Butadiene - - - 0.3

Methylbutane + methylbutylene - - 4.1 - Pentene-1 8.0 6.1 0.3 0.7

Pentane - - 0.5 1.4

Cyclopentadiene 2.0 - - - Methylbutadiene - 1.2 0.5 - Pentadiene 0.7 - - - Cyclopentene 5.3 - - - Hexene - 6.0 - 3.7

Hexane - 0.3 0.4 - Methylcyclopentene - 0.3 0.1 - Hexadiene - 0.6 0.2 - Trichloromethane - - - 19.8

Methylcyclopentane - 0.5 - - Benzene + n-methylpyridine 9.5 - - - Cyclohexene - 1.2 0.9 - Heptene - 0.2 0.3 1.9

Heptane - - 0.6 0.8

Heptadiene - 0.3 0.2 0.2

Cyc lopentanone 17.8 - - “ Toluene - 4.1 1.4 0.1

Octene-pyridine - 4.3 - - Octane - 1.5 0.9 2.3

Hexenaldoxime-octadiene - 0.9 - - Dimethy lcyclohexene - - 2.9 - Hexanitrile - - 2.9

3-nonadiene - - - 1.8

Cyclohexanonoxime - 1.2 - - Nonene - - - 3.4

Cyc lohexanone 29.0 3.5 - - Nonane - - - 1.2

Methylcyc lohexanone - 3.5 - - Octatriene - 6.2 0.5 “ Adiponitrile - - 3.5 - Decadiene - - - 0.9

Decene - - - 3.5

Cyanobenzene - 1.8 0.3 “ Dimethylpyridine - 1.3 - “ Pimelonitrile - - 27 “

48
Table 6 (continued)

Identified Substance

Nonenylcyanide

Phenol

Cresol

Undecene + undecane

Indoline + caprylic acid

Nonenylcyanide + nornonenylcyanide

Phenylbutane

Decylnitrile

C 5 -Benzene

Caprolactam

Undecadennitrile + undecenitrile

Methylcaprolactam

Not identified

Peak Area %

Nylon 6 Nylon 7 Nylon 8 Nylon 11

- - - 4.5

- 1.1 - -

- 2.0 - - - - - 1.4

- - 1.8 - - - - 3.8

- 2.0 - -

- - 1.4 -

- - 1.4 - 1.2 23.1 2.8 1.5

- - 1.0 -

- - 1.0 -

17.2 24.5 43.7 6.3

49
Table 7

Combustion Products of Nylons Decomposed in

Different Oxygen Concentrations [18]

Compound concentration

when decomposed in

20.9% 0 2 11.7% 0 2 Compound (rcg/g.).. (rcg/g),..

CO 2 1226.0 907.0

CO 304.0 355.0

Formaldehyde 6.4 6.5

HCN and RCN 7.6 9.8

nh 3 32.0 210.0

50
Table 8

Combustion Products Generated by Decomposing Nylon 6 and

Nylon 6,6 by TGA in Air at 370°C [19,20]

Compound concentration

Nylon 6 Nylon 6.6

Compound (mg/g) a (rcg/gr

H,0 18.40 15.70

CO - 0.86

CO 2 4.86 9.19

nh 3 0.17 0.83

C 2 and C 3 species 0.01 0.03

^4 ~ C 10

- 0.07

C 5 species TR TR

Benzene 0.01 0.02

Toluene TR 0.01

C 2 -benzene - TR

Methanol - 0.03

Ethanol - TR

C u -Alcohols - TR

Acetaldehyde TR TR

C 4 -Acetaldehyde - TR

C 5 -Acetaldehyde - TR

Acetone - TR

2-Hexanone - TR

3-Heptanone 0.02

Cyc lopentanone 0.01 0.48

3-Methylcyclopentanone - 0.05

Cyc loheptanone - 0.02

Dimethyloxymethane - TR

p-Dioxane - 0.02

2-Methyl- 1 , 3-dioxane - 0.01

Ammonium carbonate - 26.20

Pyridine - 0.07

2-Methylpyridine - 0.02

Residue (%) 89.5 73.3

TR: trace amounts < 0.01 mg/g

a: reference 19

b: reference 20

51
Table 9

Analysis of Cup Furnace Flaming Decomposition

of Nylon 6,6 in Air at Two

Airflow Rates [21]

Concentration at airflow rate of:

50 8,/h 100 fc/h

impound (mg/g) (mg/g)

CO 2 563 590

CO 194 205

C 2 H4 82 94

ch4 39 40

HCN 26 31

c 2 h 2 7 15

nh 3 4 10

52
Table 10

Production of HCN and CO During Flaming Degradation of

Nylon 6,6 in a Tube Furnace in an Air or Nitrogen Atmosphere3 [24]

