Flame retardant property of nanopowder aerosols toward methane

The flame retardant property of aerosols formed from 18 different nanopowders has been studied. The diameter of nanocrystalline powders was determined by XRD and TEM. The concentration of combustible gas was determined by gas chromatography. It was found that ZrO₂ nanocrystalline powdered aerosol can effectively retard the burning of CH₄. The flame retardation caused by ZrO₂ toward the combustion reaction of methane is through an inhibitory mechanism, which was further confirmed by contrasting it with Halon extinguishing agent and flame retardant property of ZrO₂-aerosol toward CH₃CH₂CH₃ or CO. The type of nanopowder aerosols as anti-explosion and fireproof agents was researched preliminarily in theory, too. The current ZrO₂-aerosol study will find extensive applications in the field of fire-extinguishing and anti-explosion agents used in case of combustible gas.