Chemistry, petrochemistry

One of the key lines of the membrane-based gas separation and production activity is the generation of gaseous nitrogen from the air flow. Nitrogen is a chemically inert gas not sustaining burning processes of any hydrocarbon substances. This makes nitrogen an ideal agent for fire-fighting purposes with the creation of the oxygen-lacking environment in industrial facilities. With the oxygen concentration not exceeding 10% the environment necessary for the burning process ceases to exist. Gaseous fire-fighting units are exceptionally effective and capable of fire extinguishing within a few seconds, irrespective of the hot spot distance. Alongside, they are highly dependable and allow for easy operation and maintenance. In a number of cases they prove to be the only type of fire-fighting equipment applicable in hard-to-reach fire hazards, such as mines, for instance. Beyond that, GRASYS fire-fighting units can serve as an in-doors source of inert environment maintaining its constant composition. These and other unique characteristics and specific advantages ensure the units an ever broader recognition and expansion across various fields of human activity. The most recent scientific findings combined with a profound company specialists experience provide GRASYS fire-fighting equipment with a range of aparent benefits:

• Zero damage to technological equipment

  Unlike the standard foam and water-type systems of fire extinguishing, nitrogen fire-fighting units cause no damage to the pressures technological equipment.

• Broad-front fire fighting

  Nitrogen fire-fighting units allow for the overall and extensive fire fighting with its efficiency in no way affected by the distance or inaccessibility of fire hazard.

• Continuous maintenance of the inert environment

  Nitrogen fire-fighting units are designed so as to allow for maintaining a steady explosion and fire safe composition of the atmospheric air.

• Optional container design

  Nitrogen fire-fighting units can be provided in a containerized version, mounted on sledges or chasses.

• Complete automation

  In case of fire, the unit will automatically start delivering nitrogen to the conflagrant space or the technological vessel alight.

• Easy operation

  Company units have significantly low operation and maintenance requirements. The fire extinguishing and the receiver replenishing systems are unmanned and require no direct operation.

• Zero reloading requirements

  In contrast to the traditional fire-fighting systems, GRASYS units can go without routine reloading. After the unit was used for the fire-fighting or technological purposes, it starts automatically to refill the wasted nitrogen.

• Environment safety

  Nitrogen is an ecologically-friendly gas and causes no hazardous environmental impact being used in the nitrogen fire-fighting units.

• Low operation & maintenance costs

  Nitrogen is highly efficient under fire-extinguishing applications, where it is produced solely from the atmospheric air undergoing processing in the unit. The operational costs are therefore appear to be a highly important factor.

GRASYS fire-fighting units are designed to allow for a double-mode usage including maintaining a stable atmospheric composition with the specific maximum allowable oxygen concentration in a closed space of an object or a technological vessel. Provided that the burning process is generally impossible in the ambient with the oxygen concentration below 10% this function helps guarantee an almost absolute fire and explosion safety. Additionally, the produced nitrogen can be used for the technological vessels blowing with the automatic replenishing of nitrogen in the receiver.

Nitrogen is the most commonly used gas for the assurance of explosion and fire safety in various industry branches: from food to nuclear industry. As an inert gas, nitrogen, when supplied to a process vessel, helps displace oxygen and thus avoid the oxidation reaction.

Burning is the reaction of rapid oxidation caused by the presence of oxygen in the atmosphere when combined with the ignition source — a spark, electric arch, or a chemical reaction with considerable heat generation. For the avoidance of inflammation, it is sufficient to exclude the occurrence of such reaction.

In the environment with about 90% nitrogen concentration, burning process is rendered impossible. That is why, GRASYS stationary nitrogen plants and mobile nitrogen stations designed for the production 5 to 5000 nm³ of nitrogen per hour, with the nitrogen purity ranging between 90 to 99.96%, allow effective protection from inflammations and, where necessary, reliable fire extinguishing.

GRASYS nitrogen plants and stations are widely used for the provision of explosion and fire safety by transportation, transshipment, and storage of hydrocarbons and explosive chemical substances. Most often, nitrogen is used for purging process equipment, vessels, and pipelines, as well as for generation of “nitrogen blanket”.