Environmentally benign non-toxic fire flooding agents

Details Environmentally benign non-toxic fire flooding agents Environmentally benign non-toxic fire flooding agents

2000-09-21

2002-06-11

Anthony, Joseph D. (Department: 1714)

Compositions

Fire-extinguishing

Volatile or gas charged liquids containing

C252S002000, C169S046000, C169S047000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06402975

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention involves novel total flooding and streaming-type fire extinguishants and novel detoxifiers which are environmentally safe and non-toxic in natural form as well as in fire exposed degraded forms.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In recent years, it has been discovered that certain halocarbons such as CFC 11, CFC 12, Halon 1301, and the like, which have been widely used as refrigerants, blowing agents and fire extinguishants are damaging to the environment because they accumulate in the stratosphere and damage the integrity of the ozone layer, which protects life on earth from harmful radiation from the sun and space. These harmful substances are being phased out of production.
Halocarbons have been used as fire extinguishants. U.K. 1,603,867, Thacker, discloses CFC 11 and CFC 12 in combination with a monoterpene, that is, an essential oil or citrous oil, as a fire extinguishing agent. A monoterpene is defined in the chemical literature as C
10
H
16
. As stated, CFC 11 and CFC 12 are now well known to be detrimental to the ozone layer.
Halocarbon extinguishants fall into two broad groups, streaming agents and flooding agents. A streaming agent is directed at the source of the fire and should be high boiling to thereby resist decomposition until it reaches the source of the fire. A flooding agent fills a volume around the fire and smothers the fire. It should be low-boiling so that it vaporizes readily.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,610, issued May 2, 1989, Derek A. Thacker, discloses a firefighting composition comprising one or more halocarbons, namely Halons 11 (CFC 11), 12 (CFC 12), 113 (CFC 113) and 114 (CFC 114), together with 1% to 14% by weight of the extinguishant base of a sesquiterpene and one or more essential oils. A sesquiterpene is a compound having the formula C
15
H
24
. Solvents and dispersing agents may also be provided. This composition is suited for stream-type firefighting situations. The formulation is not touted to be ozone friendly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,271, issued Sep. 4, 1990, Raymond W. Green, discloses and protects high boiling environmentally amicable stream-type fire extinguishing agents. The stream-type agents comprise in combination: (a) more than 50% by weight of a fluorochlorocarbon selected from the group consisting of: 1,1-dichloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane, and 1,2-dichloro-2,2-difluoroethane; (b) less than 48% by weight of a fluorocarbon selected from the group consisting of: chlorodifluoromethane, 1-chloro-1,2,2,2-tetrafluoroethane, pentafluoroethane, 1,2,2,2-tetrafluoroethane; and (c) a detoxifying substance selected from the group consisting of terpenes: citral, citronellal, citronellol, limonene, dipentene, menthol, terpinene, terpinolene, sylvestrene, sabinene, methadiene, zingiberene, ocimene, myrcene, &agr;-pinene, &bgr;-pinene, turpentine, camphor, phytol, vitamin A, abietic acid, squalene, lanosterol, saponin, oleanolic acid, lycopene, &bgr;-carotene, lutein, &agr;-terpineol, and p-cymeme; and unsaturated oils; oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, eleosearic acid, lincanic acid, ricinoleic acid, palmitoleic acid, petroselenic acid, vaccenic acid, and erucic acid, in the range of from 2 to 10% by weight.
In the chlorofluorocarbon stream-type mixtures taught by Green, it is emphasized that high boiling chlorofluorocarbons should comprise more than 50% weight of his mixtures. In contrast, low boiling compounds must be less than 50% weight (see column 2, lines 22-27). In the examples disclosed in Green, a low boiling chlorofluorocarbon such as CFC 12, which boils at −30° C., amounts to 15% weight of the total formulation. The other components are in the vast majority and boil at temperatures well above 0° C. For instance, in Example 2 of Green, column 4, line 61, the boiling point of the NAF Interior Mixture is stated as being 10° C. Thus, the high boiling mixtures disclosed by Green are useful as stream-type extinguishants and are virtually the opposite of the low boiling mixtures which are suitable as flooding agents.
