Why can’t water be used to extinguish a hydrogen fire?
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Why can’t water be used to extinguish a hydrogen fire? Principle? Firefighting and rescue measures·
H2 is insoluble in water and lighter than water, so water cannot separate H2 from O2, and therefore it cannot extinguish the fire.
When a hydrogen fire occurs in a hydrogen system due to a leak, do not panic first, as the fact that hydrogen is burning indicates that it is pure. Try to continue supplying hydrogen externally to prevent the burning fire from turning into an explosion. The procedures for handling this situation are as follows: 1. If the hydrogen pressure is low and the fire is small, cover it with a cloth soaked in water; this will both isolate it from air to extinguish the fire and lower the temperature to prevent the fire from reigniting
In my opinion, if hydrogen leaks and catches fire at the flange, it is best not to use fire water to extinguish it； The flange connections are areas exposed to high temperatures; using water directly there can lead to severe leaks due to thermal expansion and contraction, which may trigger fires ；
Different methods of extinguishing a fire are used depending on where the fire originated, right? If the amount of fuel involved is small and there is plenty of water, it should be possible to cool down the situation and put out the fire
Is there really a more effective way?
This post was last edited by ylb913 on 2017-5-25 at 12:34. I recently encountered a situation where hydrogen gas leaked from a flange and caused a fire; the area in question was insulated. Two cans of dry powder were used to try to put out the fire, but it wasn’t extinguished. I suggested using water to cool down the area first, followed by applying more dry powder and then watering it again, but even after using two more cans of dry powder, the fire wasn’t put out. Ultimately, remove the insulation, water it, apply dry powder, water it again to resolve the issue, and then tighten the flange to finish.
The appropriate measures must be taken depending on the specific location where the fire started, in order to control the fire, isolate it from air, cool it down, and ensure the safety of personnel and equipment.
In the event of a hydrogen fire, it must not be tried to extinguish; instead, the source of the leak must be sealed off so that the hydrogen can burn out completely. The explosion range for hydrogen is 4.1–74.1, and if a large amount of hydrogen leaks and mixes with air, a flash explosion can occur, leading to more serious accidents
It is not feasible to tighten flanges under pressure, especially hydrogen flanges; instead, it is necessary to release the pressure, replace the components, and then tighten them to ensure airtightness
At high temperatures, water decomposes into hydrogen and oxygen