You are here

Fluorine-Free Hybrid Surfactants for Fire-Fighting Foams

Award Information
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Branch: N/A
Contract: EPD04062
Agency Tracking Number: BC3PA-0023
Amount: $225,000.00
Phase: Phase II
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: C3-NCER-PA
Solicitation Number: PR-NC-03-10621
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2004
Award Year: 2004
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2004-04-01
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2005-06-30
Small Business Information
12345 W. 52nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-1916
United States
DUNS: 181947730
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Silvia Luebben
 (303) 422-7819
 silvia@tda.com
Business Contact
 Silvia Luebben
Phone: (303) 422-7819
Email: silvia@tda.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

Aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) are among the most popular fire-fighting

foams used against fuel and oil fires because of their effectiveness and their

ease of application. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that certain

fluorosurfactants used in AFFFs are toxic to aquatic life and tend to accumulate

in the blood of animals and humans. The manufacturer recently has phased out

these surfactants. Current AFFF concentrates contain fluorosurfactants that

are chemically different from those that have been phased out. However, the

toxicity and persistency in the environment of these fluorosurfactants are

unknown and are under investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

and the Fire Fighting Foam Coalition, a group that represents AFFFs and fluorosurfactant

manufacturers. Thus, their future presence in the market is unsure. Therefore,

the fire-fighting industry needs new environmentally friendly foaming agents

and foam stabilizers that will replace fluorosurfactants in fire-fighting foams.

The goal of this research project is to develop a new, fluorine-free fire-fighting

foam based on TDA Research, Inc.'s (TDA) proprietary additives. During

Phase I, TDA began developing novel fluorine-free foam stabilizers for fire-fighting

foam concentrates. It was shown that TDA foams are up to 60 times more stable

than current AFFFs, and that the foam stability can be finely tuned over a

wide range by properly selecting the chemistry of the additives and the composition

of the solutions. TDA demonstrated that additives can be formulated into a

concentrate that can be used with commercial fire-fighting equipment, and that

TDA's foams can be used to extinguish hydrocarbon fires. TDA also identified

new surfactant types that, in combination with TDA's foam stabilizers,

offer the potential to make effective fluorine-free AFFFs. During the course

of the Phase I project, contacts were beginning to be established with representatives

of the fire-fighting industry, and many of them expressed an interest in this

research and in the promising preliminary results.

During Phase II, TDA will continue to work toward the optimization and commercialization

of fluorine-free foam concentrates in collaboration with commercial partners.

TDA also will evaluate the toxicity and biodegradability of the resulting product

and its compliance with fire-fighting standards and environmental regulations.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

US Flag An Official Website of the United States Government