Coal Fire Detection and Prevention System Using IoT

Abstract

Coal is one of the major natural sources of power production. It contributes to about 56% of the total production. Conventionally, coal is stored in stockpiles for production of electricity without any logs. Storage of coal for a longer time in the open type stockpile results in self-oxidation of coal, which leads to increased ignition temperature. Detection and prevention of spontaneous combustion and self-ignition stands to be major issues in stockpile. This chapter proposes an automated system using internet of things (IoT), which aids in detecting the fire at an earlier stage and to prevent it, thereby avoiding economic loss. Wireless sensor nodes are deployed to detect the parameters such as temperature, humidity, gases from the stockpile, and the data is transmitted to the server and to the ground station with the aid of GSM modules. Data is monitored in the ground station, and the critical values are evaluated to prevent fire by detecting it at its early stages. The system is implemented in an open rail coal stockpile, and the data is represented in the form of graph for evaluation.