Experimental Study of the Fire-extinguishing Effectiveness of 1-Bromo- 3,3,3-Trifluoropropene/Nitrogen Mixtures

The search for a new fire-extinguishing agent with all the desirable properties of Halon 1301 has not been successful. In this study, the authors have pursued the development of 1-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoropropene (BTP), which has a very low extinguishing concentration, but with its high boiling point, it is not a suitable replacement for Halon 1301. However, mixtures of BTP in an inert gas could produce fire-extinguishing agents with many of the desirable properties of Halon 1301. The fire suppression effectiveness of BTP/nitrogen mixtures is studied. The results show that addition of a small amount of BTP in nitrogen reduces the extinguishing concentration of nitrogen considerably, with BTP/nitrogen mixtures showing strong synergistic interactions at low concentrations of BTP.