REGARDING THE POSSIBILITY OF USING ACRYLAMIDE COPOLYMER-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR CREATING FIREBREAKS DURING ECOSYSTEM FIRES

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of statistical data regarding forest fires and fires in natural ecosystems. The dangers associated with the prevention and extinguishing of fires in ecosystems are discussed. An analysis of domestic and foreign literature in the field of research has been conducted, revealing that the complexity of extinguishing fires in ecosystems depends on factors such as the large area and inaccessibility of the terrain, weather conditions, type and moisture content of vegetation, and limited resources and equipment. As a new fire-resistant agent, it is proposed to consider an aqueous polymer solution, which is obtained by dispersing finely ground dry polymer that swells in water, in vegetable oil, with the addition of surfactants and stabilizing agents. The proposed polymer dispersions mainly consist of elements that are either food products or approved as direct food additives, which is particularly desirable in terms of health, safety, environmental, and handling aspects. To determine the optimal composition of reagents in aqueous solutions, the adhesive capacity of the fire-resistant substance depending on the concentration of the gel-forming agent in the solution was established. It was determined that the maximum adhesive capacity is achieved at a gel-forming substance concentration in the solution of 0.3%. The potential use of the moisture-retaining polymer Ecofloc A-07, in the form of water-soluble transparent granules that enhance the solution's adhesion and film-forming ability, was studied for the creation of a gel-forming fire-resistant substance. Based on the results of the conducted research, it was established that the proposed substance for the creation of firebreaks is effective for 30 hours. The results obtained during the research indicate the possibility of using solutions based on acrylamide copolymers for creating firebreaks during ecosystem fires. However, further research is needed to determine the evaporation rate of the tested liquids in a static state for the Ecofloc A-07 polymer-based hydrogel at typical polymer gel-former concentrations of 0.3%.