Early detection and fighting of fires in belt conveyor (Edaffic) : final report

Edaffic was a 3-year research project, the main target of which was minimising the risk of initiation and spreading of conveyor belt fires, acting on all control points of the fire ignition and propagation process. The fundamental mechanisms behind the initiation and propagation of conveyor belt fires were established. The characterisation of the combustion process (including an estimation of fire load and characteristics of combustion products), the evaluation of the effect of these combustion products on persons (including workers and local population) as well as the impact on the environment allowed the manufacturers of conveyor belts to use the results to reduce development costs. The results obtained from the tests showed that the belts with the current material composition will seriously pollute the environment in case of fire.