1. What FB supplies to refineries, terminals and power plants
FB Bombas, a manufacturer with its factory in Cabreúva, São Paulo State, supplies FBFS fire pump assemblies in three configurations: electric, diesel and electric + diesel. The main pump is the FBCN standardized centrifugal pump. The diesel configuration combines the diesel-driven main pump, the jockey pump, the diesel controller, pressure switches, a pressurization tank, a fuel tank, starting batteries, an exhaust system and a metal base; the electric + diesel configuration adds both main pumps, each with its own controller.
The assembly is designed to NFPA 20 or NBR 16704, according to the facility specification.
For a refinery buyer, the documents that come with the assembly matter as much as the pump. NFPA 20 requires the manufacturer to furnish the purchaser with certified shop test curves showing head-capacity and brake horsepower (4.5.1), and FB supplies a certified curve and FAT. Once installed, the complete unit, made up of pump, driver and controller, undergoes the field acceptance test (4.4.1, 4.4.2 and 4.34).
FB Bombas reports registration in the Petrobras supplier registry (CRC). The certificate is issued by supply family and is not a product certification; validity and families are checked on the document, provided on request.
Foam proportioners, foam concentrate tanks, foam chambers, monitor nozzles and tank sprays are not part of the FBFS configurations and are supplied only when confirmed in the proposal scope. Pump selection starts from the design calculation report, and availability is stated in the quotation.
2. How many pumps and which drivers: main and standby
In São Paulo, Part 3 of the Fire Department’s Technical Instruction IT 25 covers the protection of stationary tanks and loading and unloading racks for flammable and combustible liquids. It applies to tanks larger than 450 L at a pressure of up to 103.9 kPa measured at the top (23.1).
Fire pump design follows NBR 13714, Annex B, or NFPA 20 (30.1), and when the main system has more than one pump, the design flow is split equally among them (30.2).
The standby requirement depends on how the main pumps are driven. With combustion engines, the IT requires at least one standby pump, identical to the others, for each group of up to four main pumps, rounding group fractions up (30.3).
With electric motors, it requires the same number of standby pumps driven by an alternative energy source; if the electric main pumps already have an alternative power supply, one identical standby pump for each group of up to four is accepted (30.4).
A single diesel main pump therefore leads to a second, identical diesel pump. With an electric main pump, the standby pump needs another energy source, and the design shows which one. The requirement comes from the driver and the number of pumps, not from the word refinery. With up to 120 m³ of storage in the highest-risk scenario, the IT accepts a single fire pump, without requiring automatic starting (30.5).
The IT also allows the pump system to be shared with another facility, where the design permits and the companies agree (30.6), and pumps that refill the reservoir meet the same requirements as the main pumps, drivers included (24.4.3.4). Outside São Paulo, check the state regulation and the purchaser’s specification.
Warning
The design must demonstrate each pump’s role and source availability.
3. Pump flow and pressure: the highest-demand scenario
IT 25 sizes the system for the scenario with the highest water, pressure and foam concentrate demand, jointly or separately, and considers one event at a time in each isolated area, while still studying every scenario (24.4.1).
For the pump, the governing scenario is the one requiring the highest flow and pressure to serve, at the same time, the cooling of the burning tank, the cooling of the neighboring tanks, foam on the burning tank and the supplementary foam lines (31.2).
When the burning tank is vertical, neighboring tanks are those whose shell lies closer than 1.5 times the burning tank’s diameter or 15 m, whichever is greater; when it is horizontal, those closer than 15 m to its containment dike (26.1). Because the highest flow, the highest pressure, the largest water reserve and the largest foam concentrate volume may fall in different scenarios, the study covers every tank in the area under approval (31.4).
The study is based on the performance of the equipment adopted, with the catalogues attached to the submission (31.6). This is where the selected pump’s curve comes in: the hydraulic calculation with the actual equipment characteristics, balancing foam and cooling, sets the actual flow and pressure of the fire pump (procedure in item 32, step 13).
In Table 3.4, the neighbors’ area is half the sum of roof and shell areas for up to two tanks, and one third for more than two; for floating-roof tanks, the roof is not counted. For polar solvents, foam monitors and handlines may not be used on vertical tanks more than 4 m in diameter (Table 3.7, note a).
