3/25/2017 Safetyoperationofanhydrousammoniaequipment

Producedby:Agriculture
andConsumerProtection
Title:Animalproductionbasedon
PDFversion
cropresidues...

Safetyoperationofanhydrousammoniaequipment

Treatingstrawwithanhydrousammoniahasmanyadvantages,suchashighefficiency,low
cost,simplicityofoperationandeliminationofparasiteeggsandweedseeds.However,
anhydrousammoniaistoxicandexplosive,sopressurecontainersarerequiredfortransport
andstorage.Itisveryimportanttofollowrelevantnationalregulationsforsafeoperation.The
basisoftheseregulationsshouldbewellunderstood.Explosionsofammoniacontainers
happenoccasionallyandhaveresultedinpersonsinjuredorevenkilled.Allpersonsworking
withammoniamustlearnfromtheseaccidents.

Physicalandchemicalcharacteristicsofammonia,andsafe
operation
Ammoniaisacolourlessgaswithsuffocatingandpenetratingodour.Underpressureorat
lowtemperature(33C)itcondensestoaclearliquid.Thephysicalandchemical
characteristicsofammoniaare:

Chemicalformula NH3
Boilingpoint(atatmosphericpressure) 33.4C
Densityofammonia 0.596
Densityofanhydrousammonia 0.617(at20C)
Solubilityinwater(at15C) 60g/100gH2O
Vapourfrom1litreofanhydrousammonia 1000litre
Solubilityofgasin1litreofwater 700litre(20C)
Explosionlimits 1528%(volume)
Safeconcentration 0.0001mg/litre
Toxicconcentration 0.2mg/litre

Inthepresenceofwaterorsteam,copper,zincandaluminium,andalloyscontainingthese
metals,willbecorrodedbyammonia.Thesemetalsarethereforenottobeusedinammonia
equipment.

Thepressurechangeinanammoniacontaineraccordingtotemperatureisillustratedin
Figure633.

Figure633.Ammoniapressurechangewithtemperature

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y1936E/y1936e0f.htm#TopOfPage 1/5
3/25/2017 Safetyoperationofanhydrousammoniaequipment

Thechemicalandphysicalcharacteristicsofammoniaarethebasisoftheselectionof
ammoniationequipmentandforsafeoperation:

FromFigure633itcanbeseenthattheammoniapressureis2x105,5.3x105and
14.8x105Pafortemperaturesof10,10and40C,whichcorrespondtonormal
winter,springandautumntemperatureinBeijing,respectively.Accordingto
regulations,theammoniashouldnotbeusedattemperatureover50C,equivalentto
apressureof2.07x106Pa.Otherfactorsaretakenintoaccount,andthedesign
pressureforatrucktankis2.2x106Paand3x106Paforabottle.Pressurized
containersshouldnotbeexposedtothesunforalongperiod,norbebroughtnear
fire.

Ammoniaeasilydissolvesinwater,averyimportantconsiderationinsafetyprotection
andaccidents.Onhandlingsites,enoