Fires at waste sites cause immense harm to the local environment and significant financial damage to the site's owner. Predicting and preventing these flare-ups was an arduous task that seemed impossible. Still, thanks to innovations in fire safety technology, an efficient solution is available: automated thermal cameras.
Benefits of Automated Cameras
Thermal imaging cameras are practical tools for non-invasively monitoring the temperature of locations. They achieve this by interpreting the invisible infrared radiation (IR) emitted and interpreting it into a thermal colour palette. Similar to the many different camera models, there are a variety of palettes to choose from to suit different environments.
Like conventional digital images, thermal images are made up of pixels that are designated by the camera processing the viewed data. Generally, the brighter the colour, the warmer the temperature is observed (red, orange and yellow are commonly used for these). Darker colours like purple, black and blue will usually be used to indicate cooler temperatures and areas that are emitting less IR. These palettes help the assistive software analyse the thermal condition of the site and help alert users to any increases.
The benefit of automated cameras is consistent information. These cameras will provide you with the valuable thermal data you need to keep your site safe at all times and in all conditions.
Fire Prevention at Waste Sites
Lithium-Ion batteries cause many waste site fires; these batteries are found in rechargeable devices such as phones or laptops. When damaged, they can easily create a spark that will ignite any flammable materials nearby, especially if they are already in a hot location (or hot spot).
Burning waste sites produce immense amounts of harmful toxins dangerous to both people and the environment. The key to preventing these disasters is to know where the temperature is rising and cool it down before a flare-up. This is where thermal imaging cameras are vital.
Automated Thermal Detection Systems
Thermal imaging cameras for fire detection service requires reliable, automated thermal cameras connected to high-quality imaging software to be genuinely effective. These systems will create a complete image of your site’s various temperatures and, more importantly, identify any increasingly warm areas.
Two types of alarms are programmed into our software:
- Fire alarm: this will constantly monitor an area to detect fire ignition so it can be dealt with as soon as possible. This alarm is used for manufacturing facilities, warehouse storage and recycling facilities.
- Temperature monitoring alarm: this will focus on more incremental changes that take place long-term. This alarm is handy for waste sites, biofuel storage and petrochemical sites
Monitoring is effective for many sectors, but for safe waste management, there are additional means you can choose for increased safety. For example, water cannons connected to these alarms are a common addition to a waste site’s fire detection system. The automated cameras provide the software with continuous thermal updates 24/7, monitoring changes outside the established parameters. When those limitations are breached, an alarm is raised, and a connected water cannon can be automatically deployed to prevent flare-ups.
Our effective software can control multiple cameras simultaneously, using their tilt and pan functions to view vast areas. It also has filters to ignore unrelated elements, such as people or vehicles, significantly reducing the chance of false alarms. This is achieved by creating AOI (areas of interest) within the software.
Preventative Monitoring at Recycling Centres
Many other sectors use thermal imaging cameras for safety purposes, but one, in particular, needs them for similar reasons to waste sites, that is, recycling centres.
With more economies embracing sustainable practices and supporting recycling initiatives, these centres have significant materials to process. It is estimated that nearly one billion tonnes of waste material are generated yearly. With an increasing percentage of that being sent to recycled centres, the processing is conducted quicker to compensate.
Heat is a byproduct of waste sorting and accumulates in hot zones at specific processing locations. These areas can become dangerous if ignored, as the increasing heat could start fires within the waste sorting, threatening the staff and your facility.
Thermal imaging cameras are commonly installed as part of an overall early fire detection system. These safety systems will alert managers to locations emitting unusual increases in heat and allow them to rectify the problem before it becomes hazardous.
These cameras should be installed in an end-to-end system to monitor the entire process. The arrival of unsorted waste to recycle will be when the lorries deposit it into the designated waste bunkers. Much like unrecyclable waste bunkers, these are expected hot spots where the dense accumulation of waste can create an unexpectedly hot environment. As waste is compressed together the ambient temperature will rise as the bunker effectively becomes insulated against the outside cold, creating a hot, dry area perfect for any random spark to start a fire.
Industrial grippers are used to start the automated process and move the waste to a charging hopper; these actions create heat displacement through friction and could potentially spark a flame within the heated bunker. A hazardous event like this will require a facility to shut down temporarily and conduct expensive clean-up operations and safety inspections.
Automated monitoring systems with thermal cameras monitoring IR (infrared radiation) will prevent these dangerous events all year round.
At Thermascan, we supply the highest quality range of cameras for automated thermal imaging inspections and the associated fire detection software needed to increase your facility's safety measures significantly. Not all thermal cameras will be an effective choice for this application; specific models to consider are:
- The A50/A70: Smar sensors that are ideal for use in condition monitoring and early fire detection.
- The New FH series: Multispectral cameras with 4K visualisation for fire detection and can be connected to an external video management system for automated responses.
- The Ax8 is a cost-effective temperature measurement solution that is combined with an alarm functionality to alert users of potential issues with autonomous communications.
- Either the A500F or A700F are both fixed mount thermal imaging cameras, perfect for condition monitoring of waste sights and early fire detection. These cameras come equipped with advanced smart sensor technology that can operate independently or be integrated into monitoring software.
Our entire range of professional cameras is available online and includes a versatile range of models for sale, hire and discounted second-hand cameras.