IJET 2026 Vol.18(2): 25-30
DOI: 10.7763/IJET.2026.V18.1338
Experimental Study on the Protection of Cooking Oil Fires Using Dust Additives in Water Mist
Guillaume Hervé Poh'sié1,2, Paul Etouke Owoundi3, Fabien Kenmogne4,*, Robertine Kang5, Guillaume Lambou Ymeli5, Gerard Nfor Junior Bawe5, and Réné Tchinda6
1.Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Technology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
2.Department of Civil Engineering, Higher Institute of Advanced Technologies (ISTA-IUG), Douala, Cameroon
3.Department of Electrical Engineering, Advanced Teachers Training College of the Technical Education, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
4.Department of Civil Engineering, Advanced Teachers Training College of the Technical Education, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
5.Research Unit of Mechanics and Modeling of Physical Systems (UR-2MSP), Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Cameroon
6.Laboratory of Industrial Systems and Environmental Engineering (LISIE), University Institute of Technology (IUT-FV), Bandjoun, University of Dschang, Cameroon
Email: guillaume.herve@ubuea.cm (G.H.P.); etouke_paul@yahoo.fr (P.E.O.); kenfabien@yahoo.fr (F.K.);
robertinek91@gmail.com (R.K.); ymeliguillaume@gmail.com (G.L.Y.); nforbawe@yahoo.com (G.N.J.B.);
iutfv-bandjoun@univ-dschang.org (R.T.)
*Corresponding author
Manuscript received February 6, 2026; accepted March 18, 2026; published April 28, 2026
Abstract—Cooking oil fires represent one of the most hazardous types of fires occurring in domestic and commercial kitchens because of their high ignition temperature, rapid flame development, intense heat release, and strong tendency to re-ignite after suppression. Conventional extinguishing agents such as foam, carbon dioxide, and dry powders can suppress the flame but often fail to sufficiently cool the hot oil below its auto-ignition temperature. Water mist technology has emerged as an efficient and environmentally friendly fire protection method due to its strong cooling capacity, low water consumption, and ability to attenuate thermal radiation. However, the performance of water mist systems can be further enhanced through the use of suitable additives. The objective of this study is to investigate experimentally the effectiveness of a water mist system with dust additives for protecting cooking oil fires. A series of experiments were carried out using palm oil as the fuel in a steel container under open-air conditions. A high-pressure water mist system equipped with a nozzle and a pressure booster was used to generate a mist curtain. Flame temperature and thermal radiation were measured using an infrared radiometer in order to evaluate the cooling performance and radiation attenuation of the system. The results show that the addition of dust particles significantly improves the fire protection performance of the water mist system. The maximum heat flux decreased from about 126.52 W/m² without protection to
47.47 W/m² with pure water mist and to about 22.08 W/m² with dusty water mist. Similarly, flame temperature was considerably reduced when the mist curtain was activated. These findings demonstrate that dust additives enhance the cooling and radiation shielding effects of water mist systems and provide a promising and cost-effective solution for protecting against cooking oil fires in kitchen environments.
Keywords—water mist, dust additive, cooking oil fires, fire protection efficiency
Cite: Guillaume Hervé Poh'sié, Paul Etouke Owoundi, Fabien Kenmogne, Robertine Kang, Guillaume Lambou Ymeli, Gerard Nfor Junior Bawe, and Réné Tchinda, "Experimental Study on the Protection of Cooking Oil Fires Using Dust Additives in Water Mist," International Journal of Engineering and Technology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 25-30, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (
CC BY 4.0).
