CHEMETRON Fire Systems CARDOX ¢HEMETRON Fire Systems A World of Protection 4801 Southwick Drive Third Floor Matteson, IL 60443 Telephone: 708/748-1503 Fax: 708/748-2847 CARBON DIOXIDE FIRE SUPPRESSION — Coaters and Laminators Introduction ‘The widespread use of protective packaging in the health care and electronics industries, as wel as the need for highly effective and attractive packaging for food and other consumer products, has gener- ated the need for a substantial number of converting companies that cteate the necessary materials from paper, film or fil. In Applications Bulletins #0220 and #0215 we discuss the protec- tion of Rotogravure and Flexographic high production printing facilities that serve these markets, However, there are a great number of installa- tions that produce paper, film and foil intermediates in roll form on single stage coaters and perform adhesive lamination. n this bulletin we will discuss the aspects of proper fre protection of these Coaters and Laminators. While a significant reduction in the number of fire hazards has been achieved as a result of the use of solvent-free materials in the coating industry, a substantial number of applications still require the Use of solvents, making fire suppression a high priority. In this regard, the use of clean, non-contaminating carbon dioxide (CO,) provides fast, effective fire suppression. Hazard Description Atypical is very similar. ‘oater is depicted in the attached drawing. A laminator The strip of material to be coated is unrolled and passed through the coater head where the coating material is applied, Then the freshly coated material is run through a dryer before being rerolled. A supply of the coating material is contained in a reservoir built into the base of the coater (as shown) or is fed from "pots" located on the floor adjacent to the machine; or, in some cases, fed from bulk containers along side. In some high production facilities, these local coating material reservoirs are supplied from a central storage system. (Protection of Flammable Storage Rooms covered by Bulletin #0400 - Hazardous Material Storage) 71909 CEMETRON FRE SYSTENS, all hte reserved Tesued 7/98 CCARDOX is REGISTERED TRACEMARK OF CHEMETRON Fie SYSTEMS,CHEMETRON Fire Systems CO. Application Bulletin Industrial Processes Bulletin #0515 Atthe coating head, the solvent vapors generated must be captured, which is done by a pick-up duct ‘mounted adjacent to the coating material application site, or by a hood ora partial enclosure around the en- tire coater. The vapor extraction duct is usually inter- connected with the vapor exhaust from the dryer. The vapors collected are removed by some sort of VOC (volatile organic compound) elimination system. The dryer itself can constitute a part of the hazard needing protection. Protection Arrangement CO, systems are designed in accordance with the requirements of National Fire Protection Association Standard No. 12, Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems. ‘A key requirement of this standard is contained in paragraph 3-2.1: 3-2.1 Extent of Hazard, The hazard shall be 0 isolated from other hazards or combustibles that fire will not spread outside the protected ‘area. The entire hazard shall be protected. The hazard shail include all areas that are, or may become, coated by combustible liquids or shal- ow solid coatings, suchas areas subject to spil- lage, leakage, dripping, splashing, or conden- sation. The hazard also includes all associated materials or equipment, such as freshly coated stock, drain boards, hoods, ducts, and so forth, that might extend fire outside or lead fire into the protected area, ‘On this basis, CO, coverage is provided for the coater head, coating material supply, exhaust system and the dryer. The coating application rolls and font, as well as the coating material reservoirs, are covered by the local application of CO, from nozzles placed in such a way that coverage can be calculated on the rate-by-area method, Thisis not always easy. The operation of the coat- er may involve material handling equipment that limits where nozzles can be located. The exhaust pick-up duct can be located such that it “masks” the hazard area and there can be personnel guards on the ma- chine that also may prevent nozzles from being ideally Page 2 located. Maintenance and operation requirements (Le. changing rolls, cleaning, etc) must be considered in selecting nozzle locations. CO, local application nozzles are listed to give the approved area of coverage based on projection dis- tance from the nozzle to the hazard area to be covered and the CO, discharge rate. Very often the optimum location - one where the requirement of the area to be covered is met with the minimum CO, rate ~ is not acceptable. In that case, it may be necessary to use more nozzles, or to move the nozzles back out of the way, necessitating a higher discharge rate than would, be necessary at the optimum location. Experience ~ and the help of Chemetron’s Systems Applications the most cost effective arrange- Maportanr —____ — When protecting coating material supplies (pots, drums, pails) where the location isnot fixed by attachment to the machine, itis important to "spot’ the proper location for this material on the plant floor with the nozzles arranged so that these items are always within the designed cover- age. When the coater station is enclosed, the local ap- plication design can best be done using the rate-by- volume method. Total flooding is usually not an option. Total flooding is used when the enclosure around the hazard is adequate to retain the CO, discharge long ‘enough to ensure fire extinguishment, Paragraph 2-1.2 of Standard No. 12 defines the use of total flooding where there is "a permanent enclosure." In the case of coaters, the enclosure is most often not permanent. For the requirements of local application using rate-by- volume see Standard No. 12. For the exhaust ducts and the dryer, ota flooding to the required concentration (65%) is used [with the CO, quantity in the dryer increased when operating temperatures are over 20°F (93°C)]. Generally the easiest way to flood the dryer with CO, is to mount a nozzle atthe point where the exhaust duct connects to the dryer. Usually the dryers are not too large for this, ‘one injection point to flood both duct and dryer. This inates the need to penetrate the dryer housing.CHEMETRON Fire Systems co. Application Bulletin Industrial Processes Bulletin #0515 Normally the exhaust system is shut down at the ‘time of system operation, but there have been applica- tions where constant removal of vapors necessitates keeping the exhaust fan running. n this case itis nec- essary to inert the air flow through the dryer and ex- aust system as a part of the system design. If the coater is a wax coater (also called a wax mounter), check with Chemetron’s Systems Applica- tions department for guidance in determining the pro- per length of the discharge. For other coater applica- tions, a 30 second discharge for local application pro- tection will meet the protection requirements. In the design of the control and alarm systems, definition of areas that require explosion-proof electri- cal equipment should not be overlooked. An alarm system (both visual and audible) is required to ensure personnel are warned before a CO, discharge takes place. Page 3 Provision to lock out the systems strongly recom- mended. The lockout would be used when there is work being done on the coater that might result in an accidental system release. For further information on this subject, please reference Chemetron Fire Systems’ Carbon Dioxide Safety Manual and OSHA's Lockout and Tag-out Standard, 29CFR Part 1.910,146. NFPA Standard #12 requires that CO, systems be given a full discharge test. This affords an excellent ‘opportunity to not only verify the system design, but to also train the operators on what to expect in case of a system discharge. We recommend video taping the discharge test for future training purposes.CHEMETRON Fire Systems CO, Application Bulletin Industrial Processes Bulletin #0515 Page 4 Prec 10. Nozze. "70 0 To DETECTOR IN IN voe enero 'voo ELIMINATOR EXHAUST DUCT: De nozne w over Gelocos'ohvem| NOZZLE IN 4 te Mies \WANUAL RELEASE Vy) ‘STATION “coa cruNOERS-SOLENOD OPERATED DISCHARGE HEAD WH MANUAL RELEASE FLERIBLE CONNECTOR, AND CYLINDER WALL MOUNTING. BRACKET NOZZLES. COVERING = tetaales ice COATER WEAD® SNOTE: NOZZLE PLAC 10 BE SUCH THAT INTERFERENCE WITH OPERATION OR MAINTENANCE OF NOZZLES COVERING MACHINE 1S. AVOIDED COATING MATERIAL TANK* " High Pressure Carbon Dioxide Fire Suppression System Protecting a Coater/Laminator