Life after halons

Halons are no longer an option for fire suppression, but quite which product to choose as an alternative is a perplexing question.

Fires can be catastrophic to any company, but when you add into the equation highly flammable substances, the dangers only multiply. Water will not suffice in many of such situations, particularly when dealing with valuable assets and humans in an industry that is notoriously time-sensitive.

Throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, there was only one product to consider when it came to fire suppression - Halon. Be it onshore or offshore, Halon was the norm, providing a highly efficient, safe and relatively inexpensive solution to everyone's fire fighting needs.

All was not rosy on the horizon. With the growing environmental lobby and awareness of the hole in the earth's o-zone layer, the Montreal Protocol that entered into force in 1989 struck a fatal blow to Halons and their days have been numbered ever since, with outright eradication in the Middle East planned for 2011.

In response, the fire suppression industry has ever since been tasked with finding a replacement for Halons - one that not only combines efficiency and effectiveness in fire suppression, but also possesses sturdy environmentally friendly credentials and is safe for humans and valuable assets to come into contact with.

A myriad of products have entered the market, but creating such a concoction has proven no mean-feat, particularly with environmental requirements changing frequently. There is no ‘one-fits-all' suppression product, but there is a stellar selection to evaluate and debate rages unabated. O&GME let the experts loose...

Halon replacement

With countries throughout the Middle East being signatories to the Protocol, Halon replacement is an absolute necessity. Until recent years, however, this proved tiresome and low on many companies' priorities.

"There has certainly been some friction in getting companies to stop using Halons and switch to new systems," says Mohammed Shehabi, regional manager for the speciality fluorochemicals, Dupont.

"I would place some blame with the governments in the region - in other parts of the world you have governments actively involved in pushing global initiatives and enforcing Halon replacement, but the push hasn't been as strong here. This is now slowly changing as countries in the region try to become more environmentally friendly."

"Oil and gas companies in the region are steadily becoming more willing to change. The majority of those that I have spoken to recently are in the process of replacing Halons and becoming aware of the different products that they can use instead," adds Shehabi.

"Certainly within the Adnoc group of companies, Halon replacement is gaining pace. I'd say they've removed 75% of all Halons now and they now plan on removing the rest over the coming years," says Craig Nixon, business development manager for Tyco Fire and Security.

"Qatar Petroleum has also done at least 50% of its Halon replacement and there is a huge project going on in Saudi Arabia at the moment."

HFCs

In answer to the Halon replacement dilemma, hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) entered the market in the early 1990s. Not only did they retain many of the original, highly regarded, characteristics of Halons, but they also possessed zero o-zone depletion potential.

At a molecular level, HFCs work by ceasesing the combustion process through heat absorption and chemical interaction.

One of the most widely used on the market is Dupont's FM 200 chemical that floods the confined space and reaches extinguishing levels in ten seconds or less and can stop ordinary combustible, electrical and flammable liquid fires before they cause significant damage.

At the same time, the product leaves no residue and is electrically nonconductive and non-corrosive. This makes it safe for both humans and highly valuable equipment such as computer servers and electrical rooms.

Despite their many redeeming characteristics and their prevalence in the market, like their Halon predecessor, HFCs have encountered problems as environmental glare has shifted focus towards global warming.

Much contention stems from HFCs' high global warming potential and their prolonged atmospheric lifetime. In a bid to stall global warming, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force 2005, and the related European Union (EU) F-Gas regulations have sought to prevent and reduce emissions of fluorinated gases, of which HFCs are a party.

"You'll hear from other sources that the UN is going to phase out HFCs used for fire suppression purposes; this is absolutely not the case. HFCs for firefighting account for less than 0.03% of total global warming, so it makes sense for them to target more severe culprits that actively emit into the atmosphere," says Shehabi.

"We don't have any fear whatsoever of HFCs being fazed-out. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for one fully supports HFCs and recently installed FM-200 in their central computer site," adds Shehabi.

Such a vote of confidence from EPA is doubtless important, but given the US is yet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, its significance is perhaps diminished somewhat.

Significantly, fire system providers such as Tyco who do stock HFCs, are actively discouraging their use. "If someone in the region asks Tyco what we'd advise as a fire suppression product, then we certainly wouldn't recommend using HFCs," declares Nixon.

"You can see HFCs' global warming potential and their atmospheric lifetime and it's horrendous. What you'll hear in terms of an argument for them is that they are not emissive, but they are because we get leaks and we get accidental discharges so they do get released into the atmosphere. They were a good product six to seven years ago when we didn't have any other suitable agents, but now oil and gas companies don't have a reason to use them and they don't fit into the plan of being green and sustainable," adds Nixon.

Interestingly, Dupont does not offer a 20 years warranty against its HFCs being fazed-out, as a number of other companies such as 3M do.

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