Health & Safety
Paul Boughton talks to 3M’s Bart Goeman about a next generation fire protection fluid.
Paul Boughton habla de 3M Bart Goeman sobre un fluido de protección contra incendios de última generación.
Paul Boughton spricht mit 3M Bart Goeman zu einer nächsten Generation Brandschutzflüssigkeit.
Cutting the use of hydrofluorocarbons
I
n March 2014, the European Parliament voted to support a European Commission proposal for a multifaceted strategy aimed at minimising the climate impact of HFCs. Te strategy includes cutting the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) 79% below average 2009-2012 CO2
levels by 2030. Under the regulations, HFC producers/importers will be allocated a production/import quota for HFCs. Because the quota will be in CO2
equivalent and HFCs sold into fire suppression have some of the highest global warming potentials (GWPs) relative to other sectors, this framework does not favour HFCs sold into fire suppression. Tus they are likely to be more severely impacted than HFCs sold into other sectors. HFC-227ea, HFC-125 and HFC- 236fa are targeted in the overall scope of the regulation.
Emissions and production HFC-23 will be prohibited from being placed on the market after January 1, 2016. Terefore, practical implications of the new ruling affect not just emission levels, but also the production and importation of HFCs. A primary tenet of the F-gas
Fig 1. The fire suppression market already has cost-effective, proven substitutes available that help reduce greenhouse gas emission by >99%. These include fire suppression systems that use 3M Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid.
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Regulation is that every pound of an HFC produced or imported for use in the EU will ultimately be emitted; so, in order to reduce future emissions, the regulation needs to reduce the use of HFCs. Future reductions in the emissions of HFCs will predominantly be achieved by ramping down use of these potent greenhouse gases between 2015 and 2030 with a phase-down in production and import. 3M Novec 1230 Fire Protection
Fluid is a next-generation HFC and halon replacement, designed to balance concerns for safety, performance and the environment. It has zero ozonedepletion
equivalent
potential, an atmospheric lifetime of just five days and a global warming potential of less than one. It is non-conductive, non-corrosive and quickly becomes a gas when discharged from a properly designed system. It is ideal for protecting sensitive components and other critical assets. Novec 1230 fluid leaves no residue and does not Bart Goeman has been Business
Development Manager for 3M Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid for the EMEA region since 2003. Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid is designed to balance concerns for human safety, performance and the environment. 3M warrants, for a period of 20 years after original installation and subject to noted requirements, that 3M Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid, installed in an approved fire suppression system, will not be restricted for use in fire protection.
International Oil & Gas Engineer: What is the main impact of the EU Regulation on the fire suppression market?
Bart Goeman: While the legislation covers all use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – which are found in a wide variety of applications, such as refrigeration and air conditioning – it does have direct implications on the use of HFCs in fire suppression systems, since these have some of the highest global warming potentials (GPWs) when compared to other HFC uses. GWPs are a calculation of how
powerful a greenhouse gas is over a specific time scale, when compared to carbon dioxide (CO2
). Te global
warming potential (GWP) of HFC- 227ea – which is commonly used in fire suppression systems – is 3350. Tis means it is 3350 times more potent than CO2
in
its climate impact. HFCs used in fire suppression have a higher GWP than those HFCs used in
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