MXPA99007069A - Method and apparatus for extinguishing fires - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for extinguishing fire, wherein a gas an aerosol mixture is fed into a space includes steps of igniting a pyrotechnic composition that ensures a predetermined temperature profile during burning and a predetermined composition of the gas and aerosol mixture completely oxidizing the combustion products of incomplete combustion of the pyrotechnic composition by causing them to pass through a bed of catalytically active substances, which is located in the zone of the maximum temperature of the temperature profile of combustion of the pyrotechnic composition, with the temperature remaining constant by redistribution of said profile;cooling the combustion products and completely oxidizing them by reacting with substances having high heat absorbing capacity, concurrently with the filtering of the combustion products according to composition of the gas phase and particle size of the aerosol phase. An apparatus for extinguishing fire, having a casing (1) that has a discharge port (2), a combustion chamber (3) that is accommodated in the casing (1) and heat insulated from the walls of the casing (1), a pyrotechnic composition (4) and an igniter (5) that are received in the combustion chamber, a cooling section (9) and a complete catalytic oxidation section (6) that has a pair of spaced metal gratings (8a, 8b) between which a catalytically active substance is placed and that is located at a fixed distance from the pyrotechnic composition (4). A compensation device (10) is provided for maintaining the above-mentioned fixed distance during the burning of the pyrotechnic composition (4).

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to fire fighting, and, more specifically, it concerns a method for extinguishing fire with gas and aerosol mixtures that are released from burning pyrotechnic compositions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND TECHNIQUE Russian Patent 2, 072, 135 presents a method for extinguishing fire wherein a mixture of gas and aerosol is released when a pyrotechnic charge is burned, the mixture which reacts with the combustion products in the fire area and that results in the extinction of the fire. Before being supplied to the protected area, the gas and aerosol mixture is cooled; for that purpose, the mixture is combined with substances that have a high capacity for absorbing heat and a high degree of degassing such as carbonates, hydrates, hydroxides, and oxalates, which are used in the form of granules or tablets. An apparatus for carrying out this method has a cover that contains a pyrotechnic composition, a heat protection layer, and a discharge hatch. A pyrotechnic composition is ignited by means of a standard cigarette lighter. The cooling of the gas and aerosol mixture that is released during the burning of the pyrotechnic composition is carried out in a cooling unit having a shape of a container which is filled with a cooling medium and is located in the housing between the pyrotechnic composition and the discharge hatch. A serious disadvantage of this method and apparatus lies in the fact that the combustion products of the pyrotechnic composition, which consist of 12% KCIO4, 60% KNO3, 18% C3H5O, and 10% Mg, are highly toxic By thermal decomposition of such pyrotechnic compositions, toxic gases are released -Cl2, NO, NO2, NH3, HCN, CO, and CH4. The use of carbonates, hydrates, and oxalates as a cooling medium results in a further increase in the concentration of toxic gases that are released when the cooling medium reacts with the hot gas and aerosol mixture. So CO2, CO, H2O, and K2CO3 are released by decomposition of potassium oxalate -K2C2O4, and MgO, H2O, and CO2 are released by decomposition of magnesium carbonate MgCO3x5H2O. The water vapor that is released can react with chlorine, oxides of nitrogen, and carbon dioxide to form acids -HCl, HNO3, H2CO3- which are also harmful to living organisms and to other objects present in the fire area.

For proper cooling of the gas and aerosol mixture, the aforementioned substances are required to have a mass that is equal to, or substantially greater than, the mass of the aerosol forming mixture. This also results in an increased amount of the toxic gases that are formed by decomposition of the cooling medium. Russian Patent 2, 101, 504 presents a pyrotechnic composition which forms a mixture of gas and aerosol, which comprises from 67 to 72 mass percent of potassium nitrate with a specific particle surface area of at least 1, 500 cm2 / g, from 8 to 12 mass percent of phenol-formaidehide resin as a fuel binder, having a particle size not exceeding 100 μm, the rest comprising a gas-forming and aerosol-forming substance, which It has a particle size that does not exceed 15 μm. The composition may also contain potassium carbonate, potassium benzoate, or potassium hexacyanoferrate in an amount of 4 to 12% by mass.

This pyrotechnic composition has the following disadvantages: Low flame propagation velocity of the composition (approximately 2.4 mm / s), which causes a low extinction rate. The composition has a wide combustion temperature profile (from the condensation phase of the composition to the hottest point of the flame), whereby it is difficult to cool the gas and aerosol mixture. ~ Low mass content (not more than 64%) of the solid phase, which is the main component of the gas and aerosol mixture to extinguish fire. - Toxicity of the combustion products of the pyrotechnic composition. More specifically, although there is a low content of such gases as CO2 and NH3 in the combustion products, the problem of toxicity is not completely resolved, because the concentrations of incomplete oxidation products such as CO, NO, HNC are rather high.

