fish meal fires

[reyford]

Does anyone out there have any research, or know where I can find some, with respect to the spontaneous combustion of fish meal and the prevention thereof. Thanks in advance.

[vyto_fire]

Fishmeal is the dried and ground residue of fish that has been cooked and has had the oil extracted. It has a known propensity for self-heating and has been the cause of a number of ship fires. The self-heating is attributed to a combination of oxidation of the residual oil and action of micro-organisms . It has been reported that Chilean fishmeal is particularly susceptible to spontaneous combustion due to the high fat content in anchovy fishmeal. Conversely, it was found self-heating has not been a problem with fishmeal produced in Northern Hemisphere countries. Standard safety recommendations for transporting fishmeal on ships are:
 to dry the meal to between 6% and 12% moisture
 to store it at least 21 days prior to loading
 to not exceed 11% of fat content in the fishmeal
 to store bags of fishmeal is ship holds in such a way that air can circulate between bags.

REFERENCES:
Bowes, P. C., Spontaneous Heating and Ignition of Fishmeal, FPA J., No. 27, 285-289 (Oct. 1954).
Fishmeal Strikes Again, Hazardous Cargo Bull. 4:2, 20, 24 (1983).

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