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Aberdeen Foam 1% F3

Fluorine Free Fire Fighting Foam Concentrate

One of our first operational Fluorine Free Foam (F3) concentrates for extinguishing and securing flammable hydrocarbon liquid fires.

Aberdeen Foam 1% F3 is a  versatile, high quality Fluorine Free Foam designed for minimal environmental impact.

  • Quickly extinguishes and secures Class B hydrocarbon fires of liquids such as crude oil, gasoline, aviation kerosene and fuel oil.
  • Formulated for use with fresh (potable) water. 
  • Not suitable for use on fuels which are polar solvents and water miscible such as alcohols, ketones, aldehydes and ethers. 

Fire Performance Approvals

Aberdeen Foam 1% F3 meets the requirements of:

  • EN 1568: 2018 Part 3 (Grade IC in potable water)

For further information or to request a copy of our certificates, please contact us.

Environmental Impact

  • Designed for minimal environmental impact
  • Contain no fluorosurfactants
  • Biodegradable
  • Butyl carbitol & organohalogen compound free
  • Low toxicity to aquatic organisms

Applications

Aberdeen Foam 1% F3 concentrate provides quality protection wherever hydrocarbons present a fire risk:

  • Offshore platforms and helidecks
  • Petrochemical refining, processing and storage facilities
  • Marine terminals, power stations and road / rail loading racks
  • Rapid Intervention Vehicles and aircraft hangar systems

Produced foams can also be used as wetting agents for combating Class A fires (i.e.tyres, paper, wood) and for providing a vapour suppression blanket on hydrocarbon spills.

Proportioning Information

Intended for use at 1% (1 part foam concentrate to 99 parts water).

Aberdeen Foam 1% F3 concentrate is readily proportioned with the following equipment:

  • In-line inductors (fixed or portable)
  • Balanced pressure variable flow proportioners
  • Around the pump proportioners
  • Bladder tank Balanced Pressure proportioning skid
  • Handline, aspirating nozzles with fixed inductor pickup tube

Physical properties

  • Appearance
Amber liquid
  • Specfic Gravity
1.15
  • pH @ 20°C
7.5
  • Viscosity 375s-1 @ 20°C mPas
<50
  • Surface tension @ 20°C mN/m (1%)
<30
  • Freezing point (°C)
<-8
  • Lowest use temp. (°C)
-5
  • Expansion*
>6
  • 25% drainage (minutes)
>3
  • Max. storage temp. (°C)
50
  • Min. storage temp. (°C)
15
  • Freeze/thaw effect
None
* Foam quality will depend on the foam equipment used and the operating conditions. The above are tested in accordance with UK Defence Standard 42-40.

Why fluorine free?

For many years, fluorine compounds have been used as ingredients in high performance foams such as Aqueous Firefighting Foams (AFFFs). Their unique properties have made them essential for providing rapid extinguishment of life threatening fires such as those encountered at aircraft crashes.

However, due to environmental concerns over the fluorosurfactants commonly used in AFFFs, firefighting foam manufacturers worldwide have for the last ten years been working on formulating fluorine free alternatives to AFFFs.

Aberdeen Foam’s range of new, versatile, high quality Fluorine Free Foams has been designed to provide effective firefighting performance with minimal environmental impact: fluorine free technology has now become a reality!


How it works

Aberdeen Foam 1% F3 effectively extinguishes and secures liquid hydrocarbon fires by the following actions:

  • Low surface tension - as the liquid drains from the foam the foam, the surface tension reduces to ensure the foam floats on top of the surface of the liquid fuel, cutting off the oxygen supply and knocking down the flames.
  • Foam expansion - the foam cools the fuel's surface and creates a stable blanket to suppress the release of flammable vapours.

Storage & shelf life

Best stored as supplied in original, unopened containers. Suitable for storage in containers and tanks manufactured from:

  • Stainless steel (Type 304L or 316L)
  • High density cross-linked polyethylene
  • FRP (vinyl ester epoxy resin only)

If kept in the original manufacturer’s supplied container and stored between -5°C and 50°C, a shelf life of at least 20 years can be expected.

To prolong the shelf life of any F3, do not expose to temperature extremes and prevent contamination from foreign materials.


Compatibility

As recommended by NFPA 11: 2021, we would advise that if mixing foam concentrates from different manufacturers a compatibility study is carried out beforehand. Different types of foam concentrates - for example AFFF and Protein Foams - should never be mixed.

For further information or advice on compatibility testing, please visit our Knowledge Base or contact us.


Disposal

Produced Aberdeen Foam 1% F3 can be safely disposed of in biological waste water treatment systems.


Inspection & testing

As recommended by international foam standards NFPA 11: 2021 and BS:EN 13565-2: 2018, Aberdeen Foam concentrates should be inspected and tested at least annually as part of your fire fighting foam maintenance programme.

Oil Technics (Fire Fighting Products) Limited offers a worldwide foam testing service and in-house foam testing training. For further details, please contact us or visit our website.


Technical Sales & Support

For our UK customers, Aberdeen Foam is available 24/7 via our 24 hour emergency call out service: +44 (0) 1561 361515.

Aberdeen Foam is manufactured in Scotland under ISO 9001: 2015 and ISO 14001: 2015 accredited management systems and audited by UL every four months.


Additional information

For additional information on fire fighting foam concentrates including C6 foams, foam testing, compatibility, shelf life and pack sizes, please refer to our FAQs section.

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EN1568 3 2018 Fluorine Free eu 2019 COMPLIANT