Swedish Air Force Hangar Protected with 7000 kg Clean Agent FS49C2-2

Clean agent FS 49 C2 is an environmentally engineered, human safe, fast acting Clean Agent fire extinguishing gas for

gaseous fire suppression Gaseous fire suppression, also called clean agent fire suppression, is a term to describe the use of inert gases and chemical agents to extinguish a fire. These agents are governed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard for C ...

installed in a suited

fire suppression system Fire suppression systems are used to extinguish, control, or in some cases, entirely prevent fires from spreading or occurring. Fire suppression systems have an incredibly large variety of applications, and as such, there are many different types ...

. The gas consists of

tetrafluoroethane 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane (also known as norflurane (INN), R-134a, Freon 134a, Forane 134a, Genetron 134a, Green Gas, Florasol 134a, Suva 134a, or HFC-134a) is a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and haloalkane refrigerant with thermodynamic properties s ...

pentafluoroethane Pentafluoroethane is a fluorocarbon with the formula CF3CHF2. Pentafluoroethane is currently used as a refrigerant (known as R-125) and also used as a fire suppression agent in fire suppression systems. Pentafluoroethane does not deplete ozone ...

and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

. FS 49 C2 maintains breathable concentrations of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as we ...

in the air. It can extinguish a fire with less danger to people in the room at extinguishing concentrations in contrast to pure carbon dioxide based

that is deadly to humans when released in extinguishing amounts. The gas was initially called Halotron II B/FS49C2.

Thermal fire suppression

FS 49 C2 acts similarly to an

inert gas An inert gas is a gas that does not readily undergo chemical reactions with other chemical substances and therefore does not readily form chemical compounds. The noble gases often do not react with many substances and were historically referred to ...

. It absorbs the heat produced from the combustion process. This mechanism is consistent with the observation that the fire heat release rate does not decrease until sufficient gas is released. The difference from inert gases and FS 49 C2 is that it takes less gas to suppress a fire, and therefore gas storage takes less space, depending on the storage pressure. Savings may vary between a 50-90%.

Composition

It is a gaseous mixture of 60-80%

(

R-134a 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane (also known as norflurane (INN), R-134a, Freon 134a, Forane 134a, Genetron 134a, Green Gas, Florasol 134a, Suva 134a, or HFC-134a) is a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and haloalkane refrigerant with thermodynamic properties s ...

), 10-30%

(

R-125 Pentafluoroethane is a fluorocarbon with the formula CF3CHF2. Pentafluoroethane is currently used as a refrigerant (known as R-125) and also used as a fire suppression agent in fire suppression systems. Pentafluoroethane does not deplete ozone ...

) and 10-30%

(CO₂). Its physical properties are similar to those of

Halon 1301 Bromotrifluoromethane, commonly known as Halon 1301, R13B1, Halon 13B1 or BTM, is an organic halide with the chemical formula C Br F3. It is used for gaseous fire suppression as a far less toxic alternative to bromochloromethane. Table of phy ...

Halon comparison

FS 49 C2 is believed to cause less damage to the environment. Its main component is the most widely used replacement gas for refrigeration systems, characterized by zero

Ozone Depletion Potential The ozone depletion potential (ODP) of a chemical compound is the relative amount of degradation to the ozone layer it can cause, with trichlorofluoromethane (R-11 or CFC-11) being fixed at an ODP of 1.0. Chlorodifluoromethane (R-22), for examp ...

(ODP) factor. FS 49 C2 is suitable to replace

as a "drop in" upgrade of existing Halon systems. Filling a room 12% by FS 49 C2 is sufficient to suppress a flame-based fire. Even though FS 49 C2 gas does not leave toxic gases behind, a

self-contained breathing apparatus A self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), sometimes referred to as a compressed air breathing apparatus (CABA) or simply breathing apparatus (BA), is a device worn to provide breathable air in an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous to ...

is recommended when in a fire site because in the process of extinguishing the fire, FS 49 C2 may release potentially harmful gases.

Montreal protocol

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...

banned the use of Halon gases in the

Montreal Protocol The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organization ...

treaty in 1987 due to ozone depletion and the ozone-depleting effect of Halon gases. Developing countries were granted an extension to still use Halon until 2010. After 2010

recommended that those countries replace Halon with ozone friendly alternatives.

References

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External links

Information on Brassbells product pages
Fire suppression agents Greenhouse gases