Environment

Eco-friendly gel could help prevent forest fires

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The gel could be preemptively applied to vegetation in areas where forest fires are likely to occur
alancrosthwaite/Depositphotos
The gel could be preemptively applied to vegetation in areas where forest fires are likely to occur
alancrosthwaite/Depositphotos
A bottle of the gel, without the added retardant
Stanford University

When it comes to fighting forest fires, authorities typically just wait for the fires to start, then work on putting them out. A newly-developed gel, however, could allow forestry workers to be more proactive, by keeping fires from occurring in the first place.

Developed by scientists at California's Stanford University, the carrier gel is made entirely out of cellulose-based nontoxic materials "used in food, drug, cosmetic and agricultural products." The idea is that it could be combined with existing fire-retardant chemicals – of the type that are commonly seen being deployed from forest fire-fighting aircraft – then preemptively sprayed or dropped onto areas where fires are likely to occur.

Ordinarily, fire-retardant compounds are quickly washed off of trees and other plants by rain, or are blown off by wind. When mixed with the very clingy gel, however, they're much better able to withstand adverse weather, to the point that a single annual application can reportedly provide protection for the entire peak fire season.

That said, arid weather conditions are also not a problem.

"The gel-like retardants do dry up quickly, but they leave a retardant film on the vegetation that maintains the retardant function," Asst. Prof. Eric Appell tells us. "The retardants that exist currently don’t form nice films on the vegetation, and so they are blown off the vegetation by wind or are easily washed away by dew or small rain events."

A bottle of the gel, without the added retardant
Stanford University

Eventually the gel does flake off, harmlessly biodegrading into the environment. And while the ammonium polyphosphate retardants used in the study are also considered eco-friendly, Appel states that by preventing forest fires instead of putting them out, less of those chemicals would need to be used.

"As with human health, prevention is always cheaper and easier than treatment," he says.

Source: Stanford University

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2 comments
windykites
Let's hope the gel does not block pores on leaves.
Saigvre
The molecules are really small, so even hydrated it's a challenge to say they could block the motile leaf pores. Ammonium (bi-and tri-) phosphate is something that doesn't turn into smouldering bromine flame radicals like so many sofa treatments, too; but it would be nice to have a variety of options. There are 20,000-gal. goop caches to be built in the forest reserves then, what might those look like (and offer better hiker and wildlife sanctuary bennies than light comical fireproofing?)