Fluorine-free extinguishing foam (Powerful as AFFF)

Extinguishing foam is mainly used to extinguish a flammable liquids fire. By adding air to the liquid mixture of water and extinguishing foam concentrate, a stable foam is created that covers the effluent. Flammable vapours cannot escape the liquid and the formation of a combus- tible mixture with air is disturbed. In the 20th century, manufacturers of fluorine chemicals developed aqueous film-forming extinguishing foam concentrates (AFFF – Aqueous Film Forming Foam). It turned out that the fluorine chemicals that were being used, are toxic, persistent and bio-accumulative. So Solberg Scandinavian started developing an extinguishing foam without fluorine additives at the beginning of the 21st century. The task at hand was not easy: the extinguishing properties of the extinguishing foam had to be equal to the AFFF products and just as powerful.

Solution

The Re-Healing foam developed by Solberg is comparable to AFFF thanks to a special formulation without fluorine chemicals. This is confirmed and guaranteed by international test laboratories that have tested the Re-Healing foam concentrate according to various standards. We have been an active distributor of the Solberg fluorine-free foam concentrates since 2005 and a large number of our clients use it. In 2017, we provided knowledge sessions in collaboration with scientists from the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam and Arcadis to highlight the health and environmental hazards associated with the use of AFFF with PFOS/PFAS. Offering a fluorine-free alternative played a central role in this. Since then, many countries in Europe have been considering banning AFFF-like extinguishing foams.

Proportioning

Fluorine-free foam concentrate is proportioned with extinguishing water in the same way and with the same percentage as conventional AFFF products. Replacing a conventional product with a fluorine-free extinguishing foam is technically speaking usually straightforward. However, the components that come in contact with the fluorinated AFFF product must cleaned thoroughly. We can take care of this swapping process for the client. In addition to removing and disposing of the old product, we also take care of the cleaning and we fill the foam tank with the fluorine-free product. In addition to that, we also test and commission the system, including the approval procedure.