Despite its thinness, GULFENG loses none of its flame-retardant properties and serves as a fire barrier. Flames are stopped from spreading and igniting surrounding combustible materials. This is achieved by combining thermoplastic polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) with oxidized polyacrylonitrile (OX-PAN) fibers. When heated by a flame to 285°C, the PPS fibers start to melt and build a membrane around the non-melting Ox-PAN fibers. These absorb heat and start to carbonize, thus creating a closed barrier against flames

A history of material innovation 

In developing the GULFENG material, Toray was able to draw on its longtime experience with both PPS and carbon fiber technologies – it seemed only natural to combine both into one fire-blocking material. Starting with GULFENG paper, Toray engineers then worked to expand the use cases and textile structures to serve different customer needs. Currently, the company is also exploring GULFENG leather, a flame-retardant base material for synthetic leather. It eliminates the need for an intermediate layer of flame-shielding material and could make seating cushions even thinner and thus more comfortable.

Toray’s wide product portfolio will be on display at Techtextil. In Hall 4.2, booth D48, the company is also exhibiting a number of other technical textiles, including the Axtar polyester non-woven fabric and a LCP fiber named Siveras.