Minimax Equips EnBW Power Plants with Extinguishing Systems:Non-Stop Fire Protection


Fire safety for EnBW Kraftwerke AG's coal-fired power plants: Minimax GmbH & Co. KG was commissioned by one of the leading Southern German energy providers to equip no less than 6 of its plants with Minifog ProCon fine water spray systems. A total of 5,000 efficient and water-conserving extinguishing nozzles were installed around the coal conveying belts of the power plants. Should a conveyor belt ignite during operation due to friction or oxidation, these nozzles will spring into action. In this way Minimax literally ensures non-stop safety.

EnBW Kraftwerke AG operates modern thermal power plants in Heilbronn, Altbach/Deizisau, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart-Gaisburg, Stuttgart-Münster and Walheim, where by means of cogeneration technology environmentally-friendly district heating is generated in addition to electricity. All six plants are partially fired with coal, a highly energy-rich fossil fuel. Because coal can ignite spontaneously even during storage, the operator has opted for state-of-the-art fire protection in the concerned areas of the plant. The coal conveyor systems play an essential role in the operation of the power plants, because their fault-free functioning is an important condition for high availability of the individual power station units. Accordingly, an effective fire protection is indispensable for the safe and reliable operation.

Among the largest coal plants of the EnBW Kraftwerke AG are blocks 1 to 7 of the thermal power station Heilbronn. River boats deliver up to 8,000 tonnes of coal every day to the coal storage yard located between the power plant and the Neckar river. From there the coal is delivered by conveyor belts to the coal bunkers and coal mills. To provide fire protection for the conveyor belt systems spanning several kilometres across the Heilbronn power plant and the connected coal distribution stations and junction towers, Minimax installed approximately 45 percent of all components supplied in connection with the EnBW contract. In total the fire protection engineers in the six power plants installed 16 kilometres of pipe lines with 5,000 extinguishing nozzles, 90 strainer and the corresponding deluge valve sets. The extinguishing zones are controlled by the fire detection technology installed in the building.

Efficient and water-conserving: Minifog ProCon fine water spray systems by Minimax
For the current project regarding fire protection for the coal conveyor belts in the Baden-Württemberg thermal power plants, DMT-certified Minifog ProCon fine water spray extinguishing systems were deployed. The low pressure fine spray technology consumes approximately 70% less water than conventional systems. Specially shaped extinguishing nozzles that produce water mist even at a water pressure of four bars contribute to this effect. The systems can be connected in virtually all locations to the extinguishing water supplies that already exist at the power plants without requiring the erection of major new infrastructure. No additional extinguishing water containers were needed. At the coal distribution systems and the junction towers we deployed wall-to-wall spray water extinguishing systems that are particularly appropriate for the protection of large plant surfaces.

Minimax Group
The company founded in the year 1902 with its head office in Bad Oldesloe is an internationally leading full service fire protection provider. The company*s own research centre is one of the most modern in Europe. The company group generated sales in the year 2009 of around 747 million euros and employs a worldwide staff of 5,000.

Further information at www.minimax.de.

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