Russian Patent 2,087,170 presents a method for extinguishing fire in spaces where solid fuel is added to the combustion products, which are oxidized and completely cooled before being fed into the space to be protected. Complete oxidation occurs in a jet stream, with an oxidant that is oxygen from the ambient air or other oxidant formers, which are fed under pressure to a generator. The cooling of the combustion products occurs through the exchange of heat between the walls of a heat exchanger and a fluid refrigerant similar to the cooling system of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle. This method has the following main disadvantages: - Low efficiency of the complete oxidation process of incomplete combustion products. The method is based on the use of oxidizing gas that is taken from the ambient air by means of a jet. The concentration of oxygen that is taken from the air in a jet stream is not sufficient to ensure complete oxidation of the gases that form when the composition is burned. An increase in oxygen concentration is possible only by raising the ejection rate, which it would require a larger size of the jet nozzle and a substantial increase in the flow velocity of the gas and aerosol mixture. This would cause an increase in pressure within the combustion chamber, which would require greater resistance of the housing.

In the case of an oxidant to be supplied from a special pressurized gas bottle, which is required in some applications, the construction of the apparatus becomes more expensive.

Among other disadvantages are the following: - Low cooling efficiency of the combustion products with a liquid refrigerant by means of a known cooling system.

Thus water and a refrigerant (a mixture of 40/60 polyethylene glycol and water) is normally used, which has a boiling point about 100 to 130 ° C. Also in order to ensure effective cooling of gas and aerosol mixtures that are released as a result of combustion from 800 to 100QC, either a large heat exchanger surface area, or the flow rate of the refrigerant is required. It has to be high. In order to meet these requirements, a much larger metal container would be necessary, thus complicating the practical application of the device. The closest prior art is described in the Patent Application Russian 94 002 970 which presents a method for extinguishing fire in enclosed spaces comprising the following steps: - burning a charge of a composition that generates an aerosol; - cooling the resulting gas and aerosol mixture causing it to pass through a heat-absorbing filler; - completely oxidizing the combustion products causing the mixture of gas and cooled aerosol to pass through an oxidizing filler; - Feed the gas and aerosol mixture to the fire area and extinguish the fire. Through all the steps, oxidation catalysts of the combustion products are used, which are selected from metals including nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, chromium, aluminum, magnesium, copper, platinum, silver, their oxides and peroxides, salts, as well as their alloys and mixtures. The aerosol forming composition, the heat absorbing filler, and the oxidant filler may be mixed with the aforementioned catalysts or may be included in the respective compositions. The oxidants are selected from the following substances: ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, barium nitrate, strontium nitrate, ammonium perchlorate, potassium perchlorate, sodium perchlorate, and mixtures thereof. The main disadvantage of this method is the inefficient application of the oxidation catalysts. This results in the complete oxidation process of the combustion products which has a low efficiency, which, in turn, causes a higher level of toxic gases in the gas and aerosol mixture. The low efficiency of complete oxidation is explained by the following factors: The aforementioned catalysts in the gas and aerosol mixture generating composition or on the surface thereof have a catalytic effect on the decomposition reactions of components that are present in the the condensed phase of the composition but have no practical effect on the reactions in the gas phase.

The main result of the activity of these catalysts can be only deceleration or acceleration of decomposition of the components. As a result, the composition will burn either very slowly or very quickly. This would not allow complete oxidation of the combustion products.

- The aforementioned catalysts in chemical refrigerants mainly affect the decomposition regime. More specifically, the decomposition of the granules or tablets of the heat-absorbing filler can have a catalytic effect on the oxidation reactions of CO, NO, HCN, NH3. As a consequence of this, the gas temperature during the passage of gas through the heat absorbing load decreases, thus lowering the efficiency of the complete oxidation.

