A multiscale and interdisciplinary approach to PREvent and FIght wildfires with low environmental impact BIObased and biodegradable solutiand fight wildfires with biobased and biodegradable solutions. – PREFIBIO

The increasing number of wildfires requires accelerating research in novel eco-friendly solutions to prevent and improve extinguishing efficiently fires, integrating the environmental and societal impact of the formulations developed. This is the main aim of the PREFIBIO project, that gathers experts from chemistry, fire, environmental and sociology sciences and a leading French company in firefighting solutions (BIOEX). Two types of chemical solutions are usually used for wildfires, namely long-term and short-term retardants. While both types can be applied directly to suppress fire, long-term retardants can also be applied ahead of the fire front as firebreaks, since they maintain their efficacy even after drying. However, only few long-term retardants exist on the market, mainly based on polyphosphates, that show a long-term impact on the environment. Scientific literature is also very scarce on the development of such retardants.PREFIBIO partners aim at innovating in this market by developing novel efficient long-term retardants based on renewable resources and with low environmental impact. On the other hand, effectiveness of short-term retardants, i.e. gels and foams including class A foam concentrates, is dependent on the water they contain: once all water has evaporated, they are no longer effective. Many foam concentrates exist on the market, some still containing fluorocarbon surfactants. BIOEX was the first company to obtain a “green label” for a partially biodegradable fluorine free class-A foam. PREFIBIO project intends to formulate, based on commercially available biosurfactants and biopolymers, fully bio-based and biodegradable short-term retardants, not harmful for the ecosystem, and even promoting further germination to restore the environment after a fire. This project aims at demonstrating to the society and industry that eco-efficient elaboration of flame retardant and flame extinguishing solutions can be possible and improved by using bio-based renewable resources.