Cases/FAQ
[Illumination FAQ] Vol. 5 Explosion-proof lights introduction, Hazardous Locations, and Certificates
HI, everyone, we’ve talked about some basic knowledge about lights. Now we are going deeper into the more professional area: Explosion-Proof illumination.
Imagine that you’re working near an oil tank. You have to light up a flash light to see clearly. That’s where explosion-proof light comes in.
In order to prevent accident, area with flammable gas, vapor, or dust must use explosion-proof devices. Base on stat from Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration, spark possessed 22% of the cause of chemical hazard. High temperature surface possessed 11%. The ways of explosion proof are basically base on these 2 causes.
Where are “Hazardous Area”?
Though, the cause of chemical disaster are usually result from high surface temperature or sparks. The environment can still influence ways of explosion-proof. Therefore we have to generally define the environment, in order to specify the way.
We divide the flammable into 2 category: “Gas”, “Dust”. The common hazardous area can be listed below.
|
Gas |
Dust |
|
Aluminum and copper smelting Bulk truck terminals Chemical manufacturing and processing plants Food processing plants Cleaning Solvent area Marine and coastal facilities Oil refineries Oil drilling rigs Offshore platforms Paint, chemical and plastic mixing/storage Power generation plants areas Pipeline pumping stations Waste treatment facilities ect… |
Flour, sugar and starch processing\ Pulp and paper plants Paint and rubber manufacturing facilities Shipyards and shipbuilding plants Steel mills and foundries Grain handling facilities Mining operations Etc… |
How’s the Standards/Regulations?
Most countries have their Explosion-Proof standard/regulations, but most of them are following 2 systems.
1.Zone system formulated by IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and ATEX in Europe.
2. Class/Division system, which is formulated by NFPA, followed by UL certificate in North America (Canada included).
|
Material System |
Explosion Possibility exist continuously |
Explosion Possibility exist occasionally |
Explosion Possibility should not exist in normal operation |
|
IEC Gas |
Zone 0 |
Zone 1 |
Zone 2 |
|
IEC Dust |
Zone 20 |
Zone 21 |
Zone 22 |
|
NFPA(Gas/Dust) |
Division 1 |
Division 2 |
|
CNS3376 (Gas) and CNS15591 (dust) standards in Taiwan is extended from IECEx system. Explosion-Proof products must pass CNS standards to get TS certificate in Taiwan in order to sell.
Common National Certificate
l IECx: International certificate
l North America: UL 、C-UL、FM、CSA
l Europe: ATEX
l Brazil: INMETRO
l Custom Union TR Certificate EAC
l China: CN-Ex certificate
l Taiwan: TS certificate
.PNG)
