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RIM SEAL PROTECTION
Tank protection with gas
Oiltanking Amsterdam, one of the world’s leading
independent storage companies for oils, chemicals and
gases, is working on two new expansion projects which
will be protected by CFI rim seal protection systems.
Koen van Dijk, Marketing Co-ordinator of Saval, outlines
some of the benefits of using gas instead of foam as an
extinguishing agent on a cone roof tanker.
O
iltanking Amsterdam’s first project (now at its final stage)
will capture hydrocarbons emitted during the loading and
offloading of all vessels along the jetties, while the
second project involves a vapour recovery unit located in the
heart of the Amsterdam terminal and built by specialist Carbovac.
This vapour recovery unit became operational in May 2009.
The recovery system works on the principle of adsorption on
activated carbon. Saturated carbon is regenerated by means of a
vacuum, and the hydrocarbons desorbed from the carbon are
reabsorbed in product stored in a newly built, cone roof tank
(including an internal floating roof). It is this internal floating roof
that is protected by a CFI rim seal protection system supplied by
Ad Overdulve, Saval BV.
Oiltanking Oiltanking Amsterdam, explains Engineering Manager Ad
Amsterdam, sees Overdulve, protects all its open top and covered floating roof
the CFI rim seal
tanks with a CFI system: “In my opinion this is the safest
protection system firefighting system that can be installed on floating roof tanks to
as the safest way
prevent rim seal fires.”
to prevent rim The CFI rim seal protection system is a firefighting system that
seal fires.
32 R INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL R FOURTH QUARTER 2009
operates with glass bulb sprayers.
In the event of a fire in the rim seal area the heat of the fire
breaks open the glass bulb, which then extinguishes the fire
within a fraction of a second. The CFI (CF3I is the chemical
formula) attacks the fire anti-catalytically, in the same way as
Halon.
The advantage of CFI gas is that it does not have an ozone
depletion potential. Because it has a Global Warming Potential of
less then five and an atmospheric lifetime of only a day and a
half, it is an environmentally friendly extinguishing gas. “And as it is
a gas,” adds Overdulve, “after a release it is not necessary to have
the tank roof cleaned as with a foam system, because it just
evaporates. And there is no product contamination either, as with
foam.”
The complete system is installed on a floating roof and because
it has no moving parts it is easy to maintain.
Another advantage is that – unlike foam – the gas does not
deteriorate over time, so it can be stored in the cylinder for many
years, unlike foam which requires testing and replacing.
For monitoring and notification purposes, a CFI cylinder on a
floating roof is equipped with a pressure switch and a level
switch, enabling the 24/7 monitoring of the CFI system from a
fire control panel in the control room.
Dirk Huizinga, HSSE manager at Oiltanking Amsterdam, believes
that a CFI rim seal protection system provides good protection for
floating roof tank – especially cone roof tanks with an internal
floating roof. “The Saval CFI system makes me feel safe, as it
takes care of an incipient fire without any interference from
personnel, and it prevents fires from getting bigger.”
Marcel van Dijk, Export Manager at Saval BV, points out that
Oiltanking Amsterdam is not the only terminal using the CFI rim
seal protection system. “We have been supplying this detection
and extinguishing system all over the world for more than 40
years: to refineries, depots, etc, in fact, anywhere that stores
hydrocarbon in floating roof tanks can have this highly
sophisticated extinguishing system.
“Thousands of tanks have been protected, even ones with a
diameter as large as 120 metres. We have numerous approvals
by companies like Shell and Total, as well as local certificates in
countries such as Nigeria and Cuba. The Oil Industrial Safety
Directorate of India has been changed to add the CFI system just
recently as an approved system. We have even obtained
approvals from very renowned companies like VdS, the German
Body of Insurance Companies for which we have done multiple
fire tests.”
Oiltanking in focus
• Oiltanking is one of the world’s leading independent storage
partners for oils, chemicals and gases. It owns and operates 65
terminals in 21 countries with a total storage capacity of more than
14.5 million m3.
