Projects
We have three projects with the US Department of Defence through SERDP/ESTCP
“The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) are the Department of Defense's environmental, resilience, and installation energy and water research programs, harnessing the latest science and technology to improve DoD’s environmental performance, reduce costs, and enhance and sustain mission capabilities. The Programs respond to environmental, resilience, and installation energy and water technology requirements that are common to all of the Military Services, complementing the Services’ research programs. SERDP and ESTCP promote partnerships and collaboration among academia, industry, the Military Services, and other Federal Agencies. They are independent programs managed from a joint office to coordinate the full spectrum of efforts, from basic and applied research to field demonstration and validation.” (Source: SERDP/ESTCP website)
WP20-5380
Extinguishing Class B Fires with PNS, an Environmentally-Friendly Compound
The most effective firefighting foams use perfluoro chemicals, which are inert to the radicals and ions of a flame. Since the foam is lighter than the liquid fuel, it creates a barrier between the flames and the fuel. A new approach is to spray a fine mist of PNS onto the flames. PNS is found to react with the ions and radicals in the flames and stop the chain reaction, suppressing the smoke and the fire. PNS is an extremely effective fire extinguishing agent for large gasoline fires. The project team can reliably extinguish a 28 ft2 gasoline fire in less than 10 seconds and a 50 ft2 gasoline fire in less than 20 seconds using a delivery rate of 1.6 gallons per minute. Times to extinguish diesel and heptane fires are even quicker. The fire extinguishing agent is delivered as a mist by an inexpensive pressure washer operating at 3,000 pounds per square inch. The objective of this project is to refine Diethylenetriamine Polyphosphate (PNS) formulation and application to have an alternative to aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) for fuel fires that is ready for military specification testing within one year.
WP22-3287
Self-intumescent Functional Additives for PFAS-Free Foam
The objective of this project is to improve the performance of leading PFAS-free foams by adding functional additives, including PNS Syrup or novel, chemically related self-intumescent foaming agents (PNS-F). The project team will test the hypothesis that these additives will improve the stability of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances-free foam bubbles by increasing the resistance to expansion and degradation. Ultimately the objective is to develop a PFAS-free foam formulation that can pass MILSPEC testing.
WP23-3875
Evaluation of New Class of Self-intumescent Surfactants Which Have Both Flame Retardant and Foaming Agent Properties in Extreme Environments
The objective of this project is to evaluate the performance in extreme environments of a new class of self-intumescent compounds which have both flame retardant and foaming agent properties. These new compounds, generally referred to as PNS-F*, are formed by reaction of an ethyleneamine with an ethoxylated fatty alcohol phosphate ester. As there exists a range of ethyleneamines and ethoxylated fatty alcohols, a family of PNS-F compounds can be synthesized and evaluated. The project team will test the hypothesis that by varying the fatty alcohol and the ethyleneamine used for composition, the properties of PNS-F in extreme environments can vary.
*PNS-F: Molecular variant of Diethylenetriamine Polyphosphate (PNS). Both PNS and PNS-F have fire extinguishing properties, PNS-F also has foaming properties.