FEATURE: 1&--&54t4)*11*/(t-0(*45*$4 The primary extinguishing effect for water based solutions is dilution (photo Alexander Leandersson). Ballast tank converted to methanol fuel tank Transfer pump room Double walled High pressure fuel pipes High pressure pump room Schematic showing a methanol installation including bunker tank, pump room and piping for fuel transfer. Marine residual heat to power solution wins prestigious technology innovation award Bioenergy International No 83, 7-2015 13 a methanol fire neither produces visible flames nor smoke. Detection was managed by smart installations of detectors made to distinguish the electromagnetic radiation emitted when carbon dioxide is produced at combustion. Thereby the detection system was made independent of smoke and visible flame signatures. To localize fires when performing manual firefighting, infrared cameras were provided to the fire patrols. Effects of fixed fire-extinguishing systems The fixed fire-extinguishing systems required particular engineering efforts. In particular two common system alternatives were evaluated: inert gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), and high-pressure water-mist. Several particularities of methanol led to realize that extinguishment would be harder to achieve. Methanol can burn down to an oxygen level of 12 percent, which makes it relatively less sensitive to dispersion. The effectiveness of an inert gas system with CO2 is thereby reduced and more gas is required to achieve an equivalent extinguishing effect as for diesel. When it comes to the effectiveness of a waterbased system the insensitivity to oxygen dispersion plays part of the role. Furthermore, the low flashpoint makes direct surface cooling less effective and the lack of soot in flames makes flame cooling irrelevant. For a water-based system the primary extinguishing effect is instead dilution. Fire safe ship and regulations The fire risk assessment showed that the fire safety challenges of methanol are manageable. It also stressed that it is not sufficient to only address a low flashpoint deviation when considering alternative fuels. To assure that at least the same level of safety is achieved in each affected area, safety margins were used depending on the access to reliable data. Some conservative stands were necessary, for example with regards to fixed fire-extinguishment. The need for knowledge and verification in this area has now led to the initiation of a new research project called proFlash. The project is coordinated by SP Fire Research and aims to further evaluate the effectiveness of fire-extinguishing systems for methanol and LNG by theoretical studies and full-scale testing. The results will work as direct input to the IMO correspondence group developing the IGF Code part applying to use of methanol fuel. The project may also give reason to further develop the merely two pages of fire safety requirements in the part applying to LNG, which is only formalization away from ratification. Approval of the Stena Germanica fire risk assessment was given by the Swedish Flag in January 2015. At the end of the same month the shipyard started the new fire protection installations. By managing each introduced fire hazard Stena is now confident that fire safety has not only been maintained but improved by the conversion to methanol. Hopes are that the findings in this project and continued research will give a better understanding of alternative ship fuels and safer conversions to methanol and LNG in the future. Text: Franz Evegren, SP Fire Research Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Brandposten #52/2015 and is used with kind permission of SP Fire Research. BI83/5084/AS Sweden-based technology developers Climeon AB has been awarded “Technology Innovation Award” by the multinational consulting and analytical firm Frost & Sullivan for its groundbreaking heat power solution. Climeon Ocean is a system that converts hot water between 70-120 oC into electricity and is scalable from 150 kW up to 1 MW. The technology has been successfully implemented aboard a passenger ferry, which sails between Sweden and Finland. – No commercially available technology can convert water at 90 oC to electricity with reasonable efficiency but the Climeon system exceeds 50 percent of the theoretical maximum of 18 percent and functions at a low pressure of 2-3 bar, said Krishna Venkataramani, Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst. Though the basic technology has been known for years, Climeon customised and made it more efficient by avoiding losses such as pump losses, friction and resistance in the machine. The unit is capable of producing 690 volts or 220 volts output. BI83/5134/AS
Bioenergy International no 7 December 2015
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