Argus Fire's £1m win for energy plant

The fire protection specialist has been commissioned by Mercia Waste Management to design and build the fire prevention systems for the new EnviRecover facility occupying an 8.4-acre site at Hartlebury Trading Estate, near Stourport.

The plant has been financed by Worcestershire County Council and Herefordshire District Council, and Swiss-based technology provider Hitachi Zosen Inova has been appointed as the main engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

Diverting up to 200,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste from landfill sites across both counties, the facility will generate enough renewable energy to power a town the size of Kidderminster. It will burn the waste at over 850 degrees Celsius making the steam to drive a turbine that will export more than 16 megawatts of electricity to the National Grid, providing sufficient power for 20,000 homes.

The contract will be carried out by Argus Fire's new Special Risks Department, which specialises in protecting industrial premises where the highly combustible materials used or processes employed carry a higher or more devastating fire risk than normal.

The department has already started work on site on installing mechanical water-based fire protection systems, fire detection and alarm systems and gas suppression systems, with the project scheduled for completion in May this year.

When the plant opens in spring 2017, it will operate on a 24-hour basis with around 50 people working there including 30 during the day.

Argus Fire has extensive experience in providing fire protection systems for EfW plants. Key projects have included the Kappa plant in Birmingham, Donarbon Waste in Cambridge, Greenergy in Immingham, Pepperhill Waste Centre at Pepperhill in Kent, WRWA Transfer Station in Wandsworth, and Wrexham Waste in Wrexham .

The water-based fire protection systems at the EnviRecover facility will include a 1,000 cubic-metre tank and a pump house with pumping systems approved to the world-leading NFPA20 (National Fire Protection Association) standard that are capable of delivering 10,000 litres of water a minute to meet a worst-case fire scenario.

Argus Fire will also fit sprinkler systems to the waste bunker roof, tipping hall roof, shredder motor room, ammonia storage area and emergency diesel generator, as well as remote-controlled fire water monitors to the waste bunker and below-ground fire hydrant mains.

A deluge water spray system will be installed to cover the control room windows, waste hopper openings, steam turbine bearings and steam turbine lub oil skis, while foam-enhanced sprinkler systems will serve the boiler burners.

Argus Fire will also provide an addressable fire detection and alarm system connected to five fully networked open protocol fire alarm panels and a disabled refuge panel.

The devices, which identify the area of the site immediately when triggered, include smoke and heat detectors, break-glass units and sounder beacons, a very early smoke detector VESDA air sampling system, triple IR flame detectors and thermal imaging cameras.

They will be fitted across the admin building, weighbridge, turbine hall, air cooled condenser area, pipe bridge, tipping hall, waste bunker, boiler hall and flue gas treatment area.

Argus Fire will also provide six inert gas fire suppression systems that use the clean agent IG541 (50% Nitrogen, 40% Argon and 10% Carbon Dioxide) for the plant's distribution control system and motor control centre for the plant crane, as well as for the main equipment room and server rooms, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) room, low voltage (LV) switch room and turbine control room.

The company is also providing Mercia Waste Management with 3D design information to support its installation coordination process. This will result in the facility's fire prevention systems interfacing seamlessly with other systems including door access controls, entry and exit barriers, lifts, roller shutters doors and its building management system.

Phil Watkins, senior project manager in Argus Fire's Special Risks department, said: "We are delighted that our long-standing experience and expertise in protecting EfW plants has led to our first contract with Mercia Waste Management in our own back yard.

"We are looking forward to playing a major role in reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill across Worcestershire and Herefordshire by ensuring that the burning of waste to create renewable electricity will remain a safe operation."