Dalkita

Architecture & Construction - Distilled Spirits Plants

Safety

Egress!

Egress is defined as “the action of going out of or leaving a place”. 

Egress is a major component of safety features in the building, and has an entire chapter devoted to it in the IBC (International Building Code).

This post will cover some of the main concepts that the code uses to ensure a safe way for occupants to exit a building in case of an emergency, fire, etc…

Occupant Loads

You’ve probably seen a sign posted in some rooms/ buildings saying something like ” no more than 155 persons in the space”. This isn’t an arbitrary number. The code has calculated “occupant load factors” (OLF) for different uses of spaces. Table 1004.1.2 is the place this is found.

For instance, if a space is used as an office, that is calculated at a rate of 100 sf per person. So If you have 1,000 sf office room, the occupant load would be 10 people (1,000/100=10). 

A 1,000 sf room used for a concert type setting with standing room only would be calculated at a different rate of 5 sf per person. That would result in a much higher occupant load of 200 people (1,000/5=200)

Egress Sizing

We use the number of occupants serving a stair or hall to size how wide it needs to be. Stairs use the multiplier or .3 inches per occupant. All other egress components, such as halls and doorways use the multiplier .2 inches per occupant. 

So, for instance, if you have 300 occupants, a total door width of 60″ (300x.2=60) would be required. A space serving this many occupants would certainly need to have at least 2 doors, so (2) 36″ doors would meet the requirement. 

In most cases, a 36″ wide door minimum is required. A 36″ wide stair is the code minimum in most cases. A 36″ wide corridor is the code minimum, but 42″ is more often required for various reasons. 

Number of exits & exiting configuration

The column in the above chart called “maximum occupant load of space” tells use the number of occupants that trigger the need to have more than 1 exit to a space. So, for instance, if you have 48 occupants in an office room, 1 exit is ok. If there’s 52 occupants, you must have 2 separate exits. 

When 2 exits are required from a space, room, or building, they must be separated by 1/3 the diagonal distance of the space, room, or building being served (in a sprinklered building). In an unsprinklered building, they must be separated by 1/2 the diagonal distance of the space, room or building being served. Please see the diagram below. 

http://buildingcodenyc.com/sketches/distance-between-exit-doors/

The Maximum Common Path Of Egress Travel (CPET) is another complex yet important concept. The CPET is the distance that one must travel before reaching a point that they have 2 separate options of paths to take to egress the building. 

So, even if an office room is 40 occupants, but from the most remote corner of the room to the door is over 100′, this one door will not suffice, and a second separate exit must be provided. 

Doors & Everything Else

The code has egress requirements for doors. In many cases, doors must swing in the direction of travel, but in some cases (usually under 50 occupants & depending on occpancy) the doors may swing in. You will usually see inswinging doors into smaller rooms within buildings, but main exterior doors or doors into stairwells will often swing out. 

Emergency egress lighting that turns on during a power loss must be provided along the egress path. These are often attached to exit signs, or also separate. 

Exit signs are an important feature to building egress. They are required in may situations, but there are several exceptions, the main one being that they are not required for rooms or areas needing only 1 exit. 

Theres several other concepts of egress that may apply to your building. Accessibility within the IBC & ADA should also be considered. If there are differences between the 2, the more stringent rule will prevail.  If you’d like to know more, please consult chapter 10 of the IBC, or seek help from a design professional. 

Thanks!

What is the LFL & What does it mean to you?

What is the LFL?

The LFL (Lower Flammable Limit) is a concept related to flammability & fire safety. 

The LFL is defined as :

Usually expressed in volume per cent, is the lower end of the concentration range over which a flammable mixture of gas or vapour in air can be ignited at a given temperature and pressure. The flammability range is delineated by the upper and lower flammability limits. Outside this range of air/vapor mixtures, the mixture can not be ignited…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_flammable_limit

For ethanol, aka alcohol, the LFL is 3.3% by volume. Meaning, if ratio of ethanol vapor to air is less than 3.3%, the vapor can not ignite. 

This diagram below demonstrates the limits of the LFL of ethanol, as well as the UFL (Upper Flammable Limit). 

Why Does This Matter?

Knowing what the LFL is, and ensuring that flammable vapors, such as ethanol vapors, remain under this limit is a commonly used, well established, and reliable method of ensuring a safe, fire free environment. 

In order to have an alcohol fire, you need:

  1. The Fuel (Alcohol)
  2. Oxygen
  3. Ignition Source (Spark, Heat)

Take away one of these elements, and you can avoid a fire! In this case, we commonly remove the fuel, at least most of the fuel to stay under the LFL!

How do we stay under the LFL?

