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Low pressure water mist ­technology

I-CAT Environmental Solutions has appointed Sperosens as distributor of the I-CAT range of water mist and foam mist fire extinguisher products and systems. These were launched on 25 June at the CSIR’s Kloppersbos test facility.

The day kicked off with an introduction by Professor JJL du Plessis, Sasol Mining Chair: SHE, University of Pretoria. This was followed by a presentation by I-CAT managing director, James van Reenen. The proceedings continued with a host of demonstrations and fire simulations for the 160 guests from the mining and industrial market sectors.

The I-CAT range of extinguishers offers cost-effective, environmentally friendly solutions for almost every fire suppression application. It includes handheld portable water mist and foam mist extinguishers, vehicle systems and localised fixed systems using T-Rotor technology. Application of the low pressure water mist and foam mist can extinguish any type of fire with minimal collateral damage. In addition to this range, the Firetrace automatic detection and suppression system for local or in-cabinet protection can employ most commercially available suppression agents, including Novec, foam or DCP, to ensure the most suitable agent is used for a particular hazard.

The handheld water mist and foam mist extinguisher nozzles create a mist halo that protects fire fighters, operators and trapped victims from flames, radiated heat and smoke. The technology is completely safe for people, property and the environment and keeps post-fire damage to a minimum. The effectiveness lies in the mist droplet sizes – between 50 and 75 microns – with no chemically active substances present to cause damage. The mist contains air, thus the people it protects can breathe freely with no risk of asphyxiation. The products are certified in accordance with SANS 1910:2009 and the extinguishers also carry international approvals and quality standards like CE, EN3 and MPA Dresden.

The I-CAT vehicle protection systems create a fine atomised mist which cools the environment down gradually without causing thermal shock to equipment. Foaming agent is added to prevent any Class B fire from spreading if fuel or hydraulic lines rupture and cause engine fires. Operation and installation on vehicles ranging from buses and mining vehicles to boats and aircraft is easy, with very low maintenance costs. Downtime and cleanup after activation is minimal and there is no threat to the environment. The systems carry the internationally recognised FM approval.

Localised application systems for protecting conveyor belts, transformers, generators and other high value equipment can operate in extreme working conditions and confined spaces. They come with detachable Schrader valve gauges. This allows the system cylinder pressure to be verified by simply screwing off the gauge while observing if it loses pressure, and screwing it back on while observing the gauge indicating repressurisation.

This ensures that the user can check that the system is active and ready at any time. I-CAT systems are designed to reduce maintenance costs. Once a system has been activated it only requires a quick refill and repressurisation to put the system back into service and this can be done onsite. All systems can be pressure tested onsite and put back into service within minutes.

The effectiveness of the Firetrace standalone suppression system is due to the linear heat detection tubing that ruptures and delivers the agent directly at the origin of the fire when it is exposed to heat or flame. This specialised detection tubing combines leak resistance, flexibility, durability and temperature sensitivity, allowing it to react quickly at the point of origin of the fire. The tubing connects to custom engineered valves and a Firetrace cylinder that contains the most suitable fire suppression agent for the particular hazard.

Installation is simple, and self-activation ensures that the fire is reliably suppressed within seconds. Firetrace can be installed in virtually any enclosed space where high value assets such as electrical cabinets, medical equipment, IT server racks and UPS units are located.

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