Temperature

(°c)

HCN CO

Air

(mg/g)

Nitrogen

(mg/ g)

Air

(mg/g)

Nitrogen

(mg/g)

700 79 83

800 95 104 143 143

900 110 118 305 270

1000 116 105 436 310

1100 72 82 732 455

a - Flow rate was 50 mSL/min

53
Table 11

Production of N0 2 From the Thermal Degradation of Nylon 6,6a

[25]

Temperature

(°c)

NO 2 (mg/g)

600 8.4

700 4.0

800 2.3

900 5.7

1000 9.4

a - Experimental conditions: Tube furnace, airflow of 500 m2,/min.

54
Table 12

Concentrations of Selected Products from the

Thermal Decomposition of Nylon 6 in Air [27]

Temperature CO CO 2 HCN

(°c) (mg/g) (mg/g) (mg/g)

500 64 190 52

600 79 232 65

700 71 195 79

800 76 142 95

55
Table 13

HCN Production From the Thermal Degradation of

Three Nylons in Nitrogen or Air Atmospheres [30]

HCN Concentrations in

Nylon Temperature Nitrogen Air

Designation (°c) (%) (%)

6,6 600 0.08 0.15

800 1.55 1.74

1000 6.95 6.83

1200 10.03 8.86

11 600 0.02 0.08

800 0.43 0.81

1000 2.42 2.68

1200 10.25 10.27

12 600 0.01 0.02

800 0.56 0.98

1000 4.06 3.84

1200 6.06 3.73

56
Concentrations

of

Specific

Combustion

Products

Found

During

NBS

Smoke

Chamber

Tests

of

Materials

Containing

Nylon

[31]

o

CO in p II d) C4 m <r 43 o cn CN

CO P z II II O + Fp Fp

00 o 33 33 z

o.a

p re

coPP

c

0)

CJc

o C-! a u

33

CO

cO o

inoooincNoinxr^cNPcnPinoinm'O-cNoo i—H t-H iM 1—4 i—4

omoooomoooop <r cn p

omo'inomoooooo in cn cn

o

o

oooooooooooooooooooooo ooNnNocnni?<fooioooNin«)NcoN04ro< LT) CN ^H r—H t-H H t-H t-H t-H

a)P

3

COo F N F N F N Fp Z Fp z F N F N F N F N F N Fp G

X

Fx]

# o P CO p

cn p

cO cO X

43 P cO o 00 »P u

•H P •H P 0) 3 c p p

43 43 o X 03

CO cO •H 0 p cO P tp cp p >4 »P CO cO p G 03 C CO 43 G >4 o G CO cO P X O r-H p O CO ip a) P o p rH Ip > G P a

C o >4 00 G o O O o

o o c 0 P CJ 0) o p

•H >4 0-4 E >4 — a in p p c c 43 >4 P ' G c cfl X

G o o c P P o p o cO P r-4 T3 Cp 03 T3 rH p in <P P >4 p 03 -G X 03 >4 1 i o c o G 0) •X g • 03 P c G c c

CO O 43 O p p C 3 ip

O o o

0) o p iP 43 CO p p 03 P P a P p rH Q p 43 >4 3 43 ip cO P cp >4 p >4

1—

CO G P 43 >4T3 t-H c o c

>4 IP O O 43 a) U >> o

p •G ”G P P P p p P P G

^ G o C 9 0) P G 03 03 P G a O c O

co O n3 r—43 cO Xl >4 P cO CO P 0

T3 P i—l rH CO 00 p P cp 00 -G P p Fp 0 >4 o P cp p «P O W p O o >4 >

s z s Fp o FP o £ o z FP

03 P P X 00 X O 04 t-H O' X X O' o cn

Oh 00'-' • E P oc CN CN o in < o o CN cn t-H r-H CO 03 w C/3 3 m

03 P p a) Oh X m <r m cn <r in X OO m 00 X

E E

cO 3

C/3 Z

(N in in m m m ri cn

rH

in

r*H

Q) /—N

Ih 0) 3 T3

CO p C

0) o p o

p a 3 i-i 3 X O P

cn a) i-i co O CM P

a oo p

X C P c

a) *h >> « SCO oo S p c

C H > o P IM w U

E I >i

co C p co i—4 O O C0 fp z a- o

If II II H Id Z lb (0 >

CP

57

per

unit

mass

of

material
Table 15

Comparison of Colorimetric Detector Tubes and Instrumental Methods for

Analyzing Gases Generated from the Thermal Decomposition of Two

Flame Retarded 90% Wool, 10% Nylon Upholstery Fabrics

in the NBS Smoke Chamber [32]

