Explosion protection: customised systems gain ground

Louise Davis

There is no room for compromise when it comes to safety.

Companies are required to act, especially when the risk of an explosion looms.

Advanced explosion protection not only preserves the equipment’s operational readiness, but more importantly protects people nearby.

Selecting the right explosion protection systems repeatedly presents challenges for companies.

With its new integral approach, IEP Technologies, is setting a trend and providing plant operators with a seamless range of products that offer protection against dust explosions.

The portfolio encompasses the entire spectrum of passive and active explosion protection systems, allowing safety packages to be tailored to each customer’s individual needs.

Flour mills, timber factories and pharmaceutical processes provide ideal conditions for explosions.

The challenge that plant operators face is to identify the right explosion protection solution for each particular application.

IEP Technologies has made a name for itself with its passive and active explosion protection systems among users from a wide variety of sectors.

The passive technologies portfolio covers explosion venting using vent panels, various systems for flameless venting, including reclosable valves, and components for passive isolation.

The following example illustrates the high demands that effective explosion protection places on the precision of the individual components and sub-processes.

In the event of an undesirable ignition, sophisticated sensors inside an industrial plant are able to detect a rapid rise in pressure.

The system is prompted to automatically dispense a sodium bicarbonate suppressant, which dissipates heat from the combustion zone and suppresses the incipient explosion even as it develops – highly effective actions that combine with pinpoint precision in a fraction of a second.

A combination of technologies enables effective safety strategies

Every explosion protection solution shows its mettle during use by the customer.

In many instances, the key is to tailor the particular system to the local circumstances with the necessary precision, and to create a technology mix.

“If the risk situation necessitates, it may be advisable to combine an explosion vent or a flameless venting solution with an active system,” explains Markus Häseli, Director of Sales Europe at IEP Technologies. “We make our expertise as a system provider available to our customers where an integrated approach is needed. Whenever the avoidance of explosion risks does not yield the desired outcome, we devise the optimal passive or active explosion protection solution, from both a technological and an economic point of view – or we combine both to achieve a customized overall system.”

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