S. C. Sahoo & B. N. Mohanty of Indian Plywood Industries Research &Training Institute (IPIRTI)
In the wood based panel industry a fire in a press spreads extremely quickly. A small flame can, in just a couple of seconds, develop into a large - scale press fire with devastating consequences / losses. Spark Detection & Extinguishing Systems offer safety for your plywood production. While, drying of veneer, processing of solid wood core layers and the pressing of these combustible materials into plywood panels hold various risks of fire. The byproduct of these processes, combustible dust, is especially explosive.
The manufacturing process in wood-processing plants is characterized by complex processing areas in which machines are deployed i.e. for grinding and separating, drying, gluing and pressing, milling and sawing etc. The individual processing areas are linked to one another by various types of mechanical and pneumatic transport systems in order to ensure efficient handling of the timber material. Increasing automation and ever higher production speeds cause the risk of fires to increase enormously. If sparks or glowing particles occur in the production process, fires can rapidly spread to other processing areas due to the close networking of the production process. The high fire load of wood combined with the occurrence of fine dusts quickly leads to fires and explosions which have devastating effects in a wood - processing plant: Operational interruptions and damage to machines can bring the complete production process to a standstill and lead to serious losses. Such occurrences are often life threatening to the workforce and to the very existence of the company itself.
High - risk areas in a particle board factory are dryer(s), dryer cyclones, screens, mills, wind sifters, silos, line extraction, sanding / saws as well as the press. Dangerous sparks and hot particles can be generated in the process which can lead to loss of revenue and / or human life as well as major damage to the production line and machinery. Firefly offers many Spark Detection and Quick Suppression solutions for the particle board industry.
THREE ELEMENTS ARE NEEDED TO CAUSE A FIRE OR AN EXPLOSION:
OXYGEN
For combustion to take place, the oxygen content needs to be above 11 % . Our normal atmosphere consists of 21 % oxygen. This means that the oxygen element is always present.
INFLAMMABLE MATERIAL
Most material that has been transformed into fine particles can burn or explode. Every year, many serious fires and explosions occur in industrial plants as a result of an ignition of combustible dust.
IGNITION SOURCE
When handling combustible material it is very common that ignition sources, often caused by friction heat, are generated from equipment within the process. Different parts as well as foreign objects (stones, nails, nuts, etc.) can also increase the risk of generating ignition sources. Not only visible sparks but also hot particles, at temperatures down to around 250°C can start a fire or an explosion.
HOW CAN YOU AVOID FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS IN YOUR PROCESS
Fire safety involves prevention, detection, evacuation, containment, and extinguishment. Fire prevention basically means preventing the sustained ignition of combustible materials by controlling either the source of heat or the combustible materials. This involves proper design, installation or construction, and maintenance of the building and its contents. Smoke and heat detectors can be installed to provide early detection of fire.
Combustible material (wood fibers, dust, various types of oil and wax), oxygen and ignition sources (often generated due to friction during sanding and calibration of plywood etc.) are always present in and around a press. Considering that these are the parameters needed to start a fire.
Experience and research shows that the key to minimizing production downtime and damage due to fire and dust explosions is the detection and elimination of potential ignition sources, i.e. sparks and hot particles. Fire fly provides unique and different technology based on radiation detection and full cone water spray extinguishing with the purpose to detect and extinguish both sparks and hot particles in industrial processes. Firefly also offers flame detection and water mist suppression around highrisk process machinery. A Firefly protection solution is always tailor - made and based on a risk assessment of specific process.