What is FlameBlock Lithium Black?
FlameBlock Lithium Black (FLB) is a uniquely formulated fire extinguishing agent that was specifically developed to extingiush lithium-ion battery fires.
How does FLB work?
FLB is manufactured from specific minerals and salt elements formulated for its unique properties to each deal with the complex chemical reactions in a lithium battery fire.
To effectively manage a Lithium Battery Fire aspects to reactively safeguard the chain of events and pro-actively prevent further flare-ups need to be managed.
FLB actively
- Extinguishes the fire
- Bring the temperature of the battery down to at least 80°C
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Smother the area to prevent re-ignition of chemicals after the event.
- Neutralize the chemical reaction in the battery
- Interfere with the oxygen radicals released by the Lithium
- Discharge the battery through chemical reaction to prevent re-ignition at a later stage.
Fire-triangle
The well-known fire triangle is present in all fires. What makes Lithium Battery fires unique, is its its inherent ability to supply all elements to fuel the fire from within even when sealed off completely from atmospheric oxygen.
Therefore, an intervention to block one or more of the fire sources needs to be present. FLB does this by a built-in cooling effect and a powerful anti-oxidant to prevent oxidative degeneration. In addition, the physical coating left on the burning battery smothers the fire and seals off atmospheric oxygen.
Thermal Runnaway
Decompoition of separator membranes start during the initial fire in the battery. The deterioration in the separator membranes will continue until it is molten at which point the catastrophic failure begins until final thermal runaway occurs.
FLB has been formulated according to practical requirements to quickly bring a lithium battery fire under control and to keep it from re-igniting. Consideration was given to the battery chemistry and the response to these chemicals when exposed to high temperatures and events leading up to breach of battery integrity that my cause thermal runaway to occur.
Do I need to service a FLB Extinguisher?
Yes. An annual service is required which can be carried out by any accredited SANS 1475 service provider.