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Novec 1230

Novec 1230 (3M™ Novec™ 1230) fluid is an environmentally friendly Halon replacement for use as a gaseous fire suppression agent. Novec 1230 is manufactured by 3M. It is generally used in situations where water from a fire sprinkler would damage expensive equipment or where water-based fire protection is impractical, such as museums, banks, clean rooms and hospitals . 3M™ Novec™ 1230 fluid does not deplete ozone (ODP 0) and has an atmospheric lifetime of 5 days and a GWP of 1.

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Novec 1230 fluid is a high molecular weight material, compared with the first generation halocarbon clean agents. The product has a heat of vaporization of 88.1 kJ/kga and low vapor pressure. Although it is a liquid at room temperature it gasifies immediately after being discharged in a total flooding system.

The product is ideal for use in total flooding applications, localized flooding systems, directional spray type applications and may be used in portable extinguishers for specialized applications. But in addition to the conventional methods of super-pressurization using nitrogen, Novec 1230 fluid also lends itself for use in pump applications because it is a liquid.

Novec 1230 fluid is based on a proprietary chemistry from 3M called C6-fluoroketone; it is also known as dodecafluoro 2-methylpentane-3-one; its ASHRAE nomenclature is FK 5-1-12 — the way it is designated in NFPA 2001 and ISO 14520 clean agent standards.

Chemically, it is a fluorinated ketone with the systematic name 1,1,1,2,2,4,5,5,5-nonafluoro-4-(trifluoromethyl)-3-pentanone and the structural formula CF₃CF₂C(=O)CF(CF₃)₂, a fully fluorinated analog of ethyl isopropyl ketone.

Systems manufactured by SEVO Systems, Inc. that use Novec 1230 fluid are known as SEVO 1230™. Systems manufactured by Tyco Safety Products that use Novec 1230 fluid are known as Sapphire™.

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