How Thermography Can Ensure Safe Waste Management

Fires at dump sites can cause enormous damage to the local environment and significant financial losses to site owners. Predicting and preventing these emergencies is a seemingly impossible task. Nevertheless, thanks to innovations in fire safety technology, an effective solution is available: thermal imaging cameras.

Thermal imaging cameras are a useful tool for non-intrusively monitoring the temperature of a location. They do this by interpreting the emitted invisible infrared radiation (IR) and interpreting it as a palette of heat. Similar to many different camera models, there are a variety of color palettes to choose from to suit different environments.

Like traditional digital images, thermal images are composed of pixels specified by a camera that processes the viewing data. Typically, the brighter the color, the higher the observed temperature (reds, oranges, and yellows are commonly used). Darker colors like purple, black, and blue are often used to indicate cooler temperatures and areas that emit less infrared light. These palettes help assist the software in analyzing the thermal conditions of the site and help alert users to any temperature increases.

The benefit of an automatic camera is consistent information. These thermal cameras will provide you with valuable thermal data to keep your site safe at any time and under all conditions.

Lithium-ion batteries cause many landfill fires; these batteries are found in rechargeable devices such as cell phones or laptops. When damaged, they can easily spark, igniting any nearby flammable materials, especially if they are already in a hot spot (or hot spots).

Incineration of landfills produces large amounts of toxins that are harmful to humans and the environment. The key to preventing these catastrophes is knowing where temperatures are rising and cooling them down before they erupt. This is where thermal imaging cameras are crucial.

Thermal imaging cameras used in fire detection services require a reliable, automated camera connected to high-quality imaging software to be truly effective. These systems will create a complete picture of the various temperatures on your site and, more importantly, identify any areas of increased temperature.

Monitoring is effective for many sectors, but when it comes to safe waste management, you can choose other methods to improve safety. For example, water cannons connected to these sirens are a common addition to junkyard fire detection systems. Automatic cameras provide 24/7 continuous hot updates to the software, monitoring changes outside of established parameters. When these limits are breached, an alert is sounded and connected water cannons can be automatically deployed to prevent an outbreak.

Many other industries use thermal imaging cameras for security purposes, but one industry, in particular, needs them, recycling centers, for similar reasons as dumps.

With more and more economies adopting sustainable practices and supporting recycling schemes, these centers have a lot of material to dispose of. It is estimated that nearly 1 billion tons of waste are generated each year. As more waste is sent to recycling centers, it is processed faster to compensate.

Heat is a by-product of waste sorting and accumulates in hot zones at specific processing sites. These areas can become dangerous if neglected, as the increased heat can start a fire in waste sorting, threatening staff and your facility.

Thermal imaging cameras are often installed as part of an overall early fire detection system. These safety systems will alert managers to locations emitting unusual heat and allow them to correct problems before they become dangerous.

These cameras should be installed in an end-to-end system to monitor the entire process. Unsorted waste for recycling will arrive when the truck deposits it into the designated bin. Like non-recyclable trash bunkers, these are expected hotspots, with dense accumulations of trash creating unexpectedly hot environments. As the trash is compressed together, ambient temperatures rise as the bunker effectively insulates from the outside cold, creating a hot, dry area perfect for any random sparks to start a fire.

Industrial grippers are used to start the automated process and move waste to the loading hopper; these actions create thermal displacement through friction and can start a fire inside the heated bunker. Hazardous events like this would require temporary facility closures and costly cleanup operations and safety inspections.

An automatic monitoring system with thermal imaging cameras monitoring IR (Infrared Radiation) will prevent these dangerous incidents throughout the year. If you want to know more about infrared technology and its different applications or purchase a thermal imaging camera core or thermal imaging systems, etc., please contact us.

JAVOL is a professional custom infrared imaging equipment manufacturer. We are committed to providing users with high-quality products and considerate services. We are equipped with a professional quality inspection system and a perfect management system, which can fully control the quality and details of products. At the same time, we will also provide effective solutions according to the diverse needs of users.