Asphalt Plant: NFPA 87 Rotary Dryer and Bitumen 160 °C

Turkey has 30,000 km of dual carriageway fed by 200+ asphalt plants. The rotary dryer brings aggregate to 150 °C and bitumen sits at 140-180 °C. Burners run LPG, diesel or natural gas. NFPA 87 covers asphalt fluid heaters, silo venting, rotary-dryer deflagration and fuel tank setback.

Plant Main Units

• Rotary dryer: 3-5 m dia x 10-15 m long
• Burner: 10-40 MW
• Hot aggregate silo: 150-180 °C
• Bitumen tank: 50-200 m3, 160 °C
• Baghouse: bag dust filter

Bitumen Hazard

• Flash point: 218-280 °C (Class IIIB)
• Storage temp: 160 °C
• Ignition: at about 260 °C
• Tank foam: 0.16 gpm/ft2 (6.5 L/min/m2) per NFPA 11; NFPA 11 Annex A warns that foam on hot oil or burning asphalt tanks can cause violent frothing and slop-over, so apply with care
• Heater coil: Hot oil safer

Rotary Dryer Risk

• CO alarm: 50 ppm early warning, 100 ppm burner lockout
• Deflagration vent: NFPA 68
• Flame scanner: UV/IR
• Purge: 5 volume changes before ignition
• BMS: NFPA 85 burner management

Baghouse Fire

• Filter bag: PTFE 240 °C max
• Aramid (Nomex): 200 °C
• Sprinkler: dry pipe inside the baghouse
• Spark detector: IR, at the inlet
• Inlet gate: Quick isolation

Turkey Operators and Related Standards

• KGM: 30,000 km asphalt network
• Typical plants: 180-240 t/h
• A single metropolitan area: 6 plants
• Reference plant fire: Bitumen tank
• Fluid heaters: NFPA 87
• Burner management: NFPA 85
• Deflagration venting: NFPA 68
• Mix test methods: TS EN 12697

MEP Calc — 110+ Engineering Calculators

MEP Calc bundles 110+ engineering modules in one iOS app: 21 fire calculations (sprinkler, fire pump, FM-200 clean agent) plus heating, cooling, HVAC, plumbing, steam and natural gas. Download it on the App Store.

Download MEP Calc on the App Store

SprinkCalc — Fire Sprinkler Design Across Three Standards

SprinkCalc covers hazard classification, design density and area, K-factor selection, water demand and hydraulic calculations for NFPA 13, FM Global and BS EN 12845 in a single iOS app, and exports a professional PDF report. One of the few tools that unifies all three major fire protection standards.

Download SprinkCalc on the App Store