Firefighters Find Soy-Based Foam Safer For Environment

Firefighters Find Soy-Based Foam Safer For Environment For decades, firefighting foam has been essential for controlling fires, as it’s highly effective, especially in rural America. Because of limited water supplies in remote areas, traditional foam was necessary to extend fire suppression efforts or help create fire breaks. Unfortunately, current foams contain polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called “forever chemicals.” PFAS are chemicals that contaminate the environment, remaining in soil and water virtually forever. They’re linked to several health issues, including cancers, cholesterol changes, lower birth weights, and thyroid problems. These chemicals make excellent firefighting foams because they repel both oil and water, reduce friction, and resist temperature changes. However, due to their harmful effects, governments are banning firefighting foams that contain intentionally added PFAS. “They’ve been commonly used for decades, because, truthfully, they worked awesome,” says Cross Plains Solutions co-partner Dave Garlie. “But we’ve come to understand that they’re a no-no, a total disaster. They’re highly carcinogenic, and we’ve got to get rid of them, but what to get rid of them with?” Garlie, along with Cross Plains Solutions, a small Georgia-based company, invented and developed the trademarked product SoyFoam TF-1122, a uniquely designed firefighting foam made from soybean meal protein. SoyFoam is a “fluorine-free” (no detectable fluorine, less than one part per billion), biobased and biodegradable product, and it’s 100% free of intentionally added PFAS. Earlier in his career, Garlie worked with a team at a large agricultural company to repurpose corn, beans and canola. This effort aimed to redirect these crops into the construction market and reduce dependence on petroleum-based, synthetic and plastic chemicals. In the 1940s, researchers studying protein found ways to increase soybean protein content, and offshoots of that work were used during WWII to create foam fire suppressants. As these innovations proved successful historically, Garlie—a scientist by trade—analyzed and refined them and developed SoyFoam using similar principles. Made from U.S. soy and other agricultural products, SoyFoam is engineered to be safe for both firefighters and the environment. “The tricky part was taking the soybean meal and giving it a pulpable viscosity, plus a reasonable shelf life,” Garlie says. “The beauty is we’re using meal, which is readily available and cheap, so we’re competitive in the market.” The wetting and smothering agent can extinguish Class A and Class B fires. No special handling equipment is required, as it’s designed to work with standard foam concentrate dispensing tools. SoyFoam is relatively new, having been in commercial use for just about a year, but it’s already in use in roughly 150 fire departments across the Midwest. “Firefighters and volunteers like it because they’re using their own products, and they know it won’t make them sick or give them cancer,” Garlie says. “It makes the decision to use foam or not much easier, as they’re not adding harm or a catastrophic event to the fire scene. It’s a feel-good story, and it works great.” Manufactured in Georgia, Cross Plains Solutions aims to add future manufacturing and crushing facilities near soybean farming areas. “One thing we’re very proud of is that we were nominated for the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, and we won. Through our efforts with SoyFoam, we’re doing our part to regain and build community confidence in chemistry through agriculture,” Garlie says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Cross Plains Solutions, 2581 Abutment Rd., Dalton, Ga. 30721 (ph 715-271-4225; dgarlie@crossplainssolutions.com; www.crossplainssolutions.com).

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