BULLETIN #1014
Fluorine Free Foam —
Not All Concentrates Are Equal
Solberg, a leading global manufacturer of firefighting foam concentrates is proud to announce and be
the first foam manufacturer to achieve Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) Standard 162 Listing for REHEALING™ (RF) foam. RE‑HEALING foam concentrates are formulated using a new high performance
synthetic foam technology that is completely free of all fluorinated compounds, be it fluorosurfactant,
fluoropolymers, or any other organohalogens.
This statement is fully substantiated by independent laboratory analysis, including achievement of the
challenging Harmonized Offshore Chemical Notification Format (HOCNF) analysis of Solberg fluorine-free
concentrates for use in the North Sea. HOCNF testing involved detailed chemical analysis of SOLBERG
RE-HEALING finished product, in addition to every raw material used in the production of RE-HEALING
foam, to prove that RE-HEALING concentrates contain no fluorine, chlorine, or other organohalogens.
And so it was with great interest when an alleged competing fluorine-free product stated to be “the first
and only fluorine free, UL listed foam…” in an advertisement (shown below) at the recent 2013 Fire
Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
FLUORINE FREE FOAM – NOT ALL CONCENTRATES ARE EQUAL | 2
In our review of the ECOGUARD® product data sheet, this product is described as an “advanced
formulation produces similar firefighting performance as AFFF and Fluoroprotein products while
containing no organofluorine components.” These published claims of organofluorine free foam, and
the first and only fluorine free foam were worthy of further investigation.
The development of ECOGUARD foam concentrate was presented in a technical/industry paper titled
“AFFF Fire Performance Without Fluorosurfactant? Yes…With High Molecular Weight FluoroPolymers”,
at the Reebok Joint IFE/JOIFF Conference on December 20, 2004, at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton,
Greater Manchester UK. The paper was presented by Dr. Kirtland P. Clark, at the time the Vice President
R&D for Chemguard, Inc.
This paper presented the fire performance of ECOGUARD foam concentrate, along with details on how
the product was formulated. On slide 6 of this presentation, the presenter states “What is Chemguard
FluoroSurfactant Free Foam (FSFF)? It has an effective amount of at least one high molecular weight
polymer with perfluorinated side chains optimized to stabilize bubbles to Class B fuels.” (Underlining
added by Solberg).
FLUORINE FREE FOAM – NOT ALL CONCENTRATES ARE EQUAL | 3
The use of a high molecular weight polymer with “perfluorinated side chains” is NOT a fluorine free
foam concentrate. Perfluorinated materials are, by definition and their description, fluorine
containing materials.
On Slide 19 of the same presentation, the presenter states “Combining 3% F3 and FSFF Technologies
Provides AFFF Type Fire Performance Without Fluorosurfactants and Polysaccharides. Strong
performance with less than 0.20% fluorine as Chemguard FP-5102 (High Molecular Weight
FluoroPolymer) and 4-6% Chemguard HS-100. Not sensitive to solvent as is the 3% F3 product, yet does
not contain fluorosurfactants or polysaccharides.”
FLUORINE FREE FOAM – NOT ALL CONCENTRATES ARE EQUAL | 4
In this statement, the presenter is stating that the product is free of fluorosurfactant, but NOT free of
fluoropolymer. To the contrary, the presenter is stating the fluorine content of this finished product.
Lastly, on Slide 26, the presenter states “FluoroSurfactant Free Foam (FSFF) Requires High Molecular
Weight Polymer (HMWFP).” The presenter is clearly stating that in his view, the product requires high
molecular weight fluoropolymer to perform in fire situations.
FLUORINE FREE FOAM – NOT ALL CONCENTRATES ARE EQUAL | 5
In the presentation, the formulation chemist responsible for the development of this supposed fluorine
free foam concentrate (ECOGUARD) identifies how this product was developed; by substituting
“fluorosurfactant” with high molecular weight “fluoropolymers”.
Call it what you may, the use of fluoropolymers in a foam concentrate does not qualify as “fluorine
free”. This Reebok presentation regarding the formulation work of the ECOGUARD foam concentrate
does not describe a product identified in marketing literature as “the first and only fluorine free, UL
listed foam….” or an “advanced formulation (that) produces similar firefighting performance as AFFF and
Fluoroprotein products while containing no organofluorine components.”
The Solberg Company’s line of RE-HEALING foam concentrates contain no fluorine of any kind, or any
organohalogens, whether described as fluorosurfactant, high molecular weight fluoropolymer, or any
other description used to describe fluorine chemistry. The Solberg Company also has the third party
documentation, from the German Institute of Hygiene to verify our statements that RE-HEALING foam is
completely free of fluorine or other organohalogens as both a finished product, and on each and
ingredient used in our product.
Our recommendation to perspective users of fluorine-free firefighting foam concentrates is to conduct
proper due diligence and beware of marketing claims regarding other fluorine free foam products.
TECHNICAL BULLETIN TB-1014 I June, 2013
COPYRIGHT ©2013
®
SOLBERG , IS TRADEMARKS OF THE SOLBERG COMPANY
OR ITS AFFILIATES. ECOGUARD IS A REGISTERED MARK OF
CHEMGUARD INCORPORATED