Unveiling optimal wetting additives for extinguishing wood fires: Insights from molecular simulation and experimental investigations

To identify effective wetting additives for extinguishing wood fires, this study employed both simulation and experimental approaches to investigate the wetting and adsorption mechanisms of various additives on wood surfaces. Using molecular mechanics, a simulation model was developed to examine the adsorption of celluloseadditive systems in a water environment. This analysis elucidated the wetting mechanism of additives on cellulose surfaces, leading to the formulation of an optimal wetting scheme for wood structures primarily composed of cellulose. Contact angle experiments were conducted to validate the simulation results, confirming the accuracy of the molecular simulation method in selecting wetting additive compounds for aqueous fireextinguishing agents. The findings revealed that monomer additives exhibited optimal volume fractions during water molecule adsorption, with zwitterionic surfactants demonstrating the most effective improvement in cellulose wettability, while cationic surfactants had the least impact. The molecular weight of the adsorbed water in the compound system depended on the type and proportion of additives. A compound scheme featuring a higher proportion of zwitterionic and anionic surfactants displayed notable benefits in enhancing cellulose wettability. Consequently, a design scheme for an aqueous fire extinguishing agent suitable for wood fires was proposed, involving the addition of n(Capstone1157): n(SDBS) in a ratio of 3:2 to enhance the agent's wettability.