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Fire-fighting eco-gel

05.10.2019

Forest fires are an important part of many ecosystems. But the centuries during which people struggle with them, coupled with hot weather, lead to more and more severe fires, which cannot be extinguished for months. There are two solutions here: either let forests burn on a small scale but regularly to prevent further larger events, or develop a way to protect plants from fire.

The second option seems to be the best, since not only forest animals suffer from fires, but also people living in villages and cities. Forest burning also reduces the amount of oxygen sent into the atmosphere and increases the levels of carbon dioxide, which contributes to warming. To fight active fires, emergency services use extinguishing agents such as water-absorbing gels and superabsorbent polymers, such as those found in diapers.

Today, ammonium phosphate and its derivatives are most actively used in such gels. However, compositions based on it lose their effectiveness as soon as the water they have captured evaporates. This often happens in less than an hour under normal wildfire conditions.

To improve the efficiency of firefighting and prolong the evaporation time of water from the gels, a team of scientists from Stanford University created a gel-like substance based on cellulose. It remains on the surface for a long time after application, even in the presence of rain and wind.

The material created by scientists was tested on grass and shrubs of the species Adenostoma fasciculatum. It was found that the gel continues to protect the vegetation from the action of fire even after one and a half centimeters of rainfall, while the substances used today are washed off the leaves almost completely. The developed gel contains only non-toxic substances that are not dangerous for plants, animals or humans.

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Classical light emitting elements are arranged in such a way that the light emitting layer is enclosed between two electrodes that supply power. For light sources in the form of filaments and fabrics made from such filaments, such a structure is not the best fit. Scientists from the Republic of Korea were able to get around this limitation and created a luminous textile with electrodes inside the luminescent layer.

It would be tempting to produce garments, advertising posters and other items made from materials like fabrics using woven light structures. The traditional representation of light-emitting elements clearly does not contribute to this.

A group of scientists from the Korean Institute of Science and Technology Daegu Gyeongbuk (DGIST) set themselves the task of developing a flexible luminescent device in which the electromagnetic field that excites the glow would not propagate perpendicular to the electrodes, but along the plane in which they are located. Also, this design made it possible to hide the power supply electrodes inside the luminescent layer and not block the surface of the light-emitting device.

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Prototypes of luminous fibers and fabrics made from them showed high luminescence efficiency and sufficient mechanical strength. But when this technology can be sent to commercial production is not specified.

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