-The efficiency of a special oxidant filler that is placed directly in front of the discharge port is not very high either. This is mainly because the mixture of gas and aerosol at this point is already cooled. Since the flow rate through the oxidant filler is high, the total oxidation reaction is not completed. In order to increase the efficiency of the complete oxidation, the oxidant filler should be made thicker. This will result in a lower velocity of discharge and also in a generation of pressure in the cover of the apparatus, which can cause the cover to explode. Therefore, the state of the art does not allow the required properties to be obtained simultaneously, namely: low toxicity of the gas and aerosol mixture; - Low temperature of the gas and aerosol mixture, while having high fire extinguishing efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The method and apparatus for extinguishing fire according to the invention ensures the effective extinction of fire under extreme situations of fire and also ensures the survival of personnel and other living creatures present in the fire area. The present invention is based on the following technical problems: - reduction of toxicity of the gas mixture and fire extinguishing aerosol that is fed to a space to be protected, mainly by means of the reduction of the level of NO, CO, NH3, HCN and by decreasing the content of aerosol particles of a size smaller than 1 μ. - reduction of the temperature of the gas mixture and fire extinguishing aerosol that is fed into a space to be protected to regulate the presence of flames and sparks in the area, thus increasing the fire extinguishing efficiency of the gas and aerosol mixture . The above technical problems are solved by means of the present method for extinguishing fire that includes feeding a mixture of gas and aerosol to a space to be protected, comprising the following steps: a) igniting a pyrotechnic composition that ensures a predetermined temperature profile during the burning and a predetermined composition of the gas and aerosol mixture; b) completely oxidizing the combustion products of the incomplete combustion of the pyrotechnic composition by causing them to pass through a bed of catalytically active substances, which are located in the area of the maximum temperature of the combustion temperature profile of the pyrotechnic composition, with the temperature remaining constant through the redistribution of said profile; c) cooling the combustion products and completely oxidizing them by reacting them with substances having high heat absorbing capacity, concurrently with the filtration of the combustion products according to the composition of the gas phase and particle size of the aerosol phase. The pyrotechnic composition which ensures a predetermined composition of the gas phase and a predetermined temperature profile comprises diazheimerium as a gas and aerosol former, a polycondensate of formaldehyde with phenol as a fuel binder, and potassium nitrate as an oxidant. The gas and aerosol former, the fuel binder, and the oxidant each consist of two fractions: 40 to 80 μm and 7 to 15 μm in the mass ratio of 80:20; 70 to 120 μm and 10 to 25 μm in the mass ratio of 70:30; and 15 to 25 μm and 1 to 7 μm in the mass ratio of 25:75, with the following proportions of the components in the composition (% by mass): Gas and aerosol former 9 to 20 Fuel binder 6 to 14 Oxidizing rest During burning, the composition described above ensures: - constant temperature profile during burning (from 460 ° C in the condensed phase to 750 ° C at the hottest point of the flame); - constant gas-to-aerosol ratio of 30:70, with the passing part of the aerosol particles of a size from 1 to 2 μm being not less than 70%; - stability of the chemical composition and concentration of the gas phase that is released during the burning of the composition. If it is necessary to increase the combustion rate of the pyrotechnic composition, the part containing the smaller particles has to be increased. This can be achieved using gas-forming aerosol diazheimerium with particles of 40 to 80 μm and 7 to 15 μm in the mass ratio of 10:90, the oxidant, potassium nitrate with particles of 15 to 25 μm and 1 to 7 μm in the mass ratio of 5:95, and the fuel binder in the form of a polycondensate of formaldehyde with phenol, with the following proportions of the components in the composition (mass%): Gas and aerosol former 9 a 20 Fuel binder 6 to 14 Oxidizer rest The phenol-formaldehyde resin particles can be dissolved in ethanol. The resulting 60% solution is used for the preparation of the pyrotechnic composition. During the preparation of the composition, the ethanol is removed. This solution ensures a temperature profile of 460 ° C in the condensed phase up to 1050 ° C at the hottest point of the flame. According to the current knowledge on toxicity of products of combustion of liquid and pulverized substances (VS Ilichkin, VG Vasil'ev, VL Smirnov. "Eksperimental'noe obosnovanie methodov opredelan? Ya toksichnosti produktov goreniya zhidkikh i poroshkoobraznykh veshchestv" (in Russian) [ Experimental support of the methods for determining toxicity of combustion products of liquid and pulverous substances] Pozharovzryvobezopasnost ', 1997, No. 4, pp. 1-15), practically all organic substances containing carbon and nitrogen in their molecules, which they can be potentially components of a mixture of gas and aerosol depending on their decomposition and burning of thermal oxidation, they release toxic gaseous substances such as NO, CO, CO2, HCN, NH3, etc. In order to minimize the harmful toxic impact of the gas and fire extinguishing aerosol mixture in humans, living organisms, and the environment, a method to feed the gas and aerosol mixture to a space to be protected and a device to carry out method must ensure the effective neutralization of such gases. By doing so, the complete oxidation step is carried out on the surface of a catalytically active substance selected from the group of aluminosilicates (eg, zeolites). The following types of zeolites are commonly known: KA, NaA, NaX, which are types 3A, 4A, 13X, respectively, following the EU classification. The structure of type A zeolites consists of smaller and larger absorbent pores. The chemical formula of the NaA zeolite is as follows: Na2O "AI2O3" 2SiO2 »4SH2O. An elementary cell consists of a larger pore and a smaller pore. The largest pore has a substantially spherical shape with a diameter of 1.14 nm. It is connected through an eight-membered oxygen ring of 0.42 nm in diameter with six larger adjacent pores and through a six-membered oxygen ring of 0.22 nm diameter with eight smaller pores. Figure 1 shows the structure of the synthetic zeolite (a) type A and the synthetic zeolite (b) type X. Type X zeolite has a similar structure. The difference here is in the fact that each larger pore has four inlet openings that are constructed of twelve-member oxygen rings with a diameter of 0.8 to 0.9 nm. This makes the zeolite structure of this type more open for gas molecules to pass through (N.V.

