Extinguishing with glass – Extover® special extinguishing agent for lithium battery fires and metal fires

Where to use Extover®

Lithium cells dominate the market for rechargeable batteries. They offer high power density and drive mobile phones, laptops, pedelecs, e-bikes and, increasingly, cars. However, there are some risks associated with overcharging, deep discharging or damaging the batteries. When lithium batteries catch fire, conventional extinguishing with water is almost impossible without any violent reactions. Extover® has been designed to extinguish these hard to control lithium battery fires. The material is also excellently suited in preventive fire protection for the safe storage and transport of lithium batteries. This affects battery manufacturers, dealers, transportation companies and disposal companies.

The metalworking industry is also struggling with fires that are difficult to control. In particular aluminium and magnesium are in high demand as lightweight materials. The dust and chips of these materials can catch fire during machining and burn at high temperatures. Extover® offers a safe way to extinguish these metal fires quickly and in a controlled manner, without causing damage from extinguishing water or corrosion from salts.

Use as extinguishing agent

Extover® is applied directly to the fire as extinguishing agent so that the fire source is completely covered. A covering height of 10-30 cm above the source of fire, depending on the fire object to be extinguished, is already sufficient. Covering the fire is as simple as effective: the granulate can be manually applied with suitable tools (bucket, shovel, etc.). Due to its low weight, even large quantities are easy to handle. The Extover® granulate surrounds the fire source and suffocates the fire within a very short time. At particularly high temperatures, Extover® melts like glass and spreads over the fire source. The granulate absorbs a lot of heat in the form of melting energy and thus cooling the fire. When cooling down, an airtight seal is formed, which finally extinguishes the fire and effectively prevents it from reflaming. After the extinguishing process Extover® can be easily picked up or vacuumed up. Extover® was tested by the Technical Institute MPA Dresden on lithium battery fires as well as sodium and magnesium fires. All investigated fire objects were successfully extinguished.

Use as preventive fire protection for lithium batteries

Lithium batteries are basically classified as hazardous goods. In general, they are considered to be safe, but under certain circumstances they can also catch fire without external influence. Incorrect handling and electrical stress (overcharge, deep discharge, fast charge) can be potential causes for a battery fire. As well as mechanical stress, thermal stress and external or internal short circuits which can be responsible for the ignition (thermal runaway) of lithium batteries.

Therefore, special boxes from various manufacturers are offered for the collection, storage and transport of lithium batteries, which limit the possible combustion to the inside of the container. These containers are filled with Extover® in bulk or in cushions. The granulate meets the requirements of packing instruction P909 (ADR) for a non-combustible, non-conductive fire protection filling and may be used accordingly for these special containers. Extover® significantly improves the fire resistance of such containers.

Extover® preserves natural resources

The thermally expanded glass beads Extover® are made of 100% recycled glass. It is therefore purely mineral and preserves natural resources. In addition to the extinguishing effect, Extover® absorbs electrolyte and other liquids excellently. In the same way, smoke and gases accumulate on the surface and can be disposed in a bonded form. The reusability of non-contaminated Extover® keeps the application costs and environmental impact low.