Environment

3F's credo is the development of high-performance and environmentally friendly products.

This is why 3F aims to offer its customers ecological solutions that are ahead of other manufacturers and ahead of the evolution of regulations.

Chemistry

3F is on the road to fluorine-free products with its class A additives and class B multi-purpose foams. 3F innovates and launches its SMART FOAM -SF range of solvent-free foams as a preview on the market.

High Pressure

3F high pressure systems are designed to divide the extinguishing water consumption by 40 compared to low pressure systems.

Dosing

More precise, more efficient, faster, our electronic and hydraulic feeders will allow you to switch off faster – a gain of 30 to 50% compared to a conventional intervention – which will reduce water and foam consumption accordingly. Faster extinguishing means less polluting fumes and less wasted and polluted water.

Fluorine

We hear and read a lot of information on “fluorine”, each more contradictory than the other. Some say that there is no danger, 3F thinks that it is a global ecological problem that must be addressed without delay!

There are two forms of fluorine:

Mineral fluorine, as an ion dissolved in water or present in rock,
Products containing organic fluorine, an atom fixed on a carbon atom, quickly invaded our daily life and were successfully used in countless applications: anti-stain, non-stick, anti-grease, anti-humidity, anti-fire: paper bags of fast food chips, anti-stain carpeting, waterproofing products, anti-adhesive pans, AFFF emulsifiers…

Fire-fighting foams

In the case of foams, we are interested in organic fluorine; we then speak of perfluorinated compounds – PFCs. An AFFF foam contains PFCs, which will be transformed later into PFOS, PFOA or PFHxA, products that are incriminated as persistent in the environment!

Regulations

Prohibition and disposal measures have been taken in many countries to ban PFOS and PFOA in the last five years. To date, other, newer fluorinated products are not yet banned! The story is not at an end…

In Europe, the Groundwater Directive prohibits any discharge of halogenated organic products into the groundwater; in plain language, this means that these products can be used, but must be recovered and incinerated.

We are all concerned?

Yes !!! It should be added that these products cannot be treated in a waste water treatment plant. We find them partly in the water leaving the plant, and for the rest in the sludge used as fertilizer. One way or another, they are therefore spread, and we find them in the end on our plate!

Future

Some products that have recently appeared on the market are presented as “fluorine-free”. This has sometimes proved to be untrue as they contain either fluorinated products in small quantities or fluoropolymer substitutes. Fortunately, our second generation foams FREEGEN and FREEGEN SF-LV, offer a real solution, with 0% fluorine and 100% efficiency.

Health Risks

Solvents are absorbed into the body by inhalation and dermal absorption. They are then metabolized, and their effects are found in high doses in the liver, kidneys and central nervous system. Many glycols are incriminated for their use in consumer products. In water-based paints, they are gradually released into the air we breathe and can have long-term consequences. They are also listed as VOCs – Volatile Organic Compounds – and are subject to restrictions in industry.

Risks to the environment

Solvents have a high organic load. As a result, their high COD – Chemical Oxygen Demand – overloads wastewater treatment plants until saturation. Moreover, in the event of discharge into a river or lake, they contribute to the phenomenon of asphyxiation by causing over consumption of oxygen. As an example, a standard 6% AFFF has a COD of 400g/l. For our solvent-free AFFF 6% FREESOLV 6, the COD is divided by 4, i.e. a COD of 98 g/l!

The fate of solvents

Foams are generally released into the environment after their use, either as a direct release – in forest fires, in cities – or on industrial fires after release -or not- in waste water treatment plants.

Foams are made up of a mixture of chemicals that give the foam its fire-extinguishing properties. These include surfactants, perfluorinated additives, oxygenated solvents, and a cocktail of additives to stabilize the product.

Surfactants are indispensable, however, they foam strongly after discharge and disturb the operation of treatment plants. Very visible in case of direct discharge into a watercourse, they degrade more or less quickly depending on the nature of the selected agent.

Our Commitment

3F offers REAL efficient and environmentally friendly solutions.

Chemistry

3F has embarked on the path of fluorine-free products with its class A additives and class B multi-purpose emulsifiers. 3F presents its range of solvent-free foams for the first time on the market.

This is our range SMART FOAM – SF : Solvent free :

FREEFOR SF : Class A additive
HYFEX SF : High Expansion
FREEGEN SF-LV: F3-AR for fires of liquids
T-FOAM SF: training foam.

Environmentally friendly solutions

3F, ahead of the regulations, offers to its customers ecological foam far ahead from the other manufacturers.

3F chooses to use totally biodegradable surfactants, selecting products of natural origin, on unbranched chain and without aromatic nucleus.

High Pressure

High pressure systems are designed to provide extinguishing capacity with a reduced amount of water. Indeed, the reduction in droplet size increases the surface area in contact with the fuel and therefore reduces the temperature of the firebox accordingly. In concrete terms, this means that the FAS High Pressure technology makes it possible to extinguish a fire with 40 times less water, thus 40 times less polluted effluent.

This technology therefore has a double advantage for the environment:

A rapid extinguishing speed that minimizes the emission of polluting fumes,
A reduction in the amount of water needed and thus in the amount of polluting effluents discharged.

For a classic urban fire, it is common to send one truck, or even 2, which will work for an hour and consume a lot of diesel.

With the FAS, a small 4×4 vehicle will quickly reach its objective and extinguish the fire in less than 5 minutes. The use of a class A additive will eliminate the risk of recovery and therefore the need to leave a surveillance truck.

In the end, diesel consumption is divided by 10! Remember that the diesel consumed releases CO2, a greenhouse gas!

Electronic and mechanical dosing systems

The CTD and FIREMIKS dosing units represent a significant step forward in environmental protection. Why?

Fast operation with precise dosing avoids the tedious pressure and flow adjustments of conventional systems. By being immediately operational, firefighters attack the fire faster and are therefore more efficient. This translates into lower water consumption and less wasted foaming agent. More precise, more efficient, faster, the dosing system will extinguish 30% to 50% faster than a conventional intervention, so water and foam consumption will be reduced accordingly. Faster extinction means less polluting fumes and less wasted and polluted water.

Our dosing systems have a unique function: it allows staff to be trained in its use without consuming foam. In fact, its program includes a simulation function that makes it possible to work in the same way as with a foam, but… with water. So much product that will not be wasted and spilled in nature!