Two U.S. patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,654, issued Aug. 25, 1992, Fernandez, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,438, issued Feb. 28, 1995, Fernandez, are of general interest because they disclose extinguishants. Both patents of Fernandez disclose chlorofluorocarbons which are not fully halogenated, with the provision that there be at least one fluorine atom (see column 2, line 57, of U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,654) in each halocarbon. However, the halocarbons are used in pure form. There is no disclosure in either Fernandez patent of using one or more detoxifying substances. Furthermore, neither Fernandez patent discloses any significance inherent with low boiling chlorofluorocarbons.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a halogenated fire extinguishing flooding product comprising: (a) about 90% to 99.9% wt. of at least one partially halogenated hydrocarbon fire extinguishant selected from the group consisting of:
hydrofluorocarbon.23
trifluoromethane
hydrofluorocarbon.125
pentafluoroethane
hydrofluorocarbon.134a
1,1,1,2-tetrafluroethane
hydrofluorocarbon.227
heptafluoropropane
hydrofluorocarbon.236
hexafluoropropane
hydrofluorocarbon.245
pentafluoropropane; and
(b) about 0.1% to 10% wt. of at least one detoxifying agent selected from the group consisting of:
ethene
butene
isoprene
pentene
isopentene
trimethyl ethene
tetramethyl ethene
pentadiene
isobutylene
dimethyl butadiene
hexene
hexadiene
methyl pentadiene;
hexatriene
limonene;
said detoxifying agent reducing the amount of hydrogen halides and carbonyl halides that are produced on decomposition of the product due to exposure of the product to fire, said flooding product having a boiling point of about −85° to 25° C.
The halogenated fire extinguishing flooding product according to the invention can comprise: (a) about 90% to 99.9% wt. of at least one partially halogenated hydrocarbon fire extinguishant selected rom the group consisting of:
hydrofluorocarbon.125
pentafluoroethane
hydrofluorocarbon.227
heptafluoropropane
hydrofluorocarbon.245
pentafluoropropane; and
(b) about 0.1% to 10% wt. of at least one detoxifying agent selected from the group consisting of:
ethene
butene
isoprene
pentene
isopentene
trimethyl ethene
tetramethyl ethene
pentadiene
isobutylene
dimethyl butadiene
hexene
hexadiene
methyl pentadiene
hexatriene
limonene;
said detoxifying agent reducing the amount of hydrogen halides and carbonyl halides that are produced on decmposition of the product due to exposure of the product to fire, said flooding product having a boiling point of about −85° to 25° C.
The halogenated fire extinguishing flooding product can comprise: (a) about 50% to 80% wt. of hydrofluorocarbon.227 (heptafluoropropane); and (b) about 15% to 35% of hydrofluorocarbon.125 (pentafluoroethane); and (c) about 0.1% to 5% wt. of at least one detoxifying agent selected from the group consisting of:
ethene
butene
isoprene
pentene
isopentene
trimethyl ethene
tetramethyl ethene
pentadiene
isobutylene
dimethyl butadiene
hexene
hexadiene
methyl pentadiene
hexatriene
limonene
said detoxifying agent reducing the amount of hydrogen halides and carbonyl halides that are produced on decomposition of the product due to exposure of the product to fire. The detoxifying agent can be limonene.
The invention is also directed to a halogenated fire extinguishing flooding product comprising: (a) about 72% wt. of hydrofluorocarbon.227ea (heptafluoropropane); (b) about 27% wt. of hydrofluorocarbon.125 (pentafluoroethane); and (c) about 1% wt. of limonene.
The invention also pertains to a halogenated fire extinguishing flooding product comprising: (a) about 23% wt. of hydrofluorocarbon.227ea (heptafluoropropane); (b) about 75% wt. of hydrofluorocarbon.125 (pentafluoroethane); and (c) about 2% wt. of limonene.
The invention is also directed to a halogenated fire extinguishing flooding product comprising: (a) about 90% wt. of hydrofluorocarbon.227ea (heptafluoropropane); (b) about 8% wt. of hydrofluorocarbon.23 (trifluoromethane); and (c) about 2% wt. of limonene.
The inve

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