Fire extinguishing and/or fire retarding compositions
The invention concerns fire-extinguishing and/or fire-retarding compositions comprising at least one water-absorbing polymer and at least one alkali metal salt of a nonpolymeric saturated carboxylic acid, processes for their production and the use of the compositions for firefighting or as fire-retarding coatings.
1. A fire-extinguishing and/or fire-retarding composition comprising at least one water-absorbing polymer having a centrifuge retention capacity of not less than 15 g/g and at least one alkali metal salt of a nonpolymeric saturated carboxylic acid.
2. The composition according to claim 1 further comprising a thickener.
3. The composition according to claim 1 wherein the water-absorbing polymer is a partially neutralized crosslinked polyacrylic acid.
4. The composition according to claim 1 wherein the alkali metal salt is a sodium or potassium salt.
5. The composition according to claim 1 wherein the alkali metal salt is tripotassium citrate.
6. The composition according to claim 1 further comprising a foaming agent.
7. The composition of claim 1 wherein a ratio of the at least one water-absorbing polymer to the at least one alkali metal salt of the nonpolymeric saturated carboxylic acid is in a range from 1:2 to 1:50.
8. The composition of claim 1 comprising from 0.5% to 2%, by weight, of the at least one water-absorbing polymer and from 5% to 40%, by weight, of the at least one alkali metal salt of the nonpolymeric saturated carboxylic acid.
9. The composition according to claim 1 further comprising water.
10. The composition according to claim 9 further comprising a thickener.
11. The composition according to claim 10 further comprising a foaming agent.
12. The composition according to claim 9 wherein the water-absorbing polymer is a partially neutralized crosslinked polyacrylic acid.
13. The composition according to claim 12 wherein the alkali metal salt comprises tripotassium citrate.
14. The composition according to claim 9 wherein the alkali metal salt comprises tripotassium citrate.
15. A textile material coated with a fire-retarding composition according to claim 1 .
16. A building material coated with a fire-retarding composition according to claim 1 .
17. An article of manufacture comprising a composition of claim 1 .
18. The article of claim 17 selected from the group consisting of an extinguisher, an extinguishing fitting, and an extinguishing system.
19. A fire-extinguishing and/or fire-retarding composition consisting essentially of at least one water-absorbing polymer having a centrifuge retention capacity of not less than 15 g/g and at least one alkali metal salt of a nonpolymeric saturated carboxylic acid.
20. A method of fighting a fire comprising applying a composition of claim 1 to the fire.
21. The method of claim 20 wherein the fire is a forest fire, a tire warehouse fire, a landfill fire, a coal stack fire, or a mine fire.
22. The method of claim 20 wherein the fire is fought from the air.
23. A method of imparting fire resistance to an article comprising:
(a) applying a composition of claim 1 and water to the article; and
(b) allowing the applied composition to dry on the article and form a fire-retarding coating on the article.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the article is a textile material, a building material, or a structural component.