Foam application times also come from the tables: for hydrocarbons, 55, 30 and 20 minutes with foam chambers or fixed applicators for classes I, II and IIIA, and 65, 50 and 30 minutes with monitors and handlines (Table 3.6).
| Component | IT 25 criterion | Item |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling of the burning vertical tank | 2 L/min/m² of shell area, by sprays, monitor nozzles or hoses from hydrants | 26.2.10 |
| Cooling of neighbors by sprays | 2 L/min/m² of the roof and shell area defined in Table 3.3 | 26.2.10 and Table 3.3 |
| Cooling of neighbors by monitors or hoses | 5 L/min/m² up to 8 m between shells; 3 from 8 to 12 m; 2 above 12 m | Table 3.4 |
| Cooling of a horizontal tank | 2 L/min/m² of the horizontal projected area | 26.3.1 |
| Foam on hydrocarbons | 4.1 L/min/m² with foam chambers or fixed applicators; 6.5 with monitors and handlines | Table 3.6 |
| Foam on polar solvents | 6.9 L/min/m² with foam chambers or fixed applicators; 16 with monitors and handlines | Table 3.7 |
| Supplementary foam lines | At least 200 L/min each; 1, 2 or 3 lines for a largest vertical tank up to 20 m, up to 36 m or over 36 m in diameter | 27.5.2 and Table 3.9 |
| Wind in open areas | Foam monitor and handline rate increased by 20% | 24.2.2 |
4. Water source, reserve and water quality
IT 25 bases the water supply on an inexhaustible source, such as the sea or a river, able to meet 100% of the design flow in any season or weather. Where that is not feasible, a reservoir meets 100% of the design flow for the time in Table 3.2 (24.4.3.1), determined by the useful storage capacity of the highest water-demand scenario (24.4.3.2). With simultaneous refill, the volume may be calculated from the design flow minus the refill flow (24.4.3.3).
The water may be fresh or salt, untreated, provided it is free of oil and of substances incompatible with foam production (24.4.2.1). The hydrant network is preferably kept pressurized with fresh water to avoid scaling and corrosion; if it must stay permanently filled with salt water, all piping is specified for that condition (24.4.2.2 and 24.4.2.3). Where suspended solids could clog sprays and other equipment, strainers and line-cleaning devices are provided without taking the system out of service (24.4.2.4).
Pump materials follow the water’s composition and temperature and the operating conditions: do not assume that 316 stainless or duplex resolves every seawater intake. To assess suction, provide the water source, quality and level variation, elevations and piping; the intake geometry and the selected curve must be compatible.
The supply may be shared with neighboring facilities, provided it meets the joint highest water-demand scenario; the design shows the site layout of the companies involved, the scenario study with the neighboring tanks and the pipe run from the reservoir to the pump (24.4.3.5 to 24.4.3.7).
| Useful capacity of the highest risk | Time |
|---|---|
| 40,000 m³ or more | 6 h |
| 10,000 to less than 40,000 m³ | 4 h |
| 1,000 to less than 10,000 m³ | 2 h |
| 120 to less than 1,000 m³ | 1 h |
| 50 to less than 120 m³ | 0.75 h |
| 20 to less than 50 m³ | 0.5 h |
5. Hydrant and monitor network: pressure, jockey pump and positions
When not in use, the network stays permanently full and pressurized, with at least 1 bar (10 m of water column) at the most unfavorable point; pressure may be maintained by a jockey pump, an elevated water tower, a priming tank or another solution that guarantees it (26.4.2). In operation, the pressure at the hydrants, including the most unfavorable one, must be between 53 and 100 m of water column (26.4.3).
That range, together with network losses, is what the hydraulic calculation uses to reach the main pump pressure.
Isolation valves divide the network so that the rest stays in service when a section ruptures or is under maintenance (26.4.1). Each cooled tank has at least two hydrants or two monitor nozzles, even when protected by sprays (26.5.1), and every tank in a dike is protected from at least two positions on different sides (26.5.15).
Spacing depends on dike capacity: up to 35,000 m³, no more than 100 m between hydrants or monitors; above that, 60 m; in both cases, with hose lengths of up to 60 m (26.5.6 and 26.5.7). Hydrants have at least two outlets with valves and storz quick couplings, between 1 and 1.5 m above the ground, and adjustable nozzles (26.5.8).
Manually operated hydrants and fixed monitors stand at least 15 m from the tank shell, and fixed monitors may not be placed on the dikes or inside the containment area (26.5.10).
The jockey pump maintains network pressure at rest without starting the main pump, and it is part of all three FBFS configurations. Its role and selection are covered in the jockey pump guide.
6. Foam and foam concentrate: where the water pump meets the foam system
IT 25 requires a foam system for tanks or tank farms holding more than 20 m³ of class I, II or IIIA liquids, by handlines, monitor nozzles or foam chambers (24.2.1), as set out in Table 3.11.
