FOAM CONCENTRATES APPLICATION RATE AND THEIR FLOW RATES: AN OVERVIEW ON FLOATING ROOF TANK FIRE EXTINGUISHMENT

Kirti Vyas, Praveen Patel

Abstract: The basic characteristics of foam concentrates application rate and their flow rates for fire fighting to extinguish tank fire are briefed. It is pointed out that the present fire fighting systems of large scale crude oil storage depots cannot meet the need to extinguish tank fires. In petroleum refinery, various hydrocarbons, both liquid and gaseous are handled. These hydrocarbons are flammable and explosive in nature and volatile to varying degrees depending upon their operating conditions. As the process operations are carried out at elevated temperatures and pressures, they offer high risk of fire and explosions and therefore it is imperative that proper safety precautions are taken in carrying out operations safely and prevent incidence of fires and explosions. This paper covers the application rate and flow rates of foam onto a fire is normally expressed as the amount of foam solution, in litres per minute, to be applied to every square metre of the total area to be covered with foam.

Keywords: Foam concentrates application rate; flow rate; pool fire; tank fire; fire suppression system;

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2013.0212030