Sample Analysis Gas Concentration (mg/g)

# Method CO HC2, HCN H,S HBr HCHO SO, NO,

70 CDT 48.7 0 8.2 11.8 “ 0 33.4 4.00

IMA 48.0 0 12.1 18.8 T 0.3 6.2 0.45

142 CDT 74.3 0 12.9 10.8 0 10.2 4.88

IMA 69.0 0 9.2 15.5 T 0.4 3.2 0.63

CDT = Colorimetric detector tubes

IMA = Instrumental methods of analysis

T = Trace

58
Table 16

Comparison of Combustion Products Generated in a Combustion Tube Furnace

From Two Flame Retarded 90% Wool, 10% Nylon Upholstery Fabrics [32]

Gas Concentration (mg/g)

Sample // CO HCL HCN H,S HBr HCHO SO, NO

70 78.2 0 33.8 13.9 0 0.8 0 0

142 112.0 0 37.2 14.2 0 0 1.5 0

59
Table 17

Thermal Decomposition of Three Nylon Carpet Samples in an Infrared

Pyrolysis Instrument [33]

Gas Concentrations3

0 2 CO 2 CO HC HCHO HC&

Sample Description (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (mg)

40% nylon 11; 60% PVC 11.8 7.4 17500 9380 167 31513

w/dioctyl phthalate

35% nylon 6,6; 65%

jute w/ paper

16.8 3.1 12400 20400 197

25% nylon 6; 75% 16.4 4.0 2800 15500 154 -

polyisoprene

a - Results are normalized to one square foot of carpet per

cubic meter of air

60
Summary

of

Toxicity

Protocols E 35 1 c 0) a) 3 35 35 33 35 o 4J 4-> o 0) O 01 3

•H 71 c0 c 4-1 4-1 4-1 4-1 p > rH 3 3 3 3

v>

w 35 3 35 35 a) a> 35 ai 35 35 3 3 0) O 01 01 > > 0) > 3 3 >

XI 3 4-> >-i 4-> 4-1 i | 4-1 i 4-1 4-1 i e o s •H 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 o rH 3 o ai ai O O 01 O 3 3 O u MH > a) > > 3 3 > 3 > > 3

}-i

a) 01 0) a) ai c o o o 01 CJ o + o c0 co cO o id cO *H s s c CO 3 3 3

4-> £ P 1-1 1-1 3 P P 3 3 4-1 7) 3 3 3 3 l-i 3 3 4-1 71 XI 3 XI 3 3 3 4-1 4-1 4-4 4-1 3 4-t 4-H 3 P 3 CJ 3 3 r—

X 71 4-t CO 3 4-1 3 4-1 3 CM E a) 01 0) ai 01 •H 4-1 3 3 0 71 XI X3 X Oh JC XI 33 3 71 p 71 P 4-1 o 3 3 3 3 3 3 CO 3 3 3 3 3 O

4-J 4J 4-1 CJ 4-1 4-1 P X 00 4-t 00 4-1 xc

01 CJ rH 1-1 o 3 3 z 35 £ 71 pq PQ Q PQ

O PQ PQ PQ PQ

O

X 3 3 H z 3 3 3 c a PQ c * 3

a) s 3 3 o O O

•rH •H •H

4-1 •u 4-1 4-1 CO c0 CO c 4-1 4-1 4-1 *H •tH -H o CJ CJ O a c0 co CO "a ac CM X CM -3 -3 rC xc x= xc -3 c C0 4-) CO 4-1 CO 4-1 4-1 4-1 4-1 4-1 4-1 4-1 w CJ CO O CO CJ CO cO CO cO 3 3 3 C 01 3 0) 3 01 a) ai 0) 3 3 3

-H T3 •H *H ^ "3 35 35 33 35 33

<h CN r-H CN rH CN

0) c o O

OO o o o in in

O £ •H m cn cn cn <T XJ rH rH X •H E CN rH

4-1

71 iH ai CO •H 71 71 0) 71 71 73 73 3 3 £ u 4-> 4-1 o 4-1 4-1 4-1 4-1 3 a

•rH 3 CO CO •rH cO CO CO CO •H •H s cm P p E l-i P p P E E < 71

71E 3 3

01 3 3) 33 35 E C0 3 3 C (0 3 3 Z ”3 35

p4 3 •rH CO •H 3

i—

03 c0 3 P 3 3 o X X r—t 3 3 3 a — 

7)

p 4-1 E 4-> 4-1 0 cO < •H 3 00 •H 3 -rH 3 xc

+j z < C/1 c/l 3 C*H 3 x: x*: xc 3 00 0 M < < PQ P < PQ CJ o 71 3 7

3 •rH P Q Z Z O 3 J •H Z •rH >H p

OhA

.VA -X -X

a Z 04 04 3 Oz r-H CM cn •<r m vO f'- 00 O'

61 *=

Described

by

Kaplan

et

al.

