Protego have won a prestigious award at the 2009 HazardEx event for our detonation arresters for acetylene and ethylene oxide applications.
The resulting product was considered by the judging panel to be a major contribution towards the safe operation of plants handling these gases. Acetylene and ethylene oxide are highly flammable gases with the potential for exothermic explosive decomposition. Therefore, they present a difficult challenge for flame arresters and up to now type approved flame arresters for these gases have been unavailable.
David Long MD of Protego UK accepted the award on behalf of PROTEGO.

Tony Ennis from Haztech Consultants and David Long of Protego UK presented new information about the potential for flashback through pressure vacuum relief valves on low pressure storage tanks in their paper given at the Hazards XX symposium held in Manchester in April 2008. Research carried out by PROTEGO® in support of the new tank venting standard BS EN ISO 28300:2008 has shown conclusively that pressure / vacuum relief valves do not act as flame arresters and can allow flame transmission into tanks storing flammable liquids.
Some standards and guidance such as API 2000 5th edition and HSG 176 state that a flame arrester is not considered necessary for use in conjunction with a pressure vacuum valve venting to the atmosphere because flame speeds are less than vapour velocities across the seat of the pressure vacuum valve. However these new tests have resulted in updated guidance for explosion protection for tanks storing flammable liquids in BS EN ISO 28300:2008.
PROTEGO® has a range of pressure vacuum relief valves with integral flame arresters that provide both under / over pressure relief and explosion protection in a single device. For more information contact David Long at Protego UK Ltd at david.long|at|protego.com.

New guidance issued by the APEA/IP on the Storage and Dispensing of High Blend Ethanol Fuels including E85 at Filling Stations requires that for all new petrol service stations and any installations changing to High Blend Ethanol Fuels all open entries to the tank vapour space must be fitted with flame arresters designed and tested in accordance with BS EN 12874: 2001.
Fuel equipment specialists Wright Engineering selected PROTEGO® to develop a flame arrester to incorporate into their vapour recovery adaptor which is used at service stations to allow the delivery tanker to connect the vapour return hose to the underground storage tank. Initial flame transmission and flow testing was carried out by PROTEGO® at our in-house test facilities resulting in the successful development of the new adaptor.
For more information contact David Long at Protego UK Ltd at david.long|at|protego.com or Peter Godfrey at Wright Engineering at peter_godfrey|at|btinternet.com (tel: 07860 709974).