Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
November 2013
Planned refinery expansion on hold This presentation takes a lot of information from the CSB interim report, some of the conclusions and analysis may be disputed.
Chevron Investigation
Measurements in 2002 indicating thinning were not documented properly to guide future inspections Information from industry experts concerning the processes leading to failure and means of guarding against such failures, including component by component inspections, was not shared effectively 2011 inspections during major maintenance did not include all components vulnerable to sufidation corrosion After discovery of leaking pipe, the response teams did not recognise the risk of rupture and fire.
CSB Investigation
Currently at Interim Report stage Concludes the cause of the release was due to sulfidation corrosion Identifies weaknesses in:
Inspection Hazard assessment Application of the inherently safe principle Weaknesses in Management of Change
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Inspection Techniques
One must inspect low silicon steel (in fact all steel, but Low Si in particular) Inspection generally is done on elbows and fittings which are usually the bits of the low Si pipework made of higher Si steel There were no condition monitoring locations on the section of pipework that failed Even where accelerated corrosion was identified, on the 52 line in 2002, this was not followed up (will PMI pick up low Si?) And yet.. Chevron employees have authored industry papers on sulfidation corrosion and had significant influence in the development of the industry sulfidation corrosion recommended practice, API RP 939-C. This recommended practice, first published in 2009, was developed under Chevron leadership. So the expertise is in house.
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http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/vol-110/issue-10/transportation/accuratecorrosion-modeling-improves.html
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Management of Change
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Pinhole Corrosion?
Corrosion is characterised by pinhole pitting Sulfidation corrosion has caused severe fires and fatalities in the refining industry, primarily because it causes corrosion over a relatively large area, so failures tend to involve ruptures or large leaks rather than pinhole leaks. It can be insidious in that moderately high corrosion rates can go undetected for years before failure. Finally, process changes that increase the temperature or sulfur content can creep up over time and multiply corrosion rates so that what was thought to be a low corrosion rate system becomes corrosive enough to fail before the increased corrosion rate is recognized.
Chevrons measurements on the pipework around the crude unit indicated an increased rate of corrosion with a change to higher sulphur crudes
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Consequences of Release
The release from the full bore rupture of the pipe was a cloud that partially vapourised;
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Consequences of Release
Why would a diesel type fuel, not collect as a pool? Distillation unit reflux lines will always have their process fluids at their boiling points These fluids are also at pressure and at height, so have potential energy They may have other dissolved components in them Note also: as their vapour pressure is high (they are boiling) they will be above their flash point The natural state of this liquid on release will be a mist Long chain hydrocarbons have higher flame speeds and are more prone to deflagration and detonation (diesel engines dont need spark plugs)
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Human Impact
15,000 health complaints is probably one of the highest from an industrial accident, especially a non-lethal one, but.. which refinery is Chevron Richmond? (the red line represents a distance of 1 km)
(images courtesy Google Earth)
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Conclusions
This fire was caused by a problem that can affect every refinery over a certain age It is hard to detect using standard techniques, even by industry leaders Response to early indications and replacement is the only cure Sensitivity to corrosion stressing mechanisms should feature in inspection programs It is difficult to distinguish between minor and major consequences caused by corrosion leaks. Precautionary shutdowns may be needed (though transients can also cause problems) Consequences may be vastly different to those that the refinery plans for and fire fighting equipment may be lost Aged refineries are a world wide problem, operators need to be aware of their heritage, and regulators need to be aware, too. Some argument to say they are better regulated outside the US (remember it is the same multinationals who operate them)