US2074938A - Fire-extinguishing compositions - Google Patents

Description

Patented I Mar. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE No Drawing. ApplicationApril 10, 1936,Seria No. 73,723

11 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention described herein, ifpatented, may be manufactured and used by or 5 tor the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an improvement in fire-extinguishing compositions and particularly to the inclusion in such compositions of a material that greatly increases their efiectiveness.

The principles of this invention are applicable to almost every type of fire-extinguishing composition and for that reason it may be well, at the 5 outset, to describe briefly the more important types of extinguishing compositions. compositions operate on the same principle, that v is, of covering the fire with an inert material, either solid, liquid, vapor, or 'gas, which excludes air and thus smothers the flame.

One class of compositions consists of materials adapted to be applied directly to the flame. Such material may be a liquid, such as carbontetrachloride, or a powder, containing sodium bicarbonate, sodium borate, boric acid, ammonium phosphate, sand, ashes, infusorial earth, mica, asbestos, talc or other materials, in various combinations or proportions.

Another kind of fire-extinguishing composition 0 Q consists of two or more materials that upon the mixing will form a gas or foam which may be released upon the fire. The ordinary soda-acid extinguisher and" the extinguisher that depends for its action upon sodium bicarbonate, aluminum sulphate and a foam stabilizer such as licorice extract, use this type of composition.

According to the present invention any of the fire-extinguishing compositions described may be improved and made much more effective by the addition thereto of chlorinatedorganic materials of a resinous nature. The materials that have beenfound best suited for this purpose are chlorinated rubber, chlorinated petroleum derivatives,

chlorinated vinyl resin and chlorinated turpentine. The degree of chlorinationdoes not appear to be highly critical. Rubber chlorinated to the extent of around 70%, vinyl resin about 40% chlorinated, paraflin about 60% chlorinated'and' rosin chlorinated to the extent of around 55%,' all appear to be satisfactory. Various percentages of chlorinated material may be used in the compositions. It has been found that around 15% is preferable.

I The reason. for the increased e flectiveness of the compositions'including the chlorinated resin All of these ous compounds is not entirely understood, but the eifect is evident upon comparison of the extinguishing compositions with and without the chlorinated material added and it seems that the chlorinated products may either reduce the 5 volatility of the liquids present, aid in covering the flame, or yield, upon heating, products that tend to smother the fire. Particularly after the fire has once begun to subside does the new composition appear to be of particular advantage, 10 because it thoroughly completes the job of extinguishing the fire instead of rapidly vaporizing and allowing the fire to start over again.

In order that the present invention may be more thoroughly understood, the following may be 15 given as formulas for fire-extinguishing compositions embodying the principles of this invention:

DRY Poworm Ex'rmeorsnme' CoMrosrrIoN The above examples of compositions illustrate the'principl'es of this invention but it is to be 45 understood that they are not the only ways that the principles may be applied. For example, the resinous materials may be. added to the water in a'hose stream or in asprinkler system or in a fire department pumper, and many other formulas 50 for fire-extinguishing compositions-including the f chlorinated materials maybe easilyide'vi'sed.

In incorporating the chlorinated materis'tls. they-may bemerely mixed in powder-.forr'nWith other dry. materials, they may be 'stlrredfinto55 liquids immediately before use, particularly in the case of their use with water, they may be dissolved, as in carbontetraohloride, or they may be emulsified with the other materials.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A composition for extinguishing fires that includes a material for smothering the fire and a stable, non-volatile chlorinated organic material of relatively high molecular weight.

2. A composition for extinguishing fires that includes a material for smothering the fire and a stable, non-volatile chlorinated resinous organic material.

3. A composition for extinguishing fires that includes a material for smothering the fire and chlorinated parafiin.

4-. A composition for extinguishing fires that includes a material for smothering the fire and chlorinated rubber.

5 An improvement in fire-extinguishing compositions that comprises including in the com position a stable, non-volatile chlorinated organic material of relatively high molecular weight.

6. A composition for extinguishing fires that comprises a non-inflammable liquid and a stable,

non-volatile chlorinated organic material oi relatively high molecular weight.

7. A composition for extinguishing fires that comprises carbontetrachloride and a stable, nonvolatile chlorinated organic material of relatively high molecular weight.

8. A composition for extinguishing fires that comprises water and a stable, non-volatile chlor inated organic material of relatively high molecular weight.

9. A composition for extinguishing fires that comprises a, plurality of materials that will react