Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Concentrates
Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) concentrates combine fluoro- and hydrocarbon-surfactant technologies to produce high performance synthetic firefighting foams suited for use on class B hydrocarbon fuel fires such as oil, petroleum, gasoline, benzene, and aviation fuels.
AFFF solutions utilize three suppression mechanisms for rapid fire knockdown and burnback resistance:
- The foam blanket blocks oxygen supply to the fuel.
- Liquid drains from the foam blanket and forms an aqueous film that suppresses fuel vapour and seals the fuel surface from the air.
- The water content of the foam solution produces a cooling effect for additional fire suppression.
Fast fire knockdown make AFFF concentrates particularly useful in applications that involve quick rescue from hydrocarbon fires. For example, offshore platforms utilize AFFF for process areas and helideck protection, whilst the aviation sector uses AFFF concentrates in ARFF (Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting) vehicles for crash rescue scenarios. Although very effective on Class B hydrocarbon fires, AFFF concentrates should not be used on polar solvent fires.
Use, Discharge, and Disposal of Firefighting Foam Products (USA) »