Kel'tsev. "Osnovy adsorbtsionnoy tekhníki" (in Russian) [Fundamentáis of adsorption technology]. M. Khimiya. 1984). A hot mixture of gas and aerosol that is released by burning the pyrotechnic composition (t »750 ° C) heats the surface of the zeolite. The increase in temperature makes the oscillations of the zeolite crosslink stronger, thus facilitating the penetration of the gas molecules into the adsorption cavities that are constructed of the oxygen rings. The conditions within the pores (temperature and pressure) are such that the following catalytic neutralization reaction occurs on the active surface of the zeolite pore: 2NO l? N2 + O2; 2CO *? 2C + O2 (1) The oxygen that is released as a result of this reaction is used for the complete oxidation of the products of incomplete combustion of the pyrotechnic composition: 2CO + O2? 2CO2 (2) 2H2 + O2? 2H2O 2NH3 + 1, 502 - > N2 + 3H2O CH4 + 2 ° 2? CO2 + 2H2O The neutralization reaction (1) and the following complete oxidation reactions (2) effectively occur at temperatures above 700 ° C. The entire oxidation zone has a bed shape of zeolite that is enclosed between two metal grids and is located in the highest combustion temperature (750 ° C) area of the aforementioned pyrotechnic composition if the temperature is below 700 ° C, the rate of reactions (1) and (2) decreases. If the temperature is above 800 ° C, the thermal oscillations of the zeolite lattice become very strong and cause the pores to collapse, so the reaction does not occur. It is preferred, therefore, that the catalytically active substance be in the form of artificial granules of activated aluminum oxide (AI2O3) with the porous structure. These granules are able to withstand the thermal oscillations of the structure up to 1, 100 ° C without destruction. The efficiency of the catalytic reactions can be improved by placing zeolite in a copper or copper alloy crosslinking. During the thermal oscillations of the zeolite structure, the Cu2 + cations can replace the Na + cations of this structure. Under the effect of the gas and aerosol mixture, the modified zeolite has the increased catalytic activity, so that the concentration of the toxic gases in the gas and aerosol mixture decreases. The highly porous activated aluminum oxide can be used as a catalytically active substance with a large specific surface area (300 to 345 m2 / g).

After the catalytic oxidation, the gas phase is admitted to a space that separates the complete oxidation section from the cooling section, in which it is mixed with the solid phase of the combustion products of the pyrotechnic composition. The gas and aerosol mixture, which is clean from the toxic products of incomplete combustion, is cooled to direct contact with the solid refrigerant. The solid refrigerant consists of highly absorbent heat materials such as silica gel, zeoüta and their mixtures, as well as aluminum oxides. These materials have a large specific surface and highly porous structures to adsorb various chemical compounds including water. Thus the volume of the largest pores of type "A" zeolite is Vb - 0.776 nm3. This volume can receive up to 24 molecules of water: The cooling of the gas and aerosol mixture with the aforementioned solid refrigerants occurs through heat exchange. During this process, the heat of the hot mixture is used to heat the solid refrigerant, by desorption of water and to transform the water into steam. The carbon, which is released in the burning of the pyrotechnic composition as a result of the reaction (1), takes part in an endothermic reaction with the water vapor as follows: C + 2H2O? CO2 + 2H2 - 178.15 kJ (3) This also contributes to additional cooling of the gas and aerosol mixture. As a result, the mixture that is admitted to the space that is protected has a lower temperature and is free of sparks and flames. The fire extinguishing effect of the mixture is determined by a combination of the following two factors: - heat transfer from fire flames; - deactivation of the active atoms and radicals of the fire flames on the surface of the highly active solid aerosol particles.

The fire is extinguished in a few seconds, and there is no harmful effect on living organisms and the environment. The comparison of the method described above with the state of the art shows the following distinctive aspects: the process of complete catalytic oxidation of the products of incomplete combustion is carried out: a) before cooling the gas and aerosol mixture; b) over a large specific surface area of substances selected from the group of aluminosilicates, e.g. , zeolites; c) in the area of the maximum temperature (750 ° C) of the combustion temperature profile of the pyrotechnic composition, so that the maximum temperature value remains unchanged until the end of combustion; d) with subsequent mixing in the space between the complete oxidation section and the cooling section; - The use of the above-described pyrotechnic composition which ensures a stable temperature distribution and gas phase composition, containing dicyandiamide as a gas and aerosol former, a polycondensate of formaldehyde with phenol as a fuel binder, and potassium nitrate as an oxidant The gas and aerosol former, the fuel binder, and the oxidant each consist of two fractions, respectively: 40 to 80 μm and 7 to 15 μm in mass ratio d 80:20, 70 to 120 μm and 10 a 25 μm in the mass ratio of 70:30, and 15 to 25 μm and 1 to 7 μm in the mass ratio of 25:75, with the following proportion of components (mass%): Gas and aerosol former 9 a 20 Fuel binder 6 to 14 Oxidizer residue - The use of a solid refrigerant selected from the group of silica gel, aluminosilicate (zeolite). The fire extinguishing method described above can not be used to its full advantage with the use of prior art devices. A prior art apparatus for extinguishing fire (RU 2 072 135) has a cover containing a pyrotechnic composition, a heat insulating layer, a discharge hatch, a lighter, and a cooling section. The cooling section comprises a space filled with granules or cooling tablets, which are placed between the pyrotechnic charge and the discharge port. The refrigerant is selected from carbonates, hydrates, hydroxides, and oxalates, which have a high heat absorbing capacity and high gas release capacity. This prior art apparatus is disadvantageous mainly because it can not ensure the generation of a non-toxic gas and aerosol mixture. This is due to the fact that the cooling section is placed in front of the discharge hatch, and the cooling process itself results in the release of toxic carbon monoxide, which is a it is admitted with the gas and aerosol mixture to the space to be protected without complete oxidation and filtration. Another prior art apparatus described in Russian Patent Application 94 002 970 has a thermocontrolled container that contains a sequence of an aerosol generating charge, a heat absorbing filler, and an oxidant charge that is located in front of the discharge port. . All the aforementioned charges may contain oxidation catalysts selected from the following metals: nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, chromium, aluminum, magnesium, copper, platinum, silver, as well as their oxides and / or peroxides, salts of the metals before mentioned, their alloys and mixtures. The heat-absorbing filler may also contain from 10 to 60% by mass of an oxidant selected from ammonium, potassium, sodium, calcium, barium, and strontium nitrates, ammonium, potassium and sodium perchlorates, or mixtures thereof. The apparatus described above is deficient mainly due to the high toxicity of the gas mixture and fire extinguishing aerosol. This disadvantage is derived from the selection of oxidant. By decomposition, these substances release toxic products in addition to the oxygen that is used for the complete oxidation of CO, NO, NH3, HCN. Thus nitrates release NO and NO2, and perchloraes release HCl, NH3, and Cl2-regardless of the way in which oxidants of this type are used, as a component of the heat-absorbing load or as a separate oxidant charge, The mixture of gas and aerosol discharged from this apparatus contains toxic products.