I’ll get right to it…VENTILATION.
This is the key in keeping under the LFL and keeping safe. If you exhaust out more ethanol vapors than can ever be accumulated and you’ve ensured that the flammable range can never be reached. For most requirements in the codes using the LFL to avoid fires, it usually requires 25% of the (3.3%) LFL. So, for ethanol that would be .825% ethanol vapor in the air. This is essentially a factor of safety.

As shown in the photo below, exhaust is usually achieved via duct, brought to 12″ above the floor, because ethanol vapor is heavier than air, and will settle near the floor. These exhaust ducts may be near any potential ethanol vapor leak, such as near a still (for a possible breach), near tanks, and near barrels. Exhaust is normally powered by an exhaust fan on the roof, and there must be an intake make up air vent to replace the exhausted air. 

 

 

Keeping under the LFL is a very important safety feature in a distillery. It takes a preventative approach of avoiding  a fire in the first place, rather than mitigating a fire after it has occurred. 

Written By:

Matthew Taylor-Rennert

No building codes out in the middle of nowhere! Think again.

In the U.S. , a lot of folks that are in rural areas may think that they don’t have any building codes where they live. Well, the truth is, that there certainly is code in most places in the country. What they are really lacking is regulation. 

While freedom from building codes may seem great, it can sometimes be a sort of double edged sword and can sometimes be a disadvantage/ something to be wary of. 

Why , How, & Where are building and fire codes

Some states adopt and enforce from a state level, and some states have code adoption on a localized county or city level.  Usually this is seen as an adoption of the model International (IBC, IFC, etc…) codes

Some rural counties may have model building code adopted, but may lack the enforcement. This is not always necessarily intended, but often due to a lack of staffing, and a large area to cover. 

Implications of not following codes

Insurance often requires businesses to be built and operated to codes & laws. If there is any incident (i.e. a fire), you may be held responsible and not be able to claim your insurance. 

Regardless of insurance, nobody wants their building to burn down or have some sort of accident. As a building and/or business owner, you must always be mitigating your risks. Designing a code compliant building is one of the most important factors. 

There’s also the possibility that your jurisdiction may have plan review / permitting systems in place, but may lack the knowledge to properly review and understand the complexities of the code. Especially when it comes to distilleries. If an incident/ accident happens, and it was built to permitted drawings, but the design was not compliant with codes…you are still responsible. Building & planning departments have disclaimers on all their permits releasing them from their responsibility. It is still up to you to build a legal building!

 

 

 

 

Prohibition On Flammable Liquids In Plastic Totes

What Are IBC Plastic Totes and what is prohibited from being stored in them?

If you’ve been to a few distilleries, you might have seen these around: Large plastic IBC (intermediate bulk container) totes.

IBC totes are lightweight, come in a variety of sizes (often seen in 275 gallons or more),  and are affordable. They are great for storing water and some other nonhazardous liquids, but they are actually prohibited by code to be used to store certain flammable liquids inside buildings, including alcohol over about 16% ABV.

Where in the code is this prohibited?

The building and fire codes can be tricky. Below is the code path that leads to this determination:

2012 IFC Chapter 2
Definitions- Tank, Portable
A packaging of more than 60-gallon capacity and designed primarily to be loaded into or on or temporarily attached to a transport vehicle or shop and equipped with skids, mountings or accessories to facilitate handling of tank by mechanical means. It does not include any cylinder having less than a 1,000-pound water capacity, cargo tank, tank car tank or trailers carrying cylinders of more than 1,000-pound water capacity.

2012 IFC 5704.3
Container & Portable Tank Storage
Storage of flammable & combustible liquids in closed containers that do not exceed 60 gallons in individual capacity & portable tanks that do not exceed 660 gallons in individual capacity, and limited transfers incidental thereto, shall comply with sections 5704.3.1 through 5704.3.8.5.

2012 IFC 5704.3.1
Design, construction & capacity of containers & portable tanks
The design, construction, & capacity of containers for the storage of Class I, II, & IIIA liquids shall be in accordance with this section & section 9.4 of NFPA30.

2015 NFPA30 9.4.3
The maximum allowable size of container, intermediate bulk container, or metal portable tank for class I, II, & IIIA liquids shall not exceed that specified in table 9.4.3

2015 NFPA 30 Table 9.4.3
Chart shows that  IBCs & Composite IBCs are NP (Not Permitted) in Any Size to have Class IB & IC Flammable liquids stored in them. Chart also shows that Approved metal portable tanks and IBCS are permitted up to 793 gallons in size, containing Class IB & IC Flammable liquids.

Why are spirits delivered in plastic totes, and why is it dangerous?

