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Poster Presentation 5-27
Using Egg Albumin Foam to Extinguish Fires
Hytham A. Alsaati, Danielle Ditzler, Robert D. Tanner
Department of Chemical Engineering Vanderbilt University Box 1604, Station B Nashville, TN 37235
Telephone: (615) 322-2061; Fax: (615) 343-7951; E-mail: rtanner@vuse.vanderbilt.edu
A protein-based fire abatement foam has many desirable benefits. One example of such a protein, egg albumin, can be rapidly deployed to produce a stable air-enclosing foam of large volume and high water content. This foam can quickly displace the air surrounding a fire, extinguishing the fire. Since this egg albumin foam is non-toxic, there is the potential to quench a fire and still provide air (from the foam itself) to allow a trapped person in that fire to breathe. In other words, the foam partitions air away from the fire but keeps some air in reserve for breathing. If a person can breathe when trapped in the foam, this method may be suitable for putting out fires in enclosed spaces where people are present, such as ships, high-rise buildings, spacecraft and airplanes.
This work focuses on quenching a 3- to 5-centimeter-high Bunsen burner flame with egg albumin foam. Development of a system to allow a person to breathe if caught in a room full of this foam is the subject of another study. Experiments were conducted for determining the speed of quenching a flame in an enclosed space surrounding an open flame. This space models a scaled-down version of a room. It was determined that varying the foam bulk solution generation parameters, such as the protein concentration, the pH, and the generating column air superficial velocity can decrease the quenching time from a nominal 30 seconds to one second for a 3 centimeter flame. Adding Lidocaine to the albumin stabilizes the foam and results in a slower foam collapse rate, a desirable feature for sustaining fire suppression.
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