• Headquartered in Hamburg (Germany), it shares offices with
parent company Marquard & Bahls AG.
• Oiltanking Amsterdam started its operations in 1975 and today has
a capacity to store 1.6 million tons.
• Oiltanking Amsterdam has a capacity to store 1.6 million m3.
www.hemmingfire.com
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Response specialist Williams Fire and
Hazard Control has launched the third
generation of ThunderStorm foam.
B
rent Gaspard from Williams told IFJ, at the recent Fire-
Rescue International show in Dallas that the new
formulation of ThunderStorm F-601B has proven itself
against UL 162, EN1568, and even in Williams’ own “Plunge
Test”, where gasoline and a non-aspirated foam stream are
“plunged” into the centre of a pan to assess an aggressive Type III
performance.
ThunderStorm is an AR (alcohol resistant) product and
therefore has the versatility of being applicable to both
hydrocarbon and polar solvent fuels. “The comprehensive tests
we have carried out revealed that this is the most effective AR
foam on the market, and we are extremely pleased with its
extinguishing time and its improved burn-back time when
compared to the previous versions” said Gaspard. “We are already
seeing eager acceptance to these improvements in the
marketplace, because our clients are also seeking the greatest
element of fire protection in their arsenals and with maintained
compatibility of this third generation of ThunderStorm with existing
ThunderStorm reserves and proportioning equipment the
transition is really seamless.” ThunderStorm contains no PFOS or
PFOA. “We have developed a foam that leaves an overwhelming
‘footprint’ in extinguishment, and a negligible footprint in the
environment.” However, this is not the only development within
the company. It has also brought out a range of new products for
CFI FLOATING ROOF
saval
the fire protection specialists:
a safe feeling
RIM SEAL FIRE DETECTION & EXTINGUISHMENT
www.hemmingfire.com
NEW GENERATION OF AR FOAM
Thunder power
tank fire protection. The new dual agent chamber, for instance,
has been designed to protect covered roof tanks. “These incidents
are especially challenging,” he continued. “When a fire ignites
above the floating roof pan, it is nearly completely contained, and
extremely tough to extinguish from outside the tank, as the closed
roof design usually only offers small eyebrow vents. Normally,
conventional foam chambers are activated, but they may leave a
residual flammable vapour above the foam blanket, making this
an extremely dangerous situation.” The dual agent foam chamber,
however, applies foam — extinguishing the surface and sealing it.
Williams believes
Then a follow-on dry chemical discharge is released, which
that its’ third
evacuates and inerts the space above the blanket. This product generation
was developed after Williams responded to some very intensive ThunderStorm
floating roof fires several years ago, and it is but one of the many foam is the best
products that are based on what the company’s responders AR product
experienced in the field. “Success in this industry relies on an currently on the
important triangle consisting of a performance-based foam, the market.
superior response equipment, and the knowledge of how to use
it. In the XTREME industrial fire training school we organise every
spring, we see more and more municipal firefighters attending.
Responding to ethanol fires has been a driving force towards
alcohol resistant foams for this group, and it has really opened
their eyes. We are thrilled to offer insights from our background
with these fire chemistries to help them combat these fires.”
TANK FIRE PROTECTION
Proven and reliable first-line fire protection
system on floating roof tanks. Experience
and developments for over 40 years on this
application is incorporated in the current
CFI-system:
Fully integrated early detection and fast acting
automatic extinguishing gaseous system
Environmental friendly CFI-gas leaving no residue
Far better extinguishing capability than Halon
Complete roof-mounted modular design
Simple installation and easy maintenance
Optional wireless monitoring to control room
Installed on over 3000 tanks in 120 different
countries
Vds system approval
Saval B.V.
P.O. Box 3499
4800 DL Breda
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 76 5487000
Fax: +31 76 5417922
Web: www.saval.nl
E-mail: systems@saval.nl
INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL R FOURTH QUARTER 2009 R 33