The handling of coal self-combustion must be done immediately to prevent it from spreading widely within the pile or stockpile. Self-combustion begins with the absorption of oxygen at low temperatures.

Generally, the handling of coal self-combustion involves using heavy equipment like excavators to separate the burning coal, allowing the temperature to drop and the fire to extinguish. However, this method alone can be time-consuming since the burning coal can reach temperatures between 300 – 500°C or even higher, and the fuel consumption of the excavators will also increase significantly.

Sometimes, water is used in the field to extinguish the fire, but this is not effective because the water evaporates quickly. If extinguishing becomes very difficult, it is possible that the burning coal will be separated and left to burn out completely.

This issue can be very detrimental to the coal owner, both economically, as their “money” can burn away completely, and environmentally, due to the pollution caused by the gases released from the burning coal.

Solution

Eonchemicals presents a special foam for extinguishing coal self-combustion. Formulated specifically with surfactants and fire retardants, it quickly extinguishes coal self-combustion. This foam is also very economical, capable of extinguishing coal self-combustion with just a 1 – 3% concentration. The materials used are environmentally friendly, non-toxic, and biodegradable

Success Story 

Extinguishing coal self-combustion with FireShield 108

In a field trial, the temperature of the burning coal was recorded at 548°C. After being extinguished using FireShield 108, the temperature dropped to 37°C in just 5 minutes.

Tips for handling self-combustion with FireShield 108:

• If there are points that are already steaming or burning (self-combustion) on a small scale, extinguishing can be done using a stick nozzle directly inserted into the hot spot with FireShield 108
  
• If the pile is already burning on a large scale, use an excavator to expose the fire points and then apply FireShield 108 until the fire is extinguished
  

For more information about FireShield 108 or other chemicals, please chat via WhatsApp.