Even with E10 fuel, the 10% portion which is Ethanol, has the ability to mix with water. Since our finished foam product contains mostly water, we will see a quicker breakdown of the foam. The DOT Guidebook allows use of Class B AFFF (Including our Class A/B) for gasoline and up to E10 blends.
Ethanol blends higher than 10% WILL REQUIRE an Alcohol Resistant foam product.
A fuel blend such as E85 will quickly breakdown regular Class B foam Blankets since 85% of the product is an alcohol.
"Whether blended with gasoline or not, ethanol is highly flammable. Ethanol burns different from gasoline. On the bright side, it is an almost smokeless fire. Unlike alcohol, it has a red visible flame. On the not so bright side, pure ethanol has a flash point of only 55 degrees F. Add 15 percent water and the flashpoint rises to 68 degrees F. Diluted down to a 24 percent solution, ethanol has a flash point of 97 degrees F, so it is still flammable.
At 10 percent, ethanol is still combustible. That means that if you had a spill involving a 100,000 gallon tanker you could dilute it with as much as 900,000 gallons of water and still have a fire hazard. Good luck finding that kind of water. Other than a small spill on the highway, diluting ethanol is out. Picking up that small spill with absorbent materials designed for hydrocarbon is likely to be difficult too. The ethanol may be left behind as if it were water."
