Development of Zwitterionic Additives to Aqueous Foams to Enhance Suppression of Aromatic and Aliphatic Fuel Pool-Fires

Abstract

Environmentally-friendly fluorine-free alternatives are being developed because fluorosurfactants belong to a class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which can pose significant threats to environment and human health. In the present work, changes to siloxane-sulfobetaine (siloxaneSB) surfactant's head and tail structures are made gradually, one step at a time, to vary hydrophilicity of the head and hydrophobicity of the tail. Several closely related surfactant structures are synthesized to affect the amphiphilic balance between the head and tail. The results suggest that the amphiphilic balance of the siloxane surfactant can have dramatic effects on CMC, interfacial tension, foam expansion ratio, foam degradation, heptane vapor permeation through a foam layer, and fire suppression.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 10, 2023
Accession Number
AD1213892

Entities

People

  • A. W. Snow
  • Caleb M. Bunton
  • D. W. Moore
  • John P. Farley
  • Katherine M. Hinnant
  • Matthew C. Davis
  • Ramagopal Ananth
  • Stanley Karwoski

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Readers

  • Electrochemical Engineering/ Fuel Cell Technologies
  • Fire Suppression Systems Design.
  • Surface Coatings Technology.