I'd like to know if anyone has noticed an increase in the number of incidents of heating and spontaneous combustion involving oilseed rape, canola or any other oil seed.
I have investigated 3 cases in the last 6 months. All were in the UK, one involved a store containing 9,000 tonnes, this one caught fire and severely damaged the building. Another involved a 4,000 tonne store - this was contained and the loss of product was minimal. The third was a 650 ton silo where again combustion was avoided, but I measured temperatures of over 90 degrees C, so it was a close run thing. I believe that the cause of the first was water ingress through a leaky roof, certainly the second was caused by water ingress from a corroded gutter. The third, I suspect was caused by warm moisture laden ventilation air condensing in a conveyor duct and spilling water into the silo. It seems that the latest high oil content varieties of oil seed are particularly prone to this problem. Has anyone else had similar experiences?
Heating & Combustion of Oilseed Rape
I'd like to know if anyone has noticed an increase in the number of incidents of heating and spontaneous combustion involving oilseed rape, canola or any other oil seed.
I have investigated 3 cases in the last 6 months. All were in the UK, one involved a store containing 9,000 tonnes, this one caught fire and severely damaged the building. Another involved a 4,000 tonne store - this was contained and the loss of product was minimal. The third was a 650 ton silo where again combustion was avoided, but I measured temperatures of over 90 degrees C, so it was a close run thing. I believe that the cause of the first was water ingress through a leaky roof, certainly the second was caused by water ingress from a corroded gutter. The third, I suspect was caused by warm moisture laden ventilation air condensing in a conveyor duct and spilling water into the silo. It seems that the latest high oil content varieties of oil seed are particularly prone to this problem. Has anyone else had similar experiences?
David Williams ■