No Time for Loss of Production

GreCon Spark Extinguishing Systems secure production of animal feed pellets at Suedzucker in Rain/Germany

When producing sugar from sugar beets, the complete beet is processed. The sugar is extracted, and the remaining sugar beet cossettes are processed into animal feed pellets. The dust of dried sugar beet cossettes is inflamable. The GreCon Spark Extinguishing System increases the security of the production.

Suedzucker – a big player in the food industry

The company Suedzucker developed from a regional sugar producer to one of the major companies in the food industry. A total of 29 sugar factories make a turnover of more than 3 billion EURO. The site in Rain (Lech/Germany) alone processes up to 1,600,000 tons of sugar beets to an amount of up to 250,000 tons of sugar per year.

Sugar campaign – 24/7 production for 4 months. This amount of sugar is exclusively produced from the middle of September to January. During this time period, up to 12,000 tons of beets are processed to sugar every day. Molasses, carbolime and sugar beet cossettes arise as by-products. After the sugar beets having been chopped and the sugar extracted from the cossettes, the material is dried and pressed to pellets.

The right detector for every challenge

To ensure an optimum protection, the different processes in the pellet production are monitored by detectors that are specially adapted to the individual application. Highly sensitive FM 1/8 detectors, for example, monitor exhaust ducts for sparks and glowing embers. Areas at risk where light ingress is to be expected are monitored for ignition sources by DLD 1/8 detectors that are insensitive to light. If sparks or glowing embers are detected, either the associated plant area will be shut down, or the ignition sources will be automatically extinguished by a fine water mist spray. „The fine water mist spray effectively prevents ignition sources from reaching the filter system”, reports Manfred Mayr.

Service and maintenance in good hands

To ensure a smooth function of the system, it is serviced and checked for possible security gaps by the GreCon after-sales service every year in summer shortly before the campaign. “We have the annual check carried out by the GreCon after-sales service to be sure that everything works fine”, says Manfred Mayr. “After the maintenance, we can start into the next campaign with a good feeling”.