Originally Posted by rohl55

Fire water requirements pet coke stockyard storage

Good morning...

Is there any recommendation regarding fire water requirements (previsions) for pet coke stockyard or stockpile storage (outdoors)?... say, in terms of flow per storage area or pile volume?

Appreciating any references or recommendations...

Buenos Dias rohl55,

It all depends on your "total" available water supply

and the available budget for creating a fire suppression

system.

It also is entirely dependent upon your stockpile sizes

in square meters and their height simply because a

small stockpile fire from spontaneos combustion is

easier to control PROVIDED it is of sufficient distance

from the other stock piles to prevent a flash over

if the water supply is insufficient to control the fire.

Please contact El National Fire Underwriters Association

en Los Estados Unidos through the American Consulate

closest to you.

Please do this as soon as possible to enable you

to obtain the reading material needed from the Underwriters

in order fully comprehend your needs as it is all physics and

if you have no comprension of the three corners of the

"Fire Triangle" you will be doomed from the start. ■

Like most of us you will need to comply with the NFPA Handbook when preparing your preliminary design. Then you should take the design to the local Fire Chief for comment and probably resubmit.

Coke can, in the first place, be considered very similar to coal although your coke may be richer in sulphur & hydrocarbons. I have seen the yard in question & it seems pretty waterlogged with plenty of run-off fines all over the place. In those conditions you should beware of locating hydrants where they can be surrounded by flammables.

As far as I recall the basic firefighting hoses should be able to throw water 10m beyond the nozzles & hydrants should be spaced at 50m. This is not much use if you have to extinguish a fire on top of a pile so you will need high presure foam jets with a range of 55m spaced at 50m as ballpark figures depending on the reclaimer envelope, trackside. (If the fire is due to spillage rubbing under the recaim belt it is better to be on the safe side...so to speak.)

Another triangle to consider is the Process water - Tank - Seawater: economics & floor space.

Between the NFPA Handbook and you local Fire Chief you can get it right pretty quick. Don't forget to check ALL the exisitng buried piping though. ■