WASTE, RECYCLING AND RESOURCE-RECOVERY FIRE SAFETY
Waste and Recycling Fire Protection for Lithium-Ion Battery Fires
Complete Facility Protection for Processing Equipment, Waste Storage, Conveyors, Mobile Plant and Ancillary Fire Risks
Waste and recycling facilities face a complex combination of combustible materials, high-energy processing machinery, mobile equipment, concealed ignition sources and increasingly frequent lithium-ion battery fires. Protecting the site requires more than one detection method or suppression technology.
Equipro develops application-specific fire protection strategies for complete waste and recycling operations. Our solutions combine early fire and heat detection, Cold Fire-enhanced water systems, automatic deluge and sprinklers, UniFire water monitors, local machinery protection, clean-agent systems for suitable enclosed risks, and portable or mobile fire-fighting equipment.
The objective is to detect fire earlier, intervene before escalation, protect critical plant and neighbouring assets, reduce operational disruption and limit environmental consequences.
THE WASTE AND RECYCLING FIRE PROBLEM
Why Waste and Recycling Facility Fires Escalate So Quickly
Lithium-ion batteries have become one of the most serious and unpredictable fire risks facing waste and recycling facilities. Batteries concealed inside general waste, mixed recycling, electrical equipment, vapes, power tools and other everyday products can enter a site unidentified and reach compactors, conveyors, shredders and processing machinery.
Crushing, puncturing, short-circuiting or overheating a lithium-ion cell can initiate thermal runaway, producing intense heat, flammable off-gases and repeated ignition. The initiating battery may be extremely small, but the resulting fire can spread rapidly into a much larger surrounding fuel load.
Lithium-ion batteries are not the only threat. Waste facilities also face hot loads, self-heating materials, friction and mechanical failure, electrical faults, combustible dust and fluff, mobile-plant fires, welding and maintenance activities, and rapid fire spread through stored combustible waste.
The ignition source may be a single hidden battery. The resulting incident can threaten the entire facility.
01
Hidden Lithium-Ion Batteries
Small batteries concealed inside mixed waste, WEEE, vapes and consumer products can pass through initial inspection and enter mechanical processing equipment.
05
Machinery, Bearings and Friction
Overheated bearings, motors, hydraulic systems and friction within processing equipment can ignite accumulated waste, dust or residue.
02
Crushing and Mechanical Damage
Compactors, shredders, grabs and conveyors can puncture or deform a battery, creating internal short circuits and initiating thermal runaway.
06
Self-Heating Waste
Organic material, fines, fragmented waste and stored combustible materials can retain heat or self-heat when pile conditions are not adequately controlled.
03
Thermal Runaway and Re-Ignition
A damaged lithium-ion cell can continue generating heat, vent flammable gases and ignite repeatedly after the visible fire appears controlled.
07
High and Changing Fuel Loads
Paper, cardboard, plastics, RDF, SRF, textiles, wood, tyres and mixed waste can allow a small ignition to develop into a fast-moving site fire.
04
Hot and Reactive Loads
Incoming waste may already contain heat, embers, incompatible materials or damaged equipment capable of initiating fire after delivery.
08
Mobile Plant and Charging Areas
Waste vehicles, loaders, forklifts, fuel systems and battery-charging equipment introduce additional electrical, mechanical and combustible-fluid risks.
Effective waste and recycling fire protection must detect abnormal conditions early, control the initiating event and prevent fire from spreading into the surrounding waste inventory, processing plant and neighbouring infrastructure.