О. Kireev, Yu. Hapon, М. Chyrkina-Kharlamova, O. Danyk, K. Rusenko. Extinguishing methanol with light, loose materials and quick-setting foams. P. 227-240.

Extinguishing methanol with light, loose materials and quick-setting foams

 

Kireev Oleksandr

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8819-3999

 

Hapon Yuliana

Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3304-5657

 

Chyrkina-Kharlamova Maryna

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2060-9142

 

Danyk Olena

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6849-3403

 

Rusenko Kateryna

National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4866-6032

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52363/2524-0226-2026-43-14

 

Keywords: flammable liquids, methanol, crushed foam glass, polar liquids, bulk materials, fire extinguishing

 

Аnnotation

 

Іnvestigates the fire-extinguishing properties of lightweight loose materials and rapidly setting foams during the extinguishing of methanol. The loose materials selected were crushed foam glass with a particle size of 1–1.5 cm and expanded perlite with spherical particles 1.0–1.5 mm in diameter. It was found that foam glass forms the lower layer of the fire-extinguishing system and ensures its buoyancy, while the upper layer of perlite performs an insulating function, limiting oxygen access to the combustion surface and preventing reignition. It has been shown that the additional supply of atomized water to the surface of the layer enhances the system’s insulating and cooling properties and also contributes to lowering the temperature in the combustion zone. The fire-extinguishing properties were evaluated using the base layer concept, which allowed determining the parameters of the fire-extinguishing layers for real-world firefighting conditions and adapting the results to industri-al scales. To enable such calculations, the bulk density and buoyancy in methanol of the selected loose materials were experimentally determined. A system consisting of Na₂O·nSiO₂ (9 % solution) + NaHCO₃ (9 % solution) + carboxymethylcellulose (0.5 % by volume) + «Morsky» foaming agent (6 % by volume) was used as a rapid-setting foam. It was established that the loss of fluidity time for this system is 60 ± 10 s, which is sufficient for mixing the components, foaming, feeding into the fire center and spreading over the surface of the flammable liquid with the subsequent formation of an insulating layer. A comparative analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of systems based on lightweight loose materials and fast-setting foams in extinguishing methanol fires. The results obtained were compared with data for extinguishing gasoline, ethanol, and acetone, which made it possible to assess the potential of the proposed fire extinguishing agents for extinguishing polar and nonpolar flammable liquids and to identify directions for their further improvement.

 

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Received by the editorial board: 10.03.2026

Accepted for publication: 13.04.2026

Date of publication (release): 31.05.2026