Extraction of keratin from poultry feather was conducted using 2-mercaptoethanol in aqueous urea solution. The extracted keratin solution was applied onto cotton fabric to impart the flame retardancy. Flame ratardancy performance of treated fabric was evaluated using burning test of 90 degree (vertically upward flame spreading), 45 degree and LOI. Thermal analysis using TGA in nitrogen was also studied. For extraction part, it was found that extraction with 125 mM 2-mercaptoethanol and 8 M urea carried out at 60 ํC for 6 hours produced optimal result with 69.30 %. The efficiency of flame retardancy of cotton fabrics treated with the extracted keratin increased with an increase in the concentration of keratin solution. LOI values increased to 27.5-30.0 whereas burning area and flame spread rate decreased with an increase in the concentration of keratin solution. Thermal behavior of the flame retardant cotton fabrics using TGA technique showed that the main decomposition temperature of flame retardant cottonfabrics and weight loss after pyrolysis gradually decreased whereas residue left at 400 ํC increased with an increase in the concentration of keratin solution. The results indicated that the optimal concentration of feather keratin for flame retardant finishing on cotton fabrics was at least 12.80 g/l.