[34]

a=

Animals

in

an

exercise

wheel

during

exposure

bWB=

Whole

body

exposure
Table 19

DIN Toxicity Test Results of a Treated and Non-treated

85% Wool, 15% Nylon Carpet with a Jute Backing [36]

Maximum Mean Min Mean

Temperature Weight loss CO CO 2 0 2 0 2 Respiration'

Sample (°c) (%) (ppm) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Non- 500 77 2040 0.8 20.3 19.0 57

treated 600* 89 130 2.8 17.5 14.5 98

700* 86 410 3.2 17.7 16.5 117

Treated 500* 75 5470 3.8 18.0 12.5 29

600* 88 1290 3.8 17.6 11.5 74

700* 95 1400 3.5 16.9 15.0 75

* = Flamed

a = Percent of control value (pre-exposure)

62
Table 20

Description of Nylon Containing Materials Evaluated by

FAA Toxicity Test Method [37]

Sample

Number

Thickness

(mm)

Weight

(kg/m2

) Description Use

142 0.89 0.38 Flame retarded,

90% wool/ 10% nylon

upholstery

fabric

70 0.94 0.35 Flame retarded,

90% wool/ 10% nylon

upholstery

fabric

89 1.50 0.89 Flame retarded,

PVC-nylon

fabric

63
Table 21

Incapacitation and Lethality Results From Exposures to Thermal

Degradation Products from Nylon-containing Materials Decomposed

According to the FAA Protocol [37]

Sample Measured Normalized charged Normalized consumed

Number Ti Td Ti Td T i Td

142 2.85 6.04 2.22 4.70 2.01 4.26

70 3.66 8.27 2.72 6.16 2.36 5.36

89 14.29 - 10.70 _ 9.89 -

T^ = Mean time to incapacitation

Td

= Mean time to death

- = No response during 30 minute exposure

Measured = Mean of observed values

Normalized charged » Measured values normalized to a standard 200 g animal

and 1 g of material based on amount of material placed

in furnace.

Normalized consumed = Same as normalized charged except based on amount of

material consumed

64
Table 22

Effects of Acid Dyes on the Toxicity of a Nylon 6,6 Fabric [45,46]

Type of Dye

none

Green 25

Green 40

Red 151

Yellow 38

mean and standard deviation

Time to Death3

(min)

25.40 + 0.59

25.53 + 2.87

24.82 + 1.82

25.36 + 1.36

24.72 + 0.65

65
Table 23

Effects of Backcoating on the Toxicity of a Nylon 6,6 Fabric [45,47,48]

Backcoating

(%)

0

26

32

35

37

43

Time to Death

(min)

18.52 + 5.63 a

16.70 + 0.06

23.75 + 7.43

16.34 + 3.50

13.48 + 0.72

12.82 + 0.94

a Mean and standard deviation

66
Table 24

Effects of Various Heating Conditions on the Toxicity of the Pyrolysis

Products from Upholstery Fabrics Containing Nylon [49]

Method

Mean time to

Incapacitation (min)

nylon wool/nylon

Death (min)

nylon wool/nylon

B 11.84 + 2.35 5.34 + 0.83 23.75 + 7.42 8.93 + 1.06

F 3.92 + 0.11 1.36 + 0.01 15.03 + 4.83 3.04 + 0.57

G 1.86 + 0.52 1.24 + 0.13 5.00 + 2.94 3.70 + 2.61

H 2.79 + 0.48 1.08 + 0.36 6.01 + 2.94 2.55 + 0.99

E 11.03 + 8.82 2.79 + 0.30 25.13 + 0.41 10.13 + 3.91

I 2.97 + 0.67 1.82 + 0.25 7.97 + 2.00 3.47 + 0.17

J 2.34 + 0.60 1.80 + 0.67 7.77 + 2.67 8.70 + 3.39

Method B = Method E = Method F = Method G = Method H = Method I = Method J =40°C/min, 200°-800°C, no forced air flow

600°C, fixed temperature, no forced air flow

800°C, fixed temperature, no forced air flow

800°C, fixed temperature, forced air flow 16 mil/s

800°C, fixed temperature, forced air flow 48 mJl/s

600°C, fixed temperature, forced air flow 16 m2,/s

600°C, fixed temperature, forced air flow 48 m2,/s

Material:

