Coal—an explosive personality
Even on its best day, spontaneous combustion and explosion are two common concerns with coal storage. Its fiery nature causes coal to self-heat, ignite easily, and produce flammable coal dust. Temper these tendencies by choosing a dome for bulk storage.
- Airtight nature: Our domes are completely air tight, minimizing the amount of air getting into the pile and producing a flame.
- Explosion protection: Domes that store coal can be built with explosion panels in the apex that seal out moisture but are also designed to release in a deflagration event. The energy from a potential deflagration event is directed away from personnel and equipment. In addition, the dome doesn’t have roof beams or trusses that collect dust as compared to flat storages and silos, eliminating the concern of dust build-up that can contribute to a potential fire or deflagration event.
- Truss free: Fire-protection experts recommend coal be stored in facilities with few surface areas for dust to collect, and since our domes are built without the use of interior supports, there’s less worry about dangerous dust build-up on trusses.
- Waterproof membrane and insulation: Avoid pollution by runoff and a decreased calorific value by storing coal in a dome that seals out the elements. The dome’s insulated nature also prevents heating and cooling of the walls and air inside, thus stopping condensation and protecting the product’s integrity.
- Hot-spot detection: Over-belt infrared detectors sense hot spots in material coming into the dome, and linear heat cables over conveyors detect fires. Different types of coal require different kinds of systems, and our engineers design specific to each customer’s stored product.
- Material-handling solutions: How fast and how well you move your product translates into how fast your company makes money. In addition to dome construction, we specialize in handling systems—not just those moving product within the structure, but loading and reclaim systems too. Our smart design also minimizes dust creation and emission.
- More storage, smaller footprint: With domes, customers can store more product in a smaller footprint, stacking it deeper and taking up less valuable property at the site than compared to a flat storage. And compared to a concrete silo, the dome allows you to store more coal in the same footprint and height due to the fact that product can be stored inside the entire dome structure.