Modacrylic is a synthetic fiber that is commonly used in FR-rated clothing and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Modacrylic fibers have many valuable characteristics including:
- Strength – It’s about twice as strong as wool, but weaker than cotton or silk.
- Elasticity – It has good shape retention and it’s a bit stretchable. After stretching it shows a moderate amount of recovery.
- Resilience – Modacrylic fiber is chemical resistant. It doesn’t wrinkle easily and retains its strength in concentrated acid/alkaline environments, which is useful for certain types of industrial filtration.
- Heat Conductivity – Due to its chemical composition, modacrylics are inherently flame resistant. They are poor conductors of heat, which makes them very difficult to ignite, and they will self-extinguish almost immediately.
Due to its characteristics, modacrylics are primarily used in applications where environmental resistance or flame retardancy is necessary or required. It is inherently flame resistant.
Modacrylics combine flame retardancy with a relatively low density, meaning that protective gear is not uncomfortably heavy to wear.
Modacrylic is widely used in high performance protective clothing, such as firefighting turnout gear. It is used by the most technical fabric producers, to obtain comfortable and protective blends when it comes to PPE.
Modacrylics are easy to care for and can be machine washed using warm water and tumble dried on a low setting.