BALL TUBE MILL BBD 4772

FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 1 OF 9

1. FIRE PROTECTION OF TUBE MILLS:

Producers for fighting fires in a tube mill with regard to:

- general precautions and recommendations,

- design of installations,
- shutdown and startup producers,
- fire extinction.

With direct firing the risks of fire or explosion can very with the reactivity of
the coal (volatile matter content, pyrites content, etc,) and its temperature. The
risks are clearly higher during transient operating conditions, especially mill
shutdown and startup.

The volumes to be protected in the pulverizing circuit are the classifiers, the
mill itself and the ducts.

This note deals only with provisions to be made to fight fires inside the
equipment and not outside it.

2. GENERAL PRECAUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

2.1 Cleanness of equipment and premises:

Regular cleaning operations are necessary to avoid accumulation and
deposits of pulverized coal (PC).

3. General Recommendations:

When handling the fuel, particularly after grinding, every precaution must be
taken to detect fires at every stage as early possible.

It is important to be aware of the dangers involved in a critical situation

in order to be able to prevent or extinguish a fire e.g.:

a) It is dangerous to expose a slowly burning fuel, or flames in the case of

intense combustion, to a large supply of oxygen, as the fire can rapidly
spread.

b) It is not recommended to stir fuels in a critical atmosphere, as there is

a risk of explosion; in this case, it is recommended to spray water as a
fine mist, if necessary, after applying the inerting procedure.

c) Fire prevention and fighting equipment must be accessible and in

good working order (regular checks and tests).

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FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 2 OF 9

3.1 Safety and intervention instructions:

Rules on personnel safety and instructions as to how to proceed in the event

of an incident must be displayed in all “risk” areas.

3.1.1 DESIGN OF INSTALLATIONS:

The grinding installation must be designed to minimize blind zones (dusts,

PC pipes, classifiers, etc.,) , which can be the site of PC deposits.

The bypass must be suitably controlled to ensure that a minimum carrier air
velocity is maintained in the PC ducts and piping.

The PC dusts and piping must contain as few horizontal parts as possible.

4. SHUTDOWN AND STARTUP PROCEDURES:

The standard operating notice describes the procedures for shutting down and
starting up the mills and the boiler in the various cases :

- cold start
- hot start
- boiler trip
- trip of a single mill
- boiler shutdown
- shut down of a mill.

The notice specifies the scavenging times for the mills and PC piping
necessary to ensure optimum prevention of fires and explosions.

5. DETECTION OF FIRE RISKS:

Detection of the focus of a fire shall be as follows:

5.1 Local observation by rounds man:

E.g. smell of slowly burning fuel, presence of hot or discolored areas.

5.2 Measurement of facilities at operator’s disposal in control room:

Measurement of temperature of air/ PC mixture in the classifier record in

control room, associated with an alarm.

Monitoring of temperature in classifiers. Associated with an alarm . this

provision should enable a fire focus to be detected even when the installation
is down.

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 BALL TUBE MILL BBD 4772
FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 3 OF 9

With regard to installation with the tube mills, a fire can occur in the mill body
or in the classifier. However, it is unlikely that a fire will break out while the
mill is in operation. The greatest fire and explosion risks are when the mill is
being shut down or has just been started up.

When the mill is to be shut down, it is therefore strongly recommended either

to empty all the coal out of it or to start it up on it's turn gear so as to keep the
coal inside it homogeneous and to eliminate hot spots.

6. PREVENTION OF FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS BY INTERTING:

When the operating staff consider there is fire risk. they must initiate the
procedure to inert the grinding installation.

The principle of inerting consists in rapidly scavenging the installation with

the chosen fluid, generally in less than 2 minutes, so as to forcibly expel the
air from the grinding circuit and bring the oxygen content down from 20.8% to
under 10%.

6.1 Steam Inerting:

This is technically simple, economical and effective solution. This source of

inerting is almost always available in a Thermal Power Plant.

6.1.1 Characteristics of inerting steam:

- working pressure : generally 10 to 15 kg/cm2.

- mill injection pressure : 3 kg/cm2
- temperature:210/230° C
- flow :4000 kg/h for 100 m3 of capacity to be inerted
- Duration of scavenging: 15 minutes, adjustable from 0 to 30 minutes in
accordance with real operating conditions.

6.1.2. Steam injection installation:

This includes quantities per mill.

