A fire extinguisher fluid comprising an aqueous gel containing as gelling agent a combination of polyacrylamide and bentonite, particularly a mixture of 0.5 parts polyacrylamide and 2.7 parts bentonite, per 100 parts of water, by weight. The gelling components are incorporated in water in the proper proportions, and a stream of the resulting aqueous gel is applied to a burning area, to form a wet cool blanket thereover and inhibit further burning.
A thixotropic high internal phase ratio emulsion which is essentially nonflammable is employed as a fire extinguishing agent. In the preferred embodiment the emulsion contains an aqueous internal phase which makes up the major part of the emulsion, usually in excess of 90%, but preferably in excess of 95%, and a minor amount of an external phase which is of low volatility and/or flammability such as a heavy oil and an emulsifying material. Because it is thixotropic and cohesive, it forms a blanket over a fire, and coats adjacent surfaces, preventing the spread of the fire. This composition is particularly useful in fighting forest fires where the emulsion can be dropped or sprayed from aircraft with a minimum loss due to dispersion in air currents. The invention also comprises a fire extinguisher comprising a container containing a high internal phase ratio emulsion and means for expelling said emulsion onto or in the path of a fire.
A composition for increasing the dissipation of heat from one portion of a surface when heat is applied to another portion of the same surface. The preferred composition is a gel or paste with high water content and a thickener of a mineral clay in a colloidal suspension. The invention finds particular use in welding and soldering processes which are carried out adjacent heat sensitive materials.
The invention concerns the production and use of thickened synthetic amorphous silica in water as a fire extinguishing and protection agent in which the water is mixed with 1% to 9% by weight of fumed silica, and the resulting thin fluid suspension is rapidly thickened with mixing and shearing by the addition of from 0.003% to about 0.5% by weight of an additive selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycols, polypropylene glycols, and their derivatives thereof, wherein the additive has a molar mass between 700 and 600,000.
A substantially nonaqueous persistent thixotropic fire suppressant composition comprises a fire suppressant agent, a carrier material, the suppressant agent permeating the carrier material to form a suppressant permeated carrier material, a fire extinguishing dispersant, the carrier material being insoluble in the dispersant, the permeated carrier material being suspended in the dispersant, and a gelling agent in an amount effective to thixotropically gel the suspension of permeated carrier material and dispersant, the permeated carrier material being capable of adhering to an object in the vicinity of combustion.
A fire suppressant composition consisting of a slurry of clay slime or sewage sludge is used to extinguish fires in building structures or forest fires.
