Case Studies

Putting a Damper on Static Electricity Fires

The Sealed Air Corporation has over 100 facilities worldwide, manufacturing protective packaging products including Bubble Wrap® Brand Packaging; Fill-Air® Inflatable Packaging; Jiffy Mailers® and various paper products. At one Sealed Air plant, polyethylene foam products are produced in rolls, sheets and planks in a broad spectrum of sizes.

At the plant, the raw materials for the foam are mixed, and then extruded through a die into various shapes. The plant routinely produces over 30,000 pounds of foam a week. Maintenance Supervisor Robert Gosselin is responsible for the care and upkeep of this facility which employs from 50 - 100 people. Until recently, he faced a challenge: the production of polyethylene foam involves hydrocarbon gases such as butane and propane and the foam itself generates static electricity. The presence of flammable gases and static electricity created a severe fire hazard. “Fortunately, we never had a major incident,” Mr. Gosselin states, “but we did have fire hazard incidents where we had to cease all production and then later re-start.”

To keep the working environment safe, Mr. Gosselin sought to keep humidity in the production room over 60%. To achieve that goal, he tried a variety of solutions. “We experimented with different brands of humidifying misters but there was always a problem. Either they plugged up too easily or the drops were too big and we ended up with puddles on the floor which resulted in a slipping hazard for employees. What we needed were nozzles that offered three qualities: a fine enough mist; repeatability, meaning they would keep functioning for a long time without maintenance; and also overall longevity. My initial experience with other companies’ nozzles made me wonder if such a thing existed.”