Fire and explosion protection design
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Our company will design a manufacturing facility; the product production process consists of 11 steps, 4 of which require the use of ethanol or acetonitrile. I heard before that the explosion-proof area should not exceed 5% of the area of that floor; I’m not sure if this is a mandatory requirement. If it is a mandatory requirement, it will be very difficult to design the entire layout within one floor. Is there anyone who can offer some suggestions on this matter? Especially regarding the explosion-proof requirements. It would be best to include the sources of the literature; thank you all.
Code for Building Design: 3.1.2 When production activities with different fire hazards take place in the same factory building or within any fire compartment of such a building, the fire hazard classification for the production activities in that factory building or fire compartment shall be determined based on the part with the higher fire hazard； When the amount of flammable or combustible materials used or generated during the production process is small enough not to pose a risk of explosion or fire, it can be determined based on the actual circumstances ； It can be determined based on the part with lower fire hazard when one of the following conditions is met: 1) The proportion of the production area with higher fire hazard in that floor or fire compartment is less than 5%, or in factories of categories D and E, the proportion of painting areas is less than 10%; and in the event of a fire, it is not possible for the fire to spread to other areas, or effective fire prevention measures have been taken for the production areas with higher fire hazard ； 2 In paint application areas within Class D and E factories, when a closed painting process is used, a negative pressure is maintained in the enclosed painting space; a combustible gas detection and alarm system or an automatic explosion suppression system is installed in such areas, and the area occupied by the paint application areas within the respective fire compartment does not exceed 20% of the total floor area of that compartment.
{:3_63:} There’s nothing we can do then. It is recommended to separate Class A devices.
After all, it’s better to actually open Chapter 1 of the Building Code and take a look
In fact, as required by the Code for Fire Protection Design of Buildings, what is specified is the blast venting area, which is determined through calculation; there is no rule stating that it must not exceed 5% of the area of that floor. When different types of production activities with varying fire hazards are carried out in the same factory building or within any fire compartment of such a building, and the proportion of the area occupied by the production activities with the higher fire hazard to the total floor area or fire compartment area is less than 5%, the classification can be determined based on the activities with the lower fire hazard. This simply means that the fire hazard category of the building is determined based on its low level of danger, which allows for savings on fire protection facilities and other related costs. But you can go above 5%; in that case, it’s sufficient to determine the fire hazard level of the building based on the ethanol category, namely Category A. It just means higher costs, and there’s nothing difficult about designing the entire layout within one floor. I recommend that you read the Code for Fire Protection Design of Buildings in its entirety.