Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

A study has been made of the adsorption of wetting agents on solids in relation to the use of these agents in firefighting. Wetting agents are adsorbed to an extent that differs widely for different solids and agents. The adsorption depends in a complex way on the concentration of agent in solution, and in a way that may differ somewhat for different agents; adsorption appears to be partly specific. The adsorption isotherms have been used to calculate the relative loss of agent in solutions of different agents penetrating a porous solid. With supplementary data on wetting power, this calculation might be used to select the most economical agent for a given application. But the selection of a wetting agent in this way would be a lengthy procedure that would be justified only if no other method were available.