Elements of Process Safety

The introduction of alternate fuel vehicles leads to new safety challenges. This is particularly relevant in the case of hydrogen vehicles, as flammable mixtures of hydrogen and air can be very dangerous. Potential hazard scenarios include gaseous or liquid hydrogen leaks, accumulation and ignition...

There has been a dramatic approach in the way we are implementing process safety guidelines and standards for combustible. This is particularly true for North America where there have been devastating dust explosions occurring for the last 10 years or so. Following this, OSHA has initiated NEP,...

Independent protection layers (IPLs) used to mitigate most severe consequences are analyzed for three chemical processes: Olefins, Low-density Polyethylene, and an intermediates chemical plant. The IPLs are categorized by type (i.e., interlocks, PSVs, independent alarms, etc.), by function (...

Many accidents involve two-phase releases of hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere. Rainout results in reduced concentrations in the remaining cloud, but can also lead to extended cloud duration because of re-evaporation of the rained-out liquid. For accurate hazard assessment one must accurately...

The production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals has been traditionally achieved via batch processes. More recently, there has been interest in using multiscale (meso- and micro-) reactors for the production of these fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. These efforts in process intensification...

Operational Discipline: Does your organization &'do the job right every time&' Most organizations, especially those involved in handling hazardous materials or performing hazardous operations, invest considerable effort in preparing written instructions and procedures. Written procedures...

A number of reactive processes of the agrochemical, fine-chemicals and pharmaceutical industries involve thermally unstable and/or toxic reactants, products or intermediates, for which the chemistry, thermochemistry and thermodynamic properties are barely known. They frequently employ multipurpose...

The current CCPS/TNO's BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) overpressure methodology is derived from that published by Baker in 1975. This methodology assumes isentropic expansion work and uses Baker's graphical method and high-explosive correlation to calculate BLVE energy and...

Our company has discovered that regular auditing of the MOC process is essential to enforcing its proper use. We have developed an audit that can be performed by plant personnel to identify the effectiveness of our MOC process in 2 critical categories: (1) Identifying changes and initiating MOC for...

First order inherently safer technology (IST) involves the elimination of a hazard through one of four traditional approaches. While these methods are recognized as preferred means of addressing chemical facility hazards, all hazards cannot be removed through the use of these methods due to...