An apparatus according to the invention eliminates the above disadvantages. The apparatus according to the invention is based on the following technical problems: - decrease the toxicity of the gas mixture and fire extinguishing aerosol due to the high efficiency of the complete oxidation of the combustion products; - simplified construction of the apparatus with greater fire extinguishing efficiency and safety during use. The above technical problems are solved by providing an apparatus for extinguishing fire, comprising a cover with a discharge hatch, a combustion chamber that is heat insulated from the cover and contains a pyrotechnic composition, a section for complete catalytic oxidation, which it comprises a pair of metal grids, with the space between the grids being filled with a catalytically active aluminosilicate (eg, zeolite granules). A cooling section is located on the complete oxidation section. A space between the sections is used to mix the completely oxidized gas phase with the solid phase of the combustion products. The cooling section comprises at least one pair of gratings, with the space between the gratings being filled with granules made of substances selected from aluminosilicate, silica gel or mixtures thereof, with a natural or predetermined moisture content. The number and size of the me of the reticles used in the complete oxidation section and cooling section depends on the desired velocity of discharge flow of the gas and aerosol mixture, and are determined by studying the dynamic gas entrainment of the sections. To control dynamic gas entrainment, granules with a variety of shapes (cylindrical, spherical) with varied grating composition can be used. The distance between the graticules that define the filled space with the granules is very important. Each pair of grids can be assembled with a desired spacing by placing a spacer ring of a predetermined height between them. The fire extinguishing apparatus also has a compensation device in the form of a spring that can be installed in several areas of the cover. This device compensates for the linear redistribution of the temperature profile during the burning of the pyrotechnic composition and guarantees a constant distance between the maximum temperature zone of the temperature profile during burning and the complete catalytic oxidation section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTACHED DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a structure of type A zeolite; Figure 2 is a structure of type X zeolite; Figure 3 is a first embodiment of a fire extinguishing apparatus; Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a second embodiment of a fire extinguishing apparatus; Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 5; Figure 8 is a third embodiment of a fire extinguishing apparatus; Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES OF THE INVENTION An apparatus shown in Figure 3 has a cylindrical cover 1 with an internal diameter of approximately 50 mm, in which a pyrotechnic composition 4 is located pressed at the end of the bottom as shown in Figure 3, with a deflagrator 5 placed in the center of the composition. A spacer ring 11a that is 10 mm high is mounted on the upper end of the composition 4, the outer diameter of the spacer ring corresponding to the internal diameter of the cover 1. A complete oxidation section 6 is installed in the ring 1 1 a separator and has two lattices 8a, 8b of brass axially separated within the cover 1, having a mesh diameter of 2.0 mm, and 10 g of synthetic zeolite 7 of the type A (NaY) with the natural moisture content set between the reticles. The zeolite is in the form of spherical granules (the granule diameter varies from 2.6 to 4.5 mm).

A combustion chamber 3 is formed within the separating ring 1a between the pyrotechnic composition and the cooling section 6.