100% nylon (0.40 kg/m2

) plus backcoating (0.13 kg/m2

) 86% wool/14% nylon (0.43 kg/m2

) plus backcoating (0.10 kg/m 2

)

67
NASA/USF

Toxicity

Protocol

B

Results

for

a

Series

of

Nylon

Containing

Fabrics

[47]

503q) T3 G

•H O E P w

a)E

pweiO'NomoHioo'ONrtiiioi/iHNOiOH (OtOHNoo-ifHsoMsoiioiOvonionMinioooo

tncoomo4ooco.po4.-(oo4.-i.-i.-io0'4o4.-i'4

+ 1 + 14-1+1+1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1+1 + 1+1+1 + 1+1+1+1 + 1+1 + 1 + 1 + 1 o40co<3'roo-Or-ioo-4’-icNro.—icor^r^oocoo4covo inHi/itN^oo\<fvoNnoiO'<’Oi«0'nn(OHOio'

ooowninMo>Noo(ninNot3iH<NHN4<fMO i—1 iH r—I r—1 rH «-H *H r—l r-H i-H rH iH r-H i—I r-H r-H rH i—I r—I »H rH

c

o

•HP

Cl| •Hpo

w

a) Q

e

o

to

dJP

frS 03cOS'S S'S co vo

<T in

C

O

to

(0

l-i

frS 04

Op

0) 0) p a) 03 a) p

d! p p P (33 p d3 d) dJ 03

0) p p P to o 03 0) 03 r-H dJ o o o o

(0 dl to a

OSo OS OS os os H r-H n in vO

r-H 04 04

«v 03 * c C c e •V A #v P c

o C o o c o c c c dJ o p o p p o p o o o P p p p p p p p p p p 0) p

o p o o p o p p p o o

o o o o o o o o o dJ o

o o o o o

s^s 6^ 6*S OS OS OS

<30 frS vO o* OS O' OS OS OS O' -4

f—

o- co CN <30 CO CO m r-H 04 04

VO 04 04 04 vO

#v #v #v #v * n e « C C •* c * #v « c d

o C o o e o c C c o o

to o to to o to o o o to to

<13 to (U <u to dJ >» to to (13 d) P <0 P p «J p dJ d) dJ P P

p P p P p

frS OS OS OS OS OS

O' 6^ r-H co OS o- OS OS OS r-H -4

-4 co vO o CO o- CO r-H in

o- c in <4 r-H « •> •> o #v •» -

d) p

4-) o

VO 03

c c c c

o o o o

e C to to to to P p to to to to rH O to 1—

rH rH to to to to C C c C e e C C to C to to to G c C C

os OS OS os C OS C e e o o OS OS OS OS O o os os OS OS o OS os OS OS OS o o 04 f> 00 O o CO o CO o OS o >4 OS os os o m -4 04

r-H f-H vO m -4 04 r-H r-H CO CO 04 r-H 04 r-H r-H O' O' CO CO »-H rH rH

co

•H

(13 4->

i—I ((3 O.

C/3

IS) c vO vO VO vO vO VO vO vO VO vO vO VO vO in vO vO vO VO vO vO vO r— ui O- O' O- O- O' O' O' r- IN. O' o- O- O- O' O' r^-

i O'

I o>

•ri fH w

1 00

i rH

1 vO -4 O' o -4 00 VO -4 in m O' oo vO in O' CO 00 o- m CO

03 O' O' -4 VO 00 r-H -4 CO O' r^- *H O' •4 vO vO r-H VO CO in -4 pO P 04 04 (N| 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 (N| 04 04 vO 04 04 04 04 04 >4 04 Z

68

mean

and

standard

deviation

from

replicate

tests.
Table 26

Mean Times to Death and Incapacitation for Some

Nylon Containing Materials Tested According to

NASA/USF Toxicity Protocol B [50]

Material

Time to death

(min)

Time to incapacitation

(min)

100% nylon fabric

85-90% nylon, wool fabric

52-72% rayon, nylon fabric

57-62% nylon, rayon fabric

100% nylon (plastic)

a Mean and standard deviation

16.78 + 3.49a 12.01 + 1 . 74a

8.87 + 1.01 5.68 + 1.06

15.60 + 3.86 10.99 + 3.07

15.62 + 0.15 12.18 + 0.26

14.36 + 1.71 12.35 + 1.44

69
Table 27

Comparison of Dynamic and Static Exposures

for Nylon Materials [51,52]

