COMPOSITE panel specialist ISD Solutions has been contracted by Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB) to provide state of the art fire walls and compartmentation for the new massive Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT) facility currently under construction for Essex Waste Partnership in Basildon.
Due to commence operations in 2015, the new facility, one of the biggest waste treatment plants in Europe, will process up to 417,000 tonnes of municipal waste from across Essex each year and will play a key role in meeting the county’s targets for sustainable waste management and recycling.
Containment and separation for the various treatment stages within the facility to ensure safety, minimise fire risk and confine corrosive processing environments, is critical. ISD Solutions is installing some 8,500 square metres of specialist composite steel faced (Ruukki) panels within the concrete and steel structure to form airtight fire separation between key processing areas.
The solution, developed by ISD in partnership with UBB and Essex Waste Partnership, meets stringent design parameters and uses HPS200 coated panels and a unique ceramicoat coating on the firebatt which seals the firewalls. The resulting high spec ‘marine quality’ solution is able to withstand the volatile and corrosive conditions, minimise fire risk and at the same time help to minimise insurance requirements for the facility.
A spokesperson for Urbaser Balfour Beatty, which is responsible for building and operating the new facility, commented: “We are on plan to deliver an impressive new facility for Essex that will manage waste in a way that benefits the local community, economy and environment. ISD Solutions’ specialist knowledge, experience with firewall applications and ability to come up with a workable solution to minimise the risk of fire in a CX atmosphere has been essential.”
ISD Solutions was chosen as one of the few specialist subcontractors accredited by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) to LPS 1500 for the installation of passive firewalls and fire protection products, together with their wide track record with composite panel firewall solutions in data centres, manufacturing, warehouse and other commercial and industrial construction projects in the UK and internationally.
Brett Harrington, Firewall Divisional Manager at ISD Solutions said: “Projects of this scale and complexity set unique challenges and we have relished our seven month involvement with the project. Dealing with the potentially corrosive environment, categorized from medium C3, to extreme CX, needed a very high spec solution and meticulous installation.”
