Preserving Shipboard AFFF Fire Protection System Performance While Preventing Hydrogen Sulfide Formation

Autor: Bradley A. Williams, Ronald S. Sheinson
Rok vydání: 2008
Předmět:
Zdroj: Fire Technology. 44:283-295
ISSN: 1572-8099
0015-2684
DOI: 10.1007/s10694-007-0032-6
Popis: There is a very serious problem aboard US Navy ships from generation of toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) solutions used for shipboard fire protection. This is the result of the action of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) in mixtures of seawater and AFFF, which remain stagnant for significant time periods in shipboard fire protection system piping. Similar to microbial generation of H2S in sewage, over time microbes present in seawater consume organic materials in the AFFF mixture and can deplete the dissolved oxygen. If the reduction-oxidation potential falls low enough, anaerobic action of the SRB on the sulfate present in seawater can then result in H2S generation, reaching dangerous levels. The recommended ceiling for exposure to H2S is only 10 ppm. If the microbes causing oxygen depletion and/or the SRB can be eliminated (or sufficiently minimized), the dangerous generation of H2S would not occur. The Navy Technology Center for Safety and Survivability is participating in a research project for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to evaluate several treatment modalities for their ability to inhibit H2S formation in AFFF/seawater mixtures and for possible deleterious effects on AFFF performance. Various approaches have been considered employing laboratory evaluations (dynamic surface tension and Ross-Miles foamability), and 28 ft2 (2.6 m2) pool fire extinguishment and burnback protection field tests (Military Standard MIL-F-24385F). The protocol selected for NAVSEA shipboard H2S generation mitigation testing is a combination of a commercial broad-spectrum biocide with a molybdenum compound which is a specific inhibitor of SRB.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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