Condensed aerosol fire suppression

Condensed aerosol fire suppression is a particle-based method of fire extinction. It is similar to but not identical to dry chemical fire extinction methods, using an innovative pyrogenic, condensed aerosol fire suppressant. It is a highly effective fire suppression method for class A, B, C, E and F (as is the case for most fire-extinguishing agents, it is not applicable to metal fires – class D). Some aerosol-generating compounds (e.g., potassium nitrate-based) produce a corrosive by-product that may damage electronic equipment, although later generations lower the effect.

Condensed aerosol fire suppression systems employ a fire-extinguishing agent consisting of very finely divided solid particles, suspended in an inert gas. Those superfine aerosol particles are pyrotechnically generated via the combustion of an aerosol-forming agent (AFA) which is stable at room temperature and does not need to be stored in a pressurized container.

Benefits include high performance (3 times more effective than banned Halon 1301, with the aerosol leveraging both cooling, dilution and chemical inhibition), general availability (from plant-size systems to compact and lightweight portable tooling), low toxicity, environmentally friendliness (e.g., 0% ozone depleting potential), non-pressurized systems, and overall cost-effectiveness.