Refinery receives new fire protection foam-dosing trailer system

For three consecutive years, fire protection equipment supplier DoseTech and Germany-based dosing technology company FireDos have supplied the latest portable foam fire-protection system to integrated chemicals and energy chemicals company Sasol, states Dosetech MD Mike Feldon.

The latest system was supplied in June. The customised built and designed foam-dosing trailer has the capability to dose 1%, 3% or 6% foam concentrates, with a flow range from 1 000 ℓ/min to 22 000 ℓ/min of premix foam and water solution.

The trailer will be used to precisely blend the water and foam concentrate in the system, which is then fed to a variety of end-of-line firefighting equipment options, which include the existing 22 000 ℓ/min monitors, various smaller flow monitors, fire truck monitors, as well as bund, rim and tank top pourers.

The third FireDos trailer system was specifically designed by the Sasol Sasolburg Emergency Management Engineering Team to meet its facility’s requirements and challenges. “The design also includes a view towards being prepared for the technical leapfrog that has started with regard to modern firefighting chemicals that contain lower or no fluorine,” explains Feldon.

Before this system, FireDos supplied two trailer systems to a Sasol joint venture facility.

The first 2015 custom-built trailer system [portable foam fire protection] supplied to the Sasol joint venture facility was required as a standalone, water-driven system to dose 3% foam concentrate and feed the water and foam premix into 22 000 ℓ/min monitors to extinguish large surface fires at crude oil storage facilities.

Consulting engineers Kantey and Templer, based in Durban, designed and engineered the system and thereafter FireDos met the stringent design requirements and manufactured the complete system for this project. The system design includes new-generation monitor technology, with reduced friction loss as well as the ability to adjust the flow on the monitor from 5 000 ℓ/min to 22 000 ℓ/min while in operation. DoseTech supplies the local technical support, document control and training.

The second trailer system was required as a standalone water-driven system to dose 3% foam concentrate into a premix solution, which will be used to feed existing on-site firefighting equipment, such as tank top pourers, rim seal protection bund pourers and existing portable monitors. The trailer requirement was also designed by Kantey and Templer.

The unique benefit of this foam dosing system is that it is portable, has a proportional flow rate from 1 200 ℓ/min to 22 000 ℓ/min, with limited pressure loss, and is simple to operate. Further, the system is not affected by flow rate, pressure or back pressure fluctuations.

New Developments

In the future, FireDos will offer the local market water-driven fire protection foam dosing systems with a maximum flow rate of 25 000 ℓ/min, as its new third-generation model has become available for large fuel storage facility protection; these will be available as either stationary or portable systems.

FireDos monitors are also now available with flow rates of up to 60 000 ℓ/min. Models range between 2 000 ℓ/min, 4 000 ℓ/min, 6 000 ℓ/min, 8 000 ℓ/min, 10 000 ℓ/min, 20 000 ℓ/min, 40 000 ℓ/min and 60 000 ℓ/min. These monitors are available as manual and automated operational options.