Panels & Furniture Asia March/April 2024

PANEL MANUFACTURING
Fire prevention
for the belt dryer
With Fagus-Grecon’s spark detector, light
reveals sources of fire as it develops.
process temperature. This classic
procedure can also be found in the
world of fire alarm systems.
If operators supplement these
certified specifications with
additional spark detectors, for
example on the air flows like
exhaust air or circular ducts of a belt
dryer, there are tangible benefits
from the company’s point of view.
Potential sources of fire can be
detected more quickly using spark
detectors than conventional thermal
detectors could. An example of this
is the GreCon spark detector DLD
1/9 which is equipped with highly
sensitive sensor technology, the
Intelligent Detection Technology
(IDT), offering optimum detection
performance for all ignition sources
— in incident light or in complete
darkness.
According to Fagus-GreCon, the IDT
allows the DLD 1/9 to distinguish
between dangerous sparks and
harmless ambient light. It also
enables adjustable sensitivity for
hot particle detection in hightemperature
processes and is also
used to prevent false alarms. The
detector can be connected to every
GreCon TOUCH control console using
a standard three-core cable.
Fagus-GreCon’s
DLD 1/9
No two systems are the same when it
comes to preventive fire protection for
belt dryers. This is a problematic as the
plant operator’s aim must ultimately
be to detect a potential fire as early
as possible and avert the greatest
possible damage. However, depending
on the type, size and complexity of
the plant, raw material utilisation or
technology, not only does the actual
need for protection vary, but also the
requirements for protection concepts.
HEAT VS LIGHT
Many belt dryers are thermally
monitored as standard. Fire
protection relies on classic thermal
detectors that detect fire hazards
based on heat and sound the alarm.
If a fire breaks out, the thermal
detectors recognise it inside the belt
dryer. However, if thermal detectors
are used in hot areas, this may lead
to a delayed alarm triggering, as the
triggering temperature is above the
In contrast to classic flying sparks,
which are typically immediately
recognised by spark detectors, it
sometimes takes 15-20 minutes
before fires reach the size required
to reach the trigger temperature in
processes with high temperatures:
Valuable time that is ultimately
needed to prevent major system
damage and minimise the amount of
extinguishing water.
Those who recognise early need
to extinguish less. This simple yet
pertinent fact can save operators
valuable minutes in firefighting in
case of doubt before a complete
system extinguishing and the
associated damage become
unavoidable. P
34 PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA | MARCH / APRIL 2024