Method of Preventing or Extinguishing Fires
OwnerEdwin T. Sortwellinventor
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Abstract
In the prevention of the spread of fires and for directly fighting fires, a cross-linked, water-swellable additive polymer in a vegetable oil dispersion is added to firefighting water. The additive has the properties of absorbing large quantities of water, high viscosity for adherence to vertical and horizontal surfaces, and retention of sufficient fluidity to be educted in standard firefighting equipment. The method of adding this additive to the firefighting water by eduction, pumping, or batch addition to the source water is also disclosed.
Claims20
A method for applying water-laden polymer particles to a surface to prevent and/or extinguish a fire, the method comprising:
- (a) adding a dispersion comprising a vegetable oil, a surfactant system having a net hydrophilic/lipophilic balance (HLB) value above 9.5, and a dry, ground, cross-linked, water-swellable polymer to water to form a water-additive mixture containing water-laden polymer particles, the oil, the particle size of the polymer, and amount of the polymer being selected to result in the formation of a gel that is easily removable from a surface by washing with water;
- and,
- (b) directing the water-additive mixture onto a surface to prevent and/or extinguish a fire.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.