On quest to make fireworks greener and safer

Fireworks lit up the night sky, spelling the message: “One World, One Family”. The spectacular display during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games left many stunned.

Used for hundreds of years, fireworks are becoming increasingly eye-catching, able to create a wide variety of shapes and effects and adding more fun to festivities.

Firework production, which used to be one of the most dangerous industries in China, has become safer and more environmentally friendly, thanks to the use of intelligent facilities. Chinese fireworks are sold worldwide, but most are produced in the border area between Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. The sector has experienced consistent growth and fewer accidents in recent years.

Liuyang in Hunan, for example, produced fireworks worth almost 26.2 billion yuan (£3.1 billion) in 2021, 28.9 per cent more than in 2020, said Chen Xiangtao, deputy head of the city’s firework development centre.

The fireworks industry is not only dangerous but also labour intensive, Chen said. With safety a key concern, the government has been working to promote the use of automated lines and intelligent machines.

Machinery is being used in key production procedures in all firework companies in Liuyang. “This has effectively averted major safety accidents,” Chen said.

At the Guangming factory, which belongs to Liuyang Zhongzhou Fireworks, for example, an automatic production line has been in operation since 2017.

“The entire line needs only 11 people to run it, but it can do the work that previously required 300,” said Zhu Pingan, safety head of the factory

The most dangerous steps are those related to gunpowder. The line has minimised the number of people needed in such procedures, and for some, production is entirely automated. It also saves on the need for space. The production line of the Guangming factory covers just 2.5 acres, about 30 per cent of the area traditionally needed for similar capacity. The Liuyang government has resorted to artificial intelligence technology to improve safety supervision. In Dayao township in Liuyang, which produces 70 per cent of the raw materials used to make fireworks around the world, for example, every company has AI cameras that are connected to an early warning and risk prevention system

For safety, only one worker is allowed into some production areas, and the system automatically alerts factory executives if more than one person shows up in a restricted area. Early warning messages are then sent to higher-level executives and even to emergency management departments if nothing is done to deal with the violation, local government said. The system can also monitor for static electricity, humidity and dust density and issue an alert when any reach levels that are potentially hazardous.

Liuyang has also worked hard on making fireworks more environmentally friendly, Chen said Apart from establishing research platforms, the city has worked with institutes across China to make fireworks cleaner.

Propellants that produce little smoke and emit no sulphur, and firework shells made from regenerated plant fibre are some of the 300 achievements of the research, Chen said.

Previously published on Chinadaily.com.cn