- one main inlet pipe, dia.100 MM, for velocity of 20 M/S and flow of
4000 kg/h.

- one manual stop valve, kept open during normal operation and used
only if an operation is to be performed on the downstream network.

- the blow down valve necessary for continuous evacuation of the

condensates.

- One general Electro pneumatic valve.

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FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 4 OF 9

- One calibrated diaphragm.

- 4 outlets provided from the steam header, each equipped with an valve

. 1 outlet for each classifier

. 1 outlet for each primary – air inlet into the mill.

- one exit to the mill, consisting of one or two PC pipes.

6.1.2 Inerting Procedure:

Inerting is initiated by the operator by means of the push button on the

electric box controlling the opening of the Electro pneumatic valve and the
opening of one or two PC gates.

Scavenging is stopped by a timer adjustable between 0 and 30 minutes, after

approximately 10 minutes.

In all cases:

- After the main motor has completely stopped, rotate the mill using the
turn gear throughout the duration of steam scavenging.

- Shut down the seal –air fan for the joints, bearings and PC gates.

- Close all air inlet dampers and PC gates.

- Opening B.F gates enables the pulverizing circuit to vent out.

- Sufficient to avoid all deposits in the PC pipe(s) concerned. Exit is

therefore to the ball feeding chamber, without there being any
appreciable pressure rise in the grinding circuit.

6.1.3 Rest of Inerting Procedure:

When the Inerting procedure is completed, the operator must check

efficiently by carrying out the checks described in paragraph 5. He may then
decide.

- to repeat the sequence if he considers that there is still a risk of fire or

explosion.
- to set off the water spray sequence. If he is sure that the fire is not
under control.

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 BALL TUBE MILL BBD 4772
FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 5 OF 9

- complete the normal mill shutdown procedure if the inerting has been
efficient operation with turn gear, drain of PC pipes, cooling and
emptying of mill, etc.

7. FIRE EXTINCTION:

This shall be done by injection of water into the grinding circuit. This
procedure must only be envisaged in the event of an outright fire, as it can
cause damage to the components of the installation.

7.1 Water Circuits:

In addition to the fire lances kept in the boiler house, the following are
provided in the grinding installation.

- a ½” diameter connection on each feeder with pneumatic valves.

- a ½” diameter connection on each feeder with pneumatic valves and
flow reducers.
- a ½” diameter connection on each raw-coal chute with pneumatic
valves and flow reducers.
- a ½” connection on each trunnion with pneumatic valve and flow
reducers.
- a 3-way pneumatic valve to inject water into the mill.

All above pneumatic valves are fitted with solenoid pilot valve and limit
switches.

7.2 Water Feed Conditions:

The recommended water flows are as follows, for a volume of 100 m3 to be

protected

a) The flow in each feeder connection must be a slow flow towards the
raw-coal pipe and limited to 25 liters per minute following are
provided in the grinding installation.
b) The flow in the primary –air ducts must be in the form of fine spray or
must directed downwards from the primary air shutoff dampers and
limited to 80 to 100 liters per minutes.
c) The flow in each raw-coal chute must be approximately 80 to 100
liters per minute.

7.3 Operation of feed water system:

Introduce water at the specified rate for approximately 10/15 minutes. It is

recommended to rotate the mill at its slow speed (using turn gear) to obtain a
homogeneous water/fuel mixture.

It may be necessary to add water several times if the risk continues.

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 BALL TUBE MILL BBD 4772
FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 6 OF 9

Once the water injection and mill shutdown procedure have been
completed, the slurry (water + coal ) in the mill must be flushed out.

CONSIDERATIONS ON FIRE EXTINGUISHING:

Special considerations apply to each mill element as follows:

a) Mill Body:

Fire risks in the mill body can be limited by emptying it before each
shutdown or, when the mill is full, steam to provide an inert
atmosphere in the circuit.

In the event of a fire breaking out in this part, combustion may occur
in the deep zones of the mill, and it is therefore important, in addition
to putting out the fire , to bring about a rapid drop in temperature in
order to avoid deformation of the mill body or physical damage to it.
The most effective measure is the introduction of water through the
raw-coal piping and level impulse tap.

b) Classifier:

A fire can also be put out in the classifier by introducing steam after
isolating the mill. However, if the temperature in the classifier
continues to rise, water should be sprayed over the outside of the
classifier to reduce the effects of the fire.