The cover wall has a heat insulating layer 12 in the area of composition 4, combustion chamber 3, and section 7 [sic]. A compensation device made as a spring 10 of steel is provided in the grid 8b- The spring has a height of 12 mm and surrounds a spacer ring 11 b which is 12 cm high, on which a section 9 of cooling, having a pair of 8c gratings, 8d, of brass made as meshes with mesh size 2.0 x 2.0 mm, which are axially separated inside the cover 1. The space between the networks is filled with 30 g of spherical type A zeolite (NaY) with the natural moisture content. A metal separator ring 1 1 c is placed in the upper lattice 8d of the cooling section 9, and an aluminum foil protective layer 0.2 mm thick is placed in the separator ring which is connected to a hatch 2 of discharge through the sheet that is wound on the end portion of the outer surface of the cylindrical cover. The second embodiment of the apparatus shown in Figures 5 to 7 differs from the first embodiment in that it has two cooling sections 9a, 9b that are separated by the interposition of a separating ring 1 1 d. The complete oxidation section 6 has four transverse flow passages 15 extending along the deck 1 and in which four transverse flow passages 17 extend along the deck 1 adjacent to the section 9a and adjacent to the the passages 15. The spring 10 is provided under the composition 4 in the cover to prevent the composition 4 from adhering to the walls of the heat insulating layer 12. The deflagrator 5 is installed in a central passage of the composition 4. In the third embodiment of the apparatus shown in Figures 8 and 9, there are two cooling sections 9a, 9b, and the spring 10 is positioned between the gratings 8d, 8e that define these sections. There are no passages in sections 6 and 9a, 9b. The periphery 16 of the cover 1 has fins for heat insulation. A heat insulating material, v. g. , such as zeolite particles, fills the space of the fins. The deflagrator 5 is deviated from the central position in the composition. The apparatus shown in Figure 3 functions in the following manner.

In the firebox, the deflagrator 5 of the pyrotechnic composition 4 provided in the combustion chamber 3 is started. The burning pyrotechnic composition 4 releases a hot gas and aerosol mixture consisting of a solid phase of the aerosol particles (K2CO3, KHCO3, NH4HCO3, KNO2, C, etc.) and a gas phase (CO, CO2, NO, NO2, HCN, NH3, CH4, H2O). The resulting mixture of gas and aerosol passes through the meshes of the grid 8a to section 6 for complete catalytic oxidation, where it reacts with the granules 7 of aluminosilicate (zeolite). The particles of the solid phase of the gas and aerosol mixture, which are larger in size than the size of the glaze inside the zeolite pores (Figure 1), do not enter the pores and flow around the surfaces external zeolite through the passages formed between the granules when they are poured there.

The gases that have molecules of a size that does not exceed 0.4 nm (CO, CO2, NH3, NO, NO2) flow through the openings of the zeolite structure towards the pores that are formed around the oxygen atoms, where it occurs its complete catalytic oxidation at approximately 750 ° C. To ensure the stability of the chemical and mass composition of the gas phase, as well as the stability of the temperature conditions, the pyrotechnic composition that is used has the above-described cross-link composition in the predetermined mass ratio. To reduce temperature fluctuations during complete oxidation, which may result from the redistribution of the maximum temperature zone of the temperature profile, the apparatus has the spring 10 of steel which exerts the spring force on the section 6 of complete catalytic oxidation in the ring 1 1 to separator. The height of the ring 1 1 to separator ensures the constant separation between the zone of maximum temperature of the temperature profile and the section 6 of complete catalytic oxidation as the composition burns. As the composition burns, section 6 of complete catalytic oxidation slowly follows the temperature profile that is being redistributed. In this way, the section 6 of complete catalytic oxidation remains within the zone of the maximum temperature until the end of the burning process of the composition. Under the pressure of the combustion products after complete oxidation, the gas phase and the solid phase flow into the space defined between the complete oxidation section 6 and the cooling section 9, where they are mixed. The resulting gas and aerosol mixture is admitted to the cooling section 9. The cooling occurs through the interaction with the granules of a refrigerant 13 constituted by zeolite, silica gel or its mixture, with a natural or predetermined moisture content. The heat of the gas and aerosol mixture is used to heat the granules, to desorb water, to transform water to the vapor state, and to conduct endothermic reactions (3) When the gas and aerosol mixture flows through the cooling section 9, it is filtered as the gases are adsorbed on the surface of the zeolite pores, and the large aerosol particles are dispersed through collisions in the passages that are formed between the granules of the refrigerant 13. The section 9 cooling is fixed on the cover 1 by means of the separating rings 1 1 a, b, c. The gas and aerosol mixture that is oxidized, cooled, and completely filtered runs through the protective film 14 that may be constituted v. g., aluminum sheet in the space that is protected and extinguishes the fire. Using a pyrotechnic composition with a progressive burn configuration (eg, a cylinder with one or several passages of different configuration); two or several cylinders of the same diameter; two or several cylinders of different diameters; "tube-in-tube", etc.) when the gas and aerosol flow per unit of time is very high, the complete oxidation section 6 and the cooling section 9 are provided with additional passages 15 (Figures 6, 7) , which allows the pressure to be reduced, thus ensuring the safe operation of the device. Example: The apparatus of Figure 3 was used for a fire extinguishing test operation. A pyrotechnic composition was used in the amount of 100 g For its preparation, 18.33 g of a 60% mixture of pheno-formaldehyde resin in ethanol were prepared in a blade agitator.