Material

Static

LL 5 o

(

8 ) a Dynamic

1*L 5 o ( 8

)

Heating Rate

( °C/min)

nylon yarn 47 4.3 3

nylon fabric 43 2.6 3

nylon 6,6 37 2.7 5

nylon 6,6 (FR) 37 3.2 5

nylon knit 33 3.0 3

a Amount of material loaded into the furnace necessary to cause 50% of the

animals to die within 4 hour (static) or 140 minute (dynamic) exposure

plus 7 day post-exposure observation period

FR = Flame retarded

70
Table 28

Results of Animal Exposures to the Combustion Products of

Nylon 6,6 Decomposed at Three Different Temperatures [55,56]

Heating Specimen Weight Time of Maximum Concentration

temperature weight loss death CO HC2, HCN Smoke

(°c) (g) (g) (min) (%) (%) (ppm) (m’ 1

)

350 5.0 3.8 L 0.39 ND 43 22.8

3.7 L 0.32 ND 49 22.1

3.7 L 0.41 ND 42 22.8

500 1.0 1.0 L

1.0 L 0.07 ND 11 14.7

1.0 L

750 1.0 1.0 2.92

1.0 3.67 0.23 ND 417 3.9

1.0 3.50

L = animal survived exposure

ND = none detected

71
Table 29

Results of Animal Exposures to Nylon 6,6 Decomposition

Products Produced at 550°C and 850°C [57]

Temperature

(°C)

Sample weight

_(£)

Collapse time3

(min)

550 0.39 2.63 + 1.29

0.45 3.02 + 0.35

0.71 1.96 + 0.26

1.01 1.48 + 0.08

850 0.15 3.51 + 0.36

0.24 2.64 + 0.60

0.36 1.86 + 0.47

0.58 1.19 + 0.17

a _= Mean and standard deviation

72
Gas

Analysis

of

Large-Scale

Tests

of

Innerspring

Mattresses

and

Upholstered

Chairs

[59,60] o in o in in cn CO

d)X c • • • . • • ® E Cd O P m O' CN VO o vO

•H EOS vO vO O'

X r>. rH

H

' i—t rH i—i H

<N r"~ vO vO O' o o • . • . » • * r^- I-'. in in c H rH r—

rH rH i—i rH

•H ' / o s coco

•Hp CH

cd o 00 in CN o rH 00 p a . « . • • . • p /•—

cn cn i—t < in -dC x

<D cd w' O S Coo

co

cd O o o o o o o o o O /-V o o cn in o in o E cn CN —i O' 00 O' x a in vo rH T—

r—t cn CN

cd

a

X

w

d) d) d) CD CD c P P P P P o P P P P P

•H X.

X 0) d) d) d) d) P 0) o u p P P P P

•H X)

pp cd cd cd cd cd e o cd cd 00 00 00 00 00 oo s E E •H •H H •H •H H o cj CJ O oo

•HP

-O

T3 T3 cd rH cd cd p

cd a. <x CJ C i—

o •H d) o cd c c u •H o P C

•H *H o o •H P •H

X CD

pp pH >>pX P cd rH

•H d) >> cd ,n cd

X

p >. T3 P c p cd P cd (X T3 Cd \ p p d) O < E c c e p P o o 0 o C cd Oh p p o p O P p p Sn p ?H CD rH o o cd o >v CJ o o CJ p o C cd O00 cd c CO CO •H CO CO X d) d> X

Vi

B

p P p

p P P p

•H <D

p P •H •H •H •H •H

C

pp P cd cd cd cd cd P -H cd cd X X X X X 0 E E o u a o CJ pH p P d) CO X vO cn vO oo

CD E H 3

?HH CN CN CN CN CN c p

d)0) XCOeoppoo

x)e

cd00c

•H.X

CJ •Hpco

Sn

cdPXP

•H5

V)

0)

co

(Ad)PP

cde

ooc

•Hp

a,up

a)Cc

cd P cj

73

upholstered

chair

with

wood

frame

and

urethane

foam

cushions

gases

were

measured

at

the 5

foot

level

in

the

center

of

the

testroom

(12x

14x8

ft.)
Large-Scale

Nylon

Carpet

Tests

Using

NBS

Corridor

Facilities

[61]

a o o O o 0) o o a o c o o o o o z a rH 04 r-H vO tfl o o O w| u « * « 4-t 04 ro

x>

m o OO o O 6s? o o ?-H m vQ •if T-

• • • • . • • SC o o o o O o o C4 o

ro 04 iO vO ro ro

5C

w . . . . . . . C4 o o O o o o o a

J-/—

04 ro •4T < in 00 <r

tn 6s? . • . . . • . O w o o O i-H i-H o o

C4N ID lO 00 VO in 00 00

O &-? w

T—)r-H r-H I—1 • t r-H 1—

*-—

O 6^ a w

04 ro romm < nJ

u

0)>o a) o O o

rC S a)

O

«1 -H

w

rt

H

w rH

P*4

ro n?