It is also recommended to spray water on to outer surfaces of the ducts

to reduce the effects of the fire.

8.0 SEQUENCES TO BE PUT IN PLACE:

8.1 Normal Shutdown (Figure-I).

1. - Stop the feeder (s) in operation

2. - Close the corresponding raw coal gate (s)
3. - Maintain air to mill and by pass air flows at the value they had just
before the beginning of the shut down.
4. - Stop the main motor, no more than 10 minutes after step-I
5. - Start up the inching motor for a minimum of 4 hours
6. - Close the air dampers
7. - Stop the mill seal air fan
8. - Admit the inerting steam through all the steam inlets provided on the
mill and classifiers.

The flow of this steam should be adjusted to ensure that inerting lasts for
approximately 4 to 6 minute (adjustable time).

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 BALL TUBE MILL BBD 4772
FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 7 OF 9

The steam quantity will be adjusted so that at the end of the inerting
period air volume and steam volume is equal in the mill and the classifiers.

9. - Close the P.C. gates.

10. - Open both the ball feeding gates during Inerting and close.

8.2 Shutdown due to a Boiler Trip (Figure-II).

- Points 1-2-4 (10 minutes being suppressed ) 3–5-6-7-9-10 mentioned

here above (8.1) are maintained.
- Point 8 is also maintained but open the vent vanes of the classifiers.
- Purge the P.C. pipes with air plus steam as soon as it will be possible
again to blow P.C. in the furnace.
- The steam flow and air flow will be equal in volume.

8.3 Shutdown due to a mill trip (Figure –III).

- Here the mill is stopped full of coal and it is supposed that there is no
boiler trip.
- Point1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 here above (8.1) are maintained (10
minutes, step4 being suppressed).
- Purge the P.C. pipes with air and steam (see 8.2)

8.4 Start up full or empty cold mill (Figure-IV).

1 – purge the P.C. pipe(s) with air and steam (8.2)

2 – Open the P.C. gates.

Should operating these gates requires more than 10 minutes (adjustable

time), check that the main is stopped or stop it.

After checking their proper operation, repeat the sequence from the
beginning.

3 – Admit the inerting steam through all the steam inlets provided on the mill
and classifiers.

The flow of this steam should be adjusted to ensure that inerting lasts
for approximately 4 to 6 minutes (adjustable time).

The steam quantity is the same that for 8-1-8 above.

4 – Start up the mill seal air fan.

5- Start up the mill main motor
6- Open the isolating air, air to-mill and by-pass dampers.

The total air flow must be greater than or equal to the necessary flow.

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FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 8 OF 9

Should operating these dampers require more than 10 minutes (adjustable

time), stop the main motor.

After checking their proper operation, repeat the sequence from the
beginning.

The classifier outlet temperature control can be placed on auto.

7- Open the raw coal gate.

8- Start up the feeders (this operation must be done less than 10 minutes after
8-4-5)

Level DP control can be placed on auto

9- Increase the mill load until al the loops can be switched to auto and place
the mill “on load”.

8.5 Start up of a hot mill:

Same process as for a cold mill startup (8.4)

8.6 Emptying of a mill:

This concerns cases of which the mill has been stopped full of coal (mill and
boiler trip) and for which it is necessary to empty out the mill (stoppage for a
long period, inside visit, maintenance) as it is possible to start a mill full of
coal.

To empty out the mill it is necessary that it be possible to introduce P.C. in

the furnace and that the mill be available.

Use start-up ( 8.4 ) from steps 1 to 6 and normal shut down ( 8.1 ) after
maximum 10 minutes sequences from stops 4 and 6 to 9.

The total air flow must be greater than or equal to the minimum necessary
flow.

The cold air must first be fully opened and then the hot air opened by the
amount necessary to obtain the required full flow.

8.7 Shutdown with scavenging:

This possibility is kept in reserve when inerting alone might not be enough. It
is then necessary to envisage scavenging through all the pipes, which results
in a high flow of steam, and to determine steam and air flow in order to
respect the minimum, velocity conditions in the P.C. piping.

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 BALL TUBE MILL BBD 4772
FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM 9 OF 9

The steam flow ( volume ) will be 50% of the air flow ( volume )
Also take account of the possibility of being able to effectively adjust the
required air flow.

As scavenging has an function, the flows must be admitted and adjusted after
the shutdown of the last feeder and the beginning of the last coal gate
closure.

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