Chamber of Mines Invests in Air Liquide Technology to improve safety and save lives!

You call Air Liquide, the world’s biggest industrial and medical gas company to build you the world’s first ever mobile Floxal membrane nitrogen plant!

The plant, which cost R22m to develop, was commissioned by the Collieries Committee of the Chamber of Mines and will be used primarily in the inertisation of combustible environments during underground coal fires.

Says Christo de Klerk, General Manager of Mines Rescue Services: “The safety of our mine-workers and that of the environment are our main priorities! In order to remain proactive in the event of a coal fire, the Floxal inertisation system was commissioned from Air Liquide. We looked at other underground fire fighting systems available internationally, but the deployment and running costs are extremely prohibitive.”

The system comprises a Floxal membrane plant that separates nitrogen from ambient air that can then be pumped into the underground fire area. “Inertisation is a method of controlling underground fires,” says Christo. “And the plant is entirely mobile making transportation and rapid deployment easy.

Air Liquide Marketing Director, Jonathan Madden says putting out fires underground is extremely difficult, costly and very dangerous. “In a nutshell, what Mines Rescue Services does is to seal off the burn area underground, drill emergency access holes from the surface and flood the space with nitrogen, thus extinguishing it by starving it of oxygen. The new plant has an output of 54 tons a day.”

Christo adds, “The Floxal inertisation system allows for a safe process conducted from the surface. This means our brave fire fighters do not have to put their lives at risk by having to go underground during the inertisation process once the burn-area is sealed-off.”

Underground fires can have a huge financial impact on the industry. In a well-documented case in 2005, it cost the mine well over R500m to bring the fire under control.

The portable nitrogen plant was modelled from Air Liquide’s sister company in Australia who have developed similar, but fixed nitrogen plants for use in mining. “There were some challenges, because in effect, no one had ever created a mobile unit before. We also had to comply with South African specifications. The plant consists of three components, the power supply, the air compression unit and the nitrogen generator,” added Jonathan.

“We were able to deliver the completed system within 9 months of agreement, including detailed design, procurement and construction. While the Floxal membrane skid is constructed in USA, the trailers and the integration of the mechanical and electrical systems were completed locally. It is very rewarding for us to see a project like this – first of its kind and for such a cause - completed successfully and delivered on schedule after so much cooperation and development.”