PREVENTING EXPLOSIONS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29998, 6 December 1962, Page 24

PREVENTING EXPLOSIONS

Additives For Jet Fuel

(N2. Prttt Attn.—Copyright) SAN ANTONIO (Texas), December 4. Chemists at the South-west Research Institute (5.R.1.) claim to have found a way to prevent fuel explosions in plane crashes by turning petrol and jet fuel almost instantly into a jelly. The process involved adding two liquid chemicals to the jet fuel, a kerosene-like liquid. The jelly will burn, though not explode, according to United Press International.

Dr. Leon Adams and Dr. Gen Martin, of the 5.R.1.. chemistry department, demonstrated the process for reporters yesterday. S.R.I. is a non-profit research organisation. The process requires additives in amounts of one or two per cent, by weight of the fuel to be jellied.

To use the process, a member of a plane’s crew must suspect the plane is about to crash. He would press a button and release one chemical into the plane's fuel. If a crash were averted, the plane could continue in flight with the one chemical in its fuel. But if a crash became inevitable, a member of the crew would press a second button and release a second chemical into his fuel tanks. The second chemical would cause his fuel to turn into jelly in seconds.