Fixed-roof atmospheric tanks with those classes have a fixed system, by foam chamber or subsurface or semi-subsurface injection, when they exceed 18 m in diameter or 6 m in height with hydrocarbons, or 4 m in diameter or 6 m in height with polar solvents (Table 3.5, note a). Tanks storing product at 100 °C or more may not have a fixed foam system (27.2.1).
Foam water is part of the pump scenario. The rate in Tables 3.6 and 3.7 multiplied by the application area gives the minimum solution flow on the burning tank, and the supplementary lines add 200 L/min each (procedure in item 32, steps 7 and 9). The foam concentrate proportion comes from Part 1 of the IT or from the manufacturer’s recommendation (step 11), not from a fixed percentage for every fuel.
The foam concentrate volume comes from the highest-demand scenario, with simultaneous use on the highest-risk tank and on the supplementary lines for the specified time (31.3). The analysis takes into account tank diameter, stored liquid, type of concentrate, application rate and adopted proportion (31.5).
Where the foam concentrate pump of the protection system is a positive displacement pump, Chapter 8 of NFPA 20 requires it to be listed for the intended application (8.1.2.1), suited to the liquid’s viscosity (8.1.1.3) and with a discharge pressure above the maximum water pressure at the concentrate injection point under any operating condition (8.2.6). The foam concentrate pump article covers selection by viscosity and compatibility. A proportioner or foam skid is supplied only when confirmed in the commercial scope.
7. Hazardous areas and component evidence
Provide area classification and motor, panel and instrument locations. Assess actual conditions and the equipment installed in each zone.
Inmetro states that Ordinance 115/2022 governs mandatory certification of electrical equipment for explosive atmospheres in Brazil, including imports with international certification.
Inside the containment dike, IT 25 only allows non-electrical equipment, or electrical equipment suitable for the classified area, with remote operation from outside the dike, and that equipment does not count toward the required number of monitors (26.5.13). Handlines are installed outside the dike (26.5.14).
Check the certificate, model, markings and component conditions of use. An example Ex designation must not be applied to every refinery motor.
Component conformity does not automatically certify the pump, skid or installation. Evidence and boundaries must accompany the specific proposal.
8. Standards, purchaser specifications and documents
Separate local legal requirements, adopted technical standards and facility specifications. Record versions and source documents in the requisition.
In São Paulo, IT 25 refers fire pump design to NBR 13714, Annex B, or NFPA 20 (30.1), and subsurface and semi-subsurface injection criteria to NBR 12615 (notes to 27.2.2 and 27.3.2). The purchaser’s specification may add requirements to those documents.
A standard cited in a previous project does not establish applicability to a new supply. Resolve discrepancies with the designer before selection.
Supplier registration differs from equipment technical conformity. The pump is evidenced by its own technical documentation: the certified shop test curve (NFPA 20, 4.5.1), the FAT report, motor and controller data and the documents the specification requires.
9. Certified curve, FAT and field acceptance test
The FAT verifies the pump at the factory against the agreed curve and criteria, and FB supplies a certified curve and FAT. Define in the plan the factory and site tests, their criteria and participants, and which conditions depend on the installation.
On site, NFPA 20 treats pump, driver and controller as one unit, which must perform to the standard once installed or when components are replaced (4.4.1), with an acceptance test on completion of the installation (4.4.2 and 4.34). Link reports to the equipment and instruments used, and record results, deviations and resolution of outstanding items before operational handover.
FAT and SAT are not, by themselves, product certifications or plant approval. Scope, timing and site services must be defined in the contract.
Engineering note
For a technical proposal, send the facility specification and required document and test list.
10. Data for selecting the FBFS assembly
With this data, FB selects the FBFS configuration and the FBCN pump for the design point and replies with the curve and the document scope:
- Highest-demand scenario: pump flow and pressure from the hydraulic calculation report, with cooling, foam and supplementary lines.
- Pump arrangement: number of main pumps, driver of each one and energy source of the standby pumps.
- Water source: sea, river or reservoir, quality (fresh, salt, suspended solids), levels, elevations and suction piping.
- Network: required pressure at hydrants and monitors, and the solution for keeping it pressurized at rest.
- Hazardous area: zones and location of motor, controller and instruments.
- Standards and specification: adopted standard (NFPA 20, NBR 16704 or NBR 13714, Annex B), state regulation and purchaser’s specification.
- Tests and documents: certified curve, FAT, site tests and any other documents the specification requires.
Engineering note
Sales contact: +55 11 4898-9200 or comercial@fbbombas.com.br. The availability of each item is stated in the quotation.