The content of the phenol-formaldehyde resin was 11.0 g. The solution was heated in a water jacket reactor at + 50 ° C and processed on a shaker at 85 RPM for one minute. The time to dissolve in ethanol was one hour. The finished solution contained no lumps of undissolved resin. To the aforementioned amount of solution, they were added 17. 5 g of potassium nitrate with a particle size of 15 to 25 μm, and the mixture was stirred for 5 minutes. Subsequently, 15.2 g of dicyandiamide with a particle size of 40 to 80 μm were added under agitation. After 5 minutes of stirring, 52.5 g of potassium nitrate with a particle size of 1 to 7 μm were added, and the mixture was stirred for 10 minutes after which 3.8 g of dicyandiamide having a particle size of 7 to 15 μm, and the mixture was stirred for 10 minutes.

After the final addition, the mixture was dried on the rotating blades of the agitator. The solution was blown at ambient air temperature with a meter pressure of 1 kg / cm2 for 15 minutes.

The resulting mixture was placed in a granulator that had the dimensioning chambers to prepare granules of the mixture of 3 mm in length, with the following proportion in mass of the components: potassium nitrate 70 ± 0.5% by mass, dicyandiamide 19 ± 0.5 % by mass, phenol-formaldehyde resin 1 1 ± 0.5% by mass. The resulting granules were placed in a tray that was placed in a drying cabinet at + 45 ° C. After drying for 4 hours, the content of the residual liquid components did not exceed 0.8 mass%. The resulting granules were used to prepare a composition by pressing with a specific pressure of 1000 kg / cm2 (100 MPa). The pressing was conducted in a stage with the 0.003 m / s regime, with subsequent residence under pressure for 5 seconds in cylindrical heat insulation made of paper that defined a wall of 1.5 mm thick. As a result, the pyrotechnic composition 4 was obtained as a cylinder of 50 mm diameter without passages, with a depression in the middle in which the standard deflagrator 5 with a mass of 1 g was placed. The apparatus was then assembled as shown in Figure 3. The assembled device was used to extinguish simulated fire by igniting gasoline in a specially prepared space. The volume of the space that is protected was 2.5 m3 per 100 g of the pyrotechnic composition. seconds after initiating the use of the device, it was possible to observe the extinction of the gasoline fire formed by spraying gasoline on a 1 m2 plate. During the test, the following data were recorded: the burn rate of the pyrotechnic composition, the mass part of the solid phase in the aerosol, the mass part of the particles from 1 to 2 μm in the aerosol, the concentration of fire extinguishing, the combustion temperature for the composition, as well as the temperature of the cover, the temperature of the discharge hatch and at a distance of 200 mm from the discharge hatch (the measurements were conducted by the thermoelectric contact method with the help of chromel-alumel thermocouples that have a joint diameter of 100 μm). The analysis of the composition of the toxic products in the gas and aerosol mixture was conducted by sampling through a line provided in the middle section of the test chamber. To determine carbon monoxide and methane, gas samples were taken in a gas measuring tube and then analyzed with the use of the thermal conductivity analyzer in a gas chromatograph. An extended glass chromatographic column had a length of 2.4 m and an internal diameter of 2.5 mm. The flow rate of the carrier gas (helium) was 30 cm3 / min, the column temperature was 32 ° C, the batch was 1 cm3. The chromatograms were recorded by means of TC-1601 Recorder. The results were plotted in percent by volume and were estimated in terms of concentration in milligrams per cubic meter for the following conditions: pressure 760 mm Hg and temperature 293K. The limit of detection was 0.001 in volume, which corresponds to the concentration of 1 1 mg / m3. For the detection of ammonia, nitrogen oxides, and cyanides, the gas phase was stirred by bubbling at a rate of 2 l / min onto a collection bottle with a glass filter for 10 minutes. The ammonia was determined using the colorimetry technique on a reaction product with Nessler reagent. The limit of detection for the amount of sample (2 ml) was 2 μg, which corresponded to the concentration of 0.5 mg / m3. The nitrogen oxides were determined by the colorimetry technique on a reaction product with Griess-llosvay reagent. The limit of detection for the amount of sample (2 ml) was 0.3 μg which corresponds to the concentration of 0.075 mg / m3. The cyanides were determined by means of the colorimetry technique, reacting the emission with iron rodanide. The limit of detection for the amount of sample (5 ml) was 2 μm, which corresponds to the concentration of 0.1 mg / m3. The results of the measurement are given in the table below.

Composition, Combustion Regime and Fire Extinguishing Characteristics for the Invention and Previous Technique: It will be understood that the fire extinction method described above in combination with the structural aspects of the apparatus ensure the preparation of a mixture of gas and aerosol with toxicity reduced, less temperature, and higher fire extinguishing efficiency.

Industrial application The fire extinguishing method described above and the apparatus to carry out the method ensures efficient fire extinguishing in several plants and buildings in which the personnel that works is present, such as: - ventilation system of residential buildings, hotels , Industrial plants; - office spaces and industrial corridors; - warehouse facilities, garages, etc. As the raw materials for the components are widely available and the method and apparatus described above are simple and reliable, they can be widely used in the industry. The advantages of the aforementioned method and the apparatus for implementing the method are as follows: lower temperature and toxicity of the gas mixture and fire extinguishing aerosol which is fed to the space that is protected and absence of flames and sparks, with high extinguishing efficiency of fire.

