The effects of magnesium sulphate addition into foaming agents resulted from palm oil fatty acid saponification in the performance of peat fire suppression

Abstract

The utilization of foaming agents resulted from the saponification of palm oil fatty acids as foam concentrate on peat fire suppression leads to less water use and a shorter time compared to the use of peat water only. The development of foaming agents for a peat fire extinguisher, including the addition of 0.2% magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), was further conducted in order to improve the performance of the liquid foam. This study aims to determine the performance of the developed foaming agent (FAP-MS) applied in peat fire suppression. In order to assess the performance of FAP-MS, two controls namely palm fatty acid-based foaming agent without the addition of magnesium sulfate (FAP) and peat water with no mixture of foaming agents were used. Results showed that the durability of foam produced from the peat water solution mixed with FAP-MS was lower than the foam produced from the peat water solution mixed with FAP. The addition of FAP-MS into peat water solution was found to reduce the use of water by 27% and the addition of FAP reduced it further by 35%. However, compared to peat water with no foaming agent addition, FAP-MS and FAP additions were able to suppression peat fires faster by 79% and 65%, respectively.