Title:Sustainable Material Approach to Safer Fire Extinguishers
Volume: 3
Author(s): Aparna Monga, Durgesh Nandini*, Chandra Prakash Singh and Inderpal Singh
Affiliation:
- Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES), Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO), Timarpur, Delhi, 110054, India
Keywords:
Halons, toxicity, environmentally benign, fire, extinguishant, gelled halocarbon.
Abstract: The world considers environmental concerns a top-notch priority and strictly finds ecofriendly
ways to bring transformations. The widely used class of fire extinguishers, halons, has been
extensively used for decades until they were acknowledged for producing hazardous components like
HF, HCl, HBr, and COF2 and causing ozone depletion. This creates a surge in the search for a competent
substitute with reduced toxins, easing the environmental burden. So, this review discusses the
significance of halons, their existence, phase-out, and alternate substitutes in detail. To reduce ozone
depletion potential and global warming potential, the Montreal Protocol announced a ban on halons
and promoted the search for its replacements by either introducing the use of HFCs and perfluorocarbons
having zero ODP, or modifying them by gelling them with dry powders, gelling agents,
surfactants, and antiflatulents. The thorough composition of gelled halocarbons proposed as efficient
fire extinguishant alternatives is also disclosed here.
