Browse by Category

News

Features

LPG Industry

Magazine

Managing Ignition Risk on Lpg Forklift Trucks

By Ron Vesty, customer services manager, Pyroban Group Ltd

It is a fact that standard forklift trucks contain numerous sources of ignition, presenting a similar ignition risk in an explosive atmosphere to a naked flame. With safety being the number one priority for all lpg suppliers, what can companies do to manage the risk and protect staff and the general public?

Forklift trucks are used throughout the lpg gas industry to handle cylinders and bulk tanks. When handled correctly, the lp gas cylinders or tanks pose no danger or threat of explosion, but the risk of fire or explosion cannot be ruled out completely. At lpg cylinder filling operations, or at distribution centres where the lp gas and cylinders are held in significantly high concentrations, there is a risk that lp gas may escape.

Safety has to be a number one priority for any company, especially those handling flammable lpg gas under pressure in significant quantity. Under DSEAR regulations, all potentially explosive atmospheres in any company must be assessed and classified using a zoning system to determine the level of risk and safety protection required. Many sites within the lpg industry fall into this category and may also be classed as Lower or Top Tier under the 1999 COMAH regulations.

Regulations are there for a reason. Forklift trucks have many potential sources of ignition and it only takes one tiny spark or the hot surface of an engine to cause an explosion if lp gas is present.

A standard diesel truck can ingest lpg into the engine, causing over speed and an explosion inside the engine, which would release a flame from the air inlet or exhaust system. The engine or any hot surface on the vehicle may also cause ignition, even the brakes and lights. Arcing and sparking components also have sufficient energy to ignite lpg, along with many other mechanical sources, such as the forks or attachments.

By law, if an area is formally classified as Zone 2, ATEX compliant equipment should be used in the area unless a risk assessment or the explosion protection document says otherwise. It is therefore critical to ensure that the materials handling equipment supplier can not only provide suitable equipment (i.e. capacity, quality, service), but also that it is available as an ATEX compliant option. In this case, every single element on the truck is assessed and modified where necessary using explosion protection technologies to ensure that it doesn’t provide sufficient sparking or heat characteristics to ignite lpg.

LPG FORKLIFTS CONVERTED TO ATEX COMPLIANCE

Pyroban is a company that converts standard forklift trucks so that they are safe to operate within potentially explosive atmospheres. With System 5000D, Pyroban converts a standard diesel forklift truck so that it is ATEX compliant using explosion protection methods.

Pyroban’s solution includes reducing the surface temperature of the engine and exhaust gas temperature, assessing and modifying arcing and sparking components and preventing a flame reaching the atmosphere through the inlet system or over speed if the engine were to ingest a vapour.

As part of the explosion proof solution, gas detection and automatic equipment shutdown is ideal in these applications as an explosive atmosphere is not expected, but if an lpg valve is damaged or there is an accidental release of lp gas, the forklift operator needs to be made aware immediately. Selecting a system which self-tests on start up and automatically calibrates is very important because it ensures prolonged integrity of the system and that the system is working correctly and is not giving any false positives. A false positive, a situation where the system would say the situation is safe when it is not, can mean disaster.

Routine maintenance by trained engineers should also be carried out using the correct parts. Incorrect maintenance or the use of standard parts could make an explosion proof truck unsafe, which is very dangerous and why annual audits are advisable to ensure that the truck remains safe.

At retail centres where smaller volumes of lpg are stored, areas may not be formally classified as Zone 2, but companies may choose to take an added safety approach. Calor Gas, for example, has implemented its own safety standard nationwide, ensuring that every new truck brought into its retail centres meets with its FLT3a specifications as a cautionary line of defence in the unlikely event that there is a release of lp gas.

The FLT3a includes a Pyroban system, which incorporates a gas detection and shutdown system, cladded forks to prevent mechanical sparks and a seat trigger that deactivates the engine after a given period if the operator leaves their seat. This approach can be used for electric, diesel or lpg vehicles in areas that are not formally classified as Zone 2.

Contact Pyroban Group Ltd on 01273 466200 www.pyroban.com

You must be logged in to post a comment.