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS 1. A method for extinguishing fire, comprising the following steps of preparing a mixture of gas and aerosol to be fed into a space that is protected: a) igniting a pyrotechnic composition that ensures a predetermined profile of combustion temperature and a predetermined composition of the gas and aerosol mixture to form combustion products incompletely burned; b) causing the combustion products of the pyrotechnic composition to pass through a bed of a catalytically active substance, which is located in the area of the maximum temperature of the combustion temperature profile, so that the temperatures remain constant during the redistribution of the combustion temperature profile, and incompletely burned combustion products are completely oxidized; c) cooling the oxidized combustion products completely through interaction with materials having high heat absorbing capacity simultaneously with filtering by composition and particle size. The method of claim 1, wherein the pyrotechnic composition that secures a predetermined composition of the aerosol gas mixture and a predetermined temperature profile comprises dicyandiamide as a gas and aerosol former, a polycondensate of formaldehyde with phenol as a binder of fuel, and potassium nitrate as an oxidant, wherein the gas and aerosol former, the fuel binder, and the oxidant each consist of two fractions, respectively, 40 to 80 μm and 7 to 15 μm in mass ratio of 80:20; 70 to 120 μm and 10 to 25 μm in the mass ratio of 70:30; and 15 to 25 μm and 1 to 7 μm in the mass ratio of 25:75, with the following proportions of the components in the composition (mass%): Gas and aerosol former 9 to 20 Fuel binder 6 to 14 Oxidant residue 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the pyrotechnic composition that secures a predetermined composition of the aerosol gas mixture and a predetermined temperature profile comprises dicyandiamide gas-forming and aerosol with particles of 40 to 80 μm and 7 to 15 μm. μm in the mass ratio of 10:90, the oxidant, potassium nitrate with particles of 15 to 25 μm and 1 to 7 μm in the mass ratio of 5:95, and the fuel binder in the form of a polycondensate of formaldehyde with phenol, with the following proportions of the components in the composition (% by mass): Gas and aerosol former 9 to 20 Fuel binder 6 to 14 Oxidizer remaining 4. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, where the material with high capacity Heat absorbent is selected from the group of aluminosilicates (zeolites), silica gel, and highly porous activated aluminum oxides. 5. The method of claims 1 to 4, wherein the complete catalytic oxidation is carried out on the zeolite surface which is placed in a lattice made of copper or another metal containing copper. 6. The method of claims 1 to 4, wherein the complete catalytic oxidation is carried out on the surface of activated aluminum oxide granules having a porous structure, which are placed in a metal lattice. 7. An apparatus for extinguishing fire, having a cover (1) having a discharge hatch (2), a combustion chamber (3) that is accommodated in the cover (1) and heat insulation of the walls of the cover (1), a pyrotechnic composition (4) and a deflagrator (5) that are received in the combustion chamber, a cooling section (9) and a section (6) of complete catalytic oxidation, characterized by the fact: - that the complete catalytic oxidation section includes a pair of separate metal lattices (8a, 8b), between which the catalytically active substance is placed, - that the complete catalytic oxidation section (6) is at a constant distance from the composition pyrotechnic (4) and - that a compensation device (10) is provided, which ensures the maintenance of said constant distance during burning of the combustion composition. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the compensation device (10) is provided between the cooling section (9) and the discharge port (2). 9. The apparatus of claim 6 [sic], wherein the compensation device (10) is provided in the area of the bottom of the cover. 10. The apparatus of claim 6 [sic], wherein the compensation device (10) is provided between the complete oxidation section (6) and the cooling section (9). eleven . The apparatus of claims 7 to 10, wherein the compensation device (10) comprises an elastic spring steel member. SUMMARY A method for extinguishing fire, wherein a mixture of gas and aerosol is fed to a space includes steps of igniting a pyrotechnic composition that ensures a predetermined temperature profile during burning and a predetermined composition of the gas and aerosol mixture that oxidizes completely combustion products of incomplete combustion of the pyrotechnic composition causing them to pass through a bed of catalytically active substances, which is located in the area of the maximum temperature of the combustion temperature profile of the pyrotechnic composition, with the temperature remaining constant through redistribution of said profile; cooling the combustion products and completely oxidizing them by reacting them with substances having high heat absorbing capacity, concurrently with the filtration of the combustion products according to the composition of the gas phase and particle size of the aerosol phase. An apparatus for extinguishing fire, having a cover (1) having a discharge hatch (2), a combustion chamber (3) that is accommodated in the cover (1) and insulated against heat from the walls of the cover ( 1), a pyrotechnic composition (4) and a deflagrator (5) that are received in the combustion chamber, a cooling section (9) and a complete catalytic oxidation section (6) having a pair of gratings (8a, 8b) of metal separated between which a catalytically active substance is placed and which is placed at a fixed distance from the pyrotechnic composition (4). A compensation device (10) is provided to maintain the fixed distance mentioned above during the burning of the pyrotechnic composition (4).