The effect of firesorb as a fire retardant on the thermal properties of a heated soil

The DSC technique was used to characterise under laboratory conditions, the effect of a polymer substance, Firesorb, that tries to be used as a flame retardant in forest fires, over two different Galician soils (NW Spain). Samples of these soils with different doses of this retardant were heated in an oven at 230 and 350°C to simulate medium and high intensity fires, respectively. The effect of the retardant was determined as a result of the comparison between the enthalpy of combustion of the organic matter and the ignition temperature of these subsamples and the corresponding unheated and untreated ones. Both parameters, enthalpy of combustion and ignition temperature, were determined directly from the DSC experiments. The results showed that the effect of the retardant remains clear in heating at 230°C and the content of organic matter of the soil was a determining factor in its quantification. However the effect of the retardant in heating at high temperatures is almost null in both soils.