| Preventing burner fuel fires |
Kevin Alsop, Coating Plant Foreman at Mancetter Quarry has engineered a system to substantially reduce the risk of coating plant fires due to fuel leaks or incomplete combustion.
Based around two (25mm bore) pressurised ball valves – one for the gas oil supply, the other for the ‘reprocessed’ oil supply – these valves (and pipes) are encased in red nylon tubing. 60psi pressure acts against a spring to keep the valve open to supply fuel to the burner.
If there is a fire, the nylon tubing heats up and bursts, reducing the pressure to atmospheric level which automatically closes the fuel valves. There are also separate fuel valve leak detectors which can sense the presence of unburnt fuel on the non-pressure side of the valve. Upon detection, an alarm is raised, thus preventing the build-up of unburnt fuel in the dryer or bag filter unit. |