Study on Preparation and Properties of the Thermosensitive Gel with Efficient Flame Retardance for Mining

Temperature-sensitive hydrogel is suitable for the prevention and control of large-scale mine fires because of its strong fluidity at low temperatures and phase change gelation at high temperatures. Temperature-sensitive hydrogel mainly relies on physical effects such as isolation of oxygen, moisture evaporation and heat absorption to prevent and extinguish fire, and its chemical resistance at high temperature is poor. In order to enhance the high-temperature chemical inhibitor effect, it is often necessary to add a polymer chemical inhibitor to the gel, which is poor in safety and environmental protection. In this paper, a new temperature-sensitive hydrogel containing nontoxic and harmless inorganic flame retardant components was prepared. Experimental results indicate that the gel exhibits good fluidity at low temperatures. However, when the gel temperature exceeds 55 °C, it undergoes a phase transition and gradually loses its fluidity, which is beneficial for suppressing coal fires in high-temperature areas. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments demonstrate that the optimal extinguishing effect is achieved when the ratio of gel group to flame-retardant group is 1:2. The construction of a fire suppression experimental platform confirms the excellent flame-retardant performance of the gel. The aforementioned experimental results indicate that while ensuring the low-temperature fluidity of gel, it improves the high-temperature fire prevention and extinguishing effect.