00

4-i

C

O -H ^r-H O

m 00 04 00 o o in

a) a, a) 00 o 04 ro

m o- 00

a

a </> •H nj ' ' H t/3

04 ro ro ro

m

m

M

0)

O

OO c <—

rt 4-i 00 00 O- < 00 oo o>

4-1 >4-1 W g w •H O Q U

>4H

M

4-J <D V) XI 04 00

o)

a •tf

H 1

ro ro

74

605 3

14

0.2

0.2

0.10

500
Results

of

Gas

Analysis

for

Large-Scale

Tests

of

Nylon

Carpet

and

Various

Underlayment

[62] z ^ m r- 00 00 <r o S'? 33 ' ' O o o o o o o o o o o

CN NO r-H r-H NO 00 NO NO

K S'? • (NS-/ O o O o o r-H r-H o o o o

co

U eo

•HU

CO

44 44 r-H in NO CO o CN r^. c 33 S'? • a) CN'w' O o o o co o o o t-H o o o o cou

co

c0 CO <r -O’ 00 00 00 o o m S'? • U w O o o o t-H r-H t-H o r-H o r-H i

•HX

CO z CN in

m no CO CN 00 o o o m

O S'? • w o r—

<r

m CO ON 00

H t—

t-H

H r-H r-H r-H r-H r-H r-H

m CN o in o CN

mm CN o m

O S'? • • • U W rH t—H CO o m m m <r m •NT e

•Hx

id > ^ o o o o 144 o cu o o o o o o X s <u NO NO CO NO o o o o o o o CO -H CO ' 4 '—

t-H o CN ON CO O' t-H a)

cd 44

w 00 NO NO NO NO 00 i

r-H p£4 Pn fH p*4 •H

P*H z z z z 4-1

a)p

cd

a>

4-J c a) e o c

a) I—

cd 1

cO a)e

43

44

id

M 0 a) rH 43 i—

a> o n •H id 4-> 0

a) 44 0

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1=1 03 04 44 00 O u •H u O cd cd •H 3 o 43 >

a) a)

a) 0 3 c i—i iH

cd 00 00 a) 43 e

44 co CO cd

d) 3 3 43 U r—!

r-H 44 0 04 CU CUP

T3 »—

00 3

a) NOm

*d CO CO

C

C

X •rH o 44 44 CU 00 43 CO CO 44 u 0 a) 0) cd •H

>4 44 44

T 1 >

44 c a) •H O

43

to 3

PS cu

L

PQ 3

CO rH a) a) cd c

rH 44 > a)

cd 3 •H

44 •l-) •• T3

00O

CU 44 a) 44

44 •H > 3 c cd O 43

•H 43 43

CO 0)

id c

•—i a)

4-1 44

44 44 (U CO 43

m NO r^- 00 r-H CN

<U S m in

mm vO NO

H 3 CO CO

m CO

m CO z

>»

O 44 C V) H II CO <• in 00

NO NO NO NO NO OS CO CO CO CO CO ft. 03 Z CO

75
Results

of

Large-Scale

Tests

ofa

Fully

Furnished

Burn

Room

Connected

toa

Corridor

and

Target

Room

[65]

Q) /""N S o

•H ,3 a) cn o vO

m ro o r>-

H o P w in ro in rH

m rH ro < p qj •• « o •• • • 00 • « 00 00 00 3 a) s oc o o r-»

cti

Q -h cn co ro ro ro ro CO ro

CD

a S

CD

O

rH 3 0) o co o o o 00 o O' o 3 3 w o ro o in o <r o <T

•H in •• 00 •• • • 00 00 r* 00 00

(U

p 0 o o r* o O' o o o 00

a •H a, -h CN CN ro CN

•H c x

a

H

M

W

w

60O 3 a; O' rH

m rH

0) •HW ro

m o a <p € ** • • • • 00 •H o 3 00 00 00 O'

t-H *h

ip e

pH rH

H rH 'w/

ajoj

a o o o O o o o O o a r-v O' VO r'- ro 00 CN ® a <r in m <r rH CN in

'w' rH

cfl

a o o o o o o o o z a ro r-'- vO ro vO CN m 00

cn o a co rH rH rH rH

m rH 3 c W H rH rH rH •H o 3

•H CD P a

nl o 3 X5 <r ro rsj O' CN in CNJ O' P 3 3 o ^ O *“H o m o o ro O

a) pH t-H rH rHO o X) 3o a o o 3 o o <r CNI lO in o

cn C'J/'-'N 3

n)

O ST'S cn

m o o CNI ro <r

O

a

w rH

H rH rH P

CD6033 m x> io CN ro O' r>» P 3 O' r~ CN o rH CN rH C 3 O S'? o O 4Q U w VO rH vO rH rH vO rH •H •H O p p 3 3 3 •H 3 3 P P CN

X) a) a) 0) 3 3 rH

4->

pp

p a; a)

a 3 0) 3 0) 3 a) 3 CD CJ

O 00 3 o 3 (30 3 60 3 00 3 60 3 3 3 o 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 O O -H r3

Pi PQ 3 PQ 3 PQ 3 PQ 3 o O P P H H H H CD •H s a cx 3 p 3 p

£3

a 3 3

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H

O cel

X 3 00

p • 3 •H

O 0)

M

O

OO 4-1 z s z PQ

QJ Z rH CN ro <r H al

n o O

76

Began

with a1

inch

target

room

door

opening

Nylon

carpet

with

underlayment
(6/Bui) NOIlVd±N30NOO SVO

O

o

CM

OO

O

co

o

o

CO

o

o

Tto

o

CM

o

LU

oc3

<

CL

HI

0.

LU

I77

Figure

1.

The

Production

of

Specific

Gases

from

the

Decomposition

of

Nylon

6

in

an

Atmosphere

of

Nitrogen
300

o

o

CSj

o

o

o

o

o

00

o

o

CD

o

o

Mo

o

CsJ o

MCM

o

00

o

CM

o

CD

(6/Buj) NOIlVaiN30NOO SVO

O

©

* LU

ocD

h-

<

OC

LU

Q_

LU

78

Figure

2.

The

Production

of

Specific

Gases

from

the

Decomposition

of

Nylon

6

in

an

Atmosphere

of

Air
o

o

CM

O

OO

CO

o

o

CO

o

o

LU

OCz>

h-

<

OC

LU

0.

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Figure

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600

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NBS-I14A irev. 2 -ec) U . 3. DEPT. OF COMM.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET (See instructions)

1. PUBLICATION OR

REPORT NO.

NBSIR-85/3280

2. Performing Organ. Report No 3. Publication Date February 1986

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

NYLONS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION AND TOXICITY

5. AUTHOR(S)

EMIL BRAUN AND BARBARA C. LEVIN

6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION (If joint or other than NBS, see instructions)

national bureau of standards

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

7. Contract/Grant No.

S. Type of Report & Period Covered

9. SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NAME AND COMPLETE ADDRESS (Street. City. State, ZIP)

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commisson

Bethesda , MD 20207

10. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

] Document describes a computer program; SF-185, FIPS Software Summary, is attached.

11.

ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less factual summary of most significant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here)

The English literature through 1984 on polyamides was reviewed to determine the nature

of the combustion products and their toxicity. This review was limited to aliphatic

polyamides normally called nylon and excludes aromatic polyamides such as Nomex and

bicomponent polymers. Typical pyrolysis products from a broad range of nylons do not

appear to differ greatly. Many of the decomposition products detected in vacuum

pyrolysis experiments appear as products of thermal degradation in inert and air

atmospheres. In air, a general reduction in the quantities of heavier hydrocarbons is

noted along with an increase in the production of CO, C0 2 , H 2 0, NH 3 , HCN, and N0X

. The toxicity of the thermal degradation products from various types of nylon has been

evaluated by nine different protocols. Reported LC 50 values range from 10.8 mg/ 2. to

61.9 mg/2.. Dyes apparently do not affect the materials' combustion products toxicity,

but an increase in the amount of backcoating on a nylon fabric increase toxicity.

Time to death measurements show that volatile products from nylons are less toxic than

those from rayons or cotton, while the blending of wool with nylon greatly increase

the toxicity of the thermal decomposition products. In general, however, the overall

toxicity of the thermal degradation products from nylon do not appear to be greatly

different than those from many other polymeric materials.

12. KEY WORDS (Six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only proper names; and separate key words by semico/or -. Combustion products; literature reviews; nylor.; pyrolysis; thermal decompositi n; toxicity

13. AVAILABILITY

^Unlimited

( | For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

~~\ Order From Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington. D.C.

20402. Q^Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, VA. 22161

14. MO. OF

PRINTED PAGES

88

15. Price

$ 11.95

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