Foam fire-extinguishing composition

Details Foam fire-extinguishing composition Foam fire-extinguishing composition

1984-05-22

1986-06-10

Lechert, Jr., Stephen J.

Compositions

Fire-extinguishing

Foam or gas phase containing

169 66, 252 805, 252307, 252350, 252351, 252352, 252382, A62C 112, A62D 102, C09K 300

Patent

active

045941670

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to foam fire-extinguishing compositions and more particularly to foam fire-extinguishing compositions especially suitable for effectively extinguishing fires of organic solvents.
With the development of petro-chemical industry, gigantic tanks containing various kinds of inflammable organic solvents have been installed in chemical complexes, chemical plants and the like. Further, huge vessels have been built in recent years and there are sailing such vessels fully loaded with organic solvents or the like. These tanks and vessels are well equipped with fire extinguishing systems and caution is being exercised to prevent hazards, since there will be a serious danger if the organic solvents in the tanks and on the vessels catch fire. However, conventional methods of extinguishing fires of alcohols, ketones, lower amines, low-boiling esters or like polar organic solvents are not fully satisfactory and remain to be improved in many respects. Since generally application of water is not adequate to extinguish a fire of organic solvents, the fire is usually put out by using a large amount of foam produced from an aqueous solution of a surfactant or the like to eliminate contact between the fire and air. However, when a conventional foam fire-extinguishing composition is used, the foam tends to be quickly destroyed at the interface between the foam and the polar organic solvent upon its contact with the polar organic solvent, thus failing to produce sufficient foam fire extinguishing effect. Although aqueous solutions of protein hydrolysate are known as a foam fire-extinguishing composition, the solutions are not fully effective in extinguishing the fire of polar organic solvents and are poor in storage stability due to their susceptibility to putrefaction, etc. Known foam fire-extinguishing compositions also include aqueous solutions of fluorinated surfactants, which, however, have the drawbacks of extinguishing such fire with unsatisfactory efficiency and being expensive.
Research is underway to develop foam fire-extinguishing compositions comprising a fluorinated surfactant in combination with a water-soluble polymer. Although having good properties, the compositions suffer the defects of: being difficult to handle because of their high viscosity which is likely to cause clogging in a foaming device, a nozzle, a line and the like; having a low storage stability at low temperatures in winter; being costly; etc.
Foam fire-extinguishing compositions containing dibenzylidene sorbitol were proposed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 150897/1979). The proposed compositions are disadvantageous in that they cause gellation when mixed with water to produce foam, creating clogging in the lines.
The present invention has been accomplished to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional foam fire-extinguishing compositions as described above.


DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a foam fire-extinguishing composition comprising:
(a) 0.3 to 15% by weight of at least one compound represented by the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are the same or different and are each hyerogen atom, alkyl or alkoxy group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, l is 0 or 1, and m and n are an integer of 1 to 3, with the proviso that when R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are alkoxy, m and n are 1;
(b) 1 to 30% by weight of a surfactant;
(c) 0.5 to 20% by weight of at least one member selected from aliphatic monohydric alcohol, aliphatic polyhydric alcohol, glycol ethers and ethylene carbonate and/or 0.1 to 5% by weight of a water-soluble polymer;
(d) 1 to 50% by weight of a polar organic solvent which is a good solvent of the component (a); and
(e) 50 to 97% by weight of water.
The foam produced from the foam fire-extinguishing composition of the present invention retains stability for a prolonged period of time and can not be easily destroyed on contact with the polar organic solvent. Further, according to the use of the present composition, reignition would not occur since the resulting fo

REFERENCES:
patent: 4203850 (1980-05-01), Wirtz et al.
patent: 4419473 (1983-12-01), Mahaffey, Jr.
patent: 4429140 (1984-01-01), Murai et al.
patent: 4431759 (1984-02-01), Dusenbury et al.
patent: 4442018 (1984-04-01), Rand

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