Additive Enhanced Siloxane Surfactants for Fire Fighting Foams
Abstract
Polyfluorinated aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) are typically used in the suppression of liquid fuel pool fires such as tank fires with crude oil or other hydrocarbon fuels. Since the polyfluorinated chemicals are stable to degradation, they have contaminated the soil and groundwater surrounding the site of application including military sites. In this seed project, a siloxane-based fluorine-free foam formulation was developed and its capability to quench gasoline pool fires was demonstrated. The data obtained in this effort indicated that the addition of selective foam stabilizing chemicals could enhance the fire fighting performance of siloxane surfactants. The fluorine-free formulations developed in the prior efforts have been optimized to meet the performance specifications of the fire extinguishing agent, aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) liquid concentrate based on MIL-PRF-24385F standard specifications. The performance of siloxane surfactants were encouraging (extinction time 38s vs 30s for AFFF at 2 gal/min). Further optimization of additive formulations will yield a fluorine-free formulation that can replace current AFFF.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 15, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1191534
Entities
People
- Krishnaswamy K. Rangan
- Tirumlai S. Sudarshan