Grain Neutral Spirits are often delivered in plastic totes. The main reason for this is that when they are in transit, they are subject to the department of transportation regulations. Once they enter a building, they are subject to the local jurisdiction’s adoptions of the code, usually some version of the International Building/ Fire codes & NFPA standards mentioned above.

The primary reason for these code prohibitions are that plastic is combustible, and can build up a static charge with no way of being dissipated. This could potentially create a spark that could potentially quickly spread to the plastic.

What other options are there?

The answer is simple: metal! Essentially metal containers are permitted to be used to store large quantities of spirits. Of course, there are many other regulations regarding these containers including but not limited to: static grounding, fire protection, secondary containment, spacing, etc.

When selecting a portable container to store spirits at your distillery, metal is the safe and smart way to go!

 

Article by:

Matthew Taylor-Rennert

Dalkita Architecture & Construction

 

Secondary Containment

What is Secondary Containment?
Secondary containment requirements are found in the International Fire Code, a model code that is extensively used throughout the U.S. for safe building design and function. Most jurisdictions in the U.S. adopt this code as law, with some jurisdictions adopting a variation of it.

For the purpose of distilleries, high proof alcohol/ flammable liquid, secondary containment is a method of containing a potential spill, and containing any possible fire associated with that spill. It is used in certain situations to mitigate a risk of the spread of a dangerous material throughout a building and outside of a building.

Do I need secondary containment in my distillery?
Secondary containment comes into consideration only when you have an H (High Hazard) Occupancy in your building. You become an H-Occupancy when you exceed the Maximum Allowable Quantities of flammable liquid, which for alcohol/ethanol are 240 gallons in a fully sprinklered building and 120 gallons in a non-fully-sprinklered building. Below are a few possiblescenarios that demonstrate when you may or may not need secondary containment:

Scenarios Where Secondary Containment is required:
(Please note this applies for indoor, closed systems)

-Fully Sprinklered Building
-Over 240 gallons of alcohol over 16% ABV (Will be an H-3 Occupancy)
-Alcohol in vessels over 55 gallons, or if total capacity exceeds 1000 gallons (not barrels)

-Non-fully-sprinklered building
-Over 120 gallons of alcohol over 16% ABV (Will be an H-3 Occupancy, the H-3 Occupancy must be sprinkled*)
-Alcohol in vessels over 55 gallons, or if total capacity exceeds 1000 gallons (not barrels)

*Please note that while partially sprinkling a building is technically permitted by code, it is not advised because many fire department policies include prohibitions to this. Please check with your local authority having jurisdiction. 

Scenarios Where Secondary Containment is NOT required:
(Please note this applies for indoor, closed systems)

Fully sprinklered Building
Over 240 gallons of alcohol over 16% ABV (Will be an H-3 Occupancy)
Alcohol in wooden barrels/ casks

Fully sprinklered Building
Over 240 gallons of alcohol over 16% ABV (Will be an H-3 Occupancy)
Alcohol in vessels under 55 gallons and total capacity not totaling more than 1000 gallons.

Fully sprinklered Building
Under 240 gallons of alcohol over 16% ABV (Need not be an H-3 Occupancy)

Non- Fully sprinklered Building
Under 120 gallons of alcohol over 16% ABV (Need not be an H-3 Occupancy)

What does secondary containment look like?

Secondary containment can be achieved in several different ways. The code does not explicitly give directions on how to do this. This is an example of “performance language”, where the code give you the final goal/ requires you to design a safety feature…and it is up to the designer to make that happen. The code does specify some performance requirements, such as combustibility of materials, permeability of materials, slopes, depths, etc. Generally, we use concrete block or poured in place concrete as the containment material. Please see the IFC for further detail.  We have identified several general design methods to achieve secondary containment as shown in the following diagrams:

How big/ deep does it need to be?

The depth/ containment size is determined based on the volume of the largest vessel, plus 20 minutes of fire sprinkler water over the containment area. The sprinkler water will be determined by a fire protection engineer, but a common sprinkler flow rate for an H-3 room will be .35 GPM/SF.

For an example, a room with a 300 gallon vessel, a containment area of 160 SF, and a sprinkler flow of .35 GPM/SF, will result in a containment depth of 1′-8″.

Below is a real example of a tank room with secondary containment (of a much higher wall):

Thanks for reading! As you can imagine, secondary containment can certainly have some design and budgeting implications, but with proper planning, it can easily be integrated into the construction of a project. It is important to be informed on this topic when beginning to store larger vessels of alcohol at your facility. We hope you learned some important concepts here that can help lead you in the right direction if and when you may require secondary containment at your facility!

 

Article by:

Matthew Taylor-Rennert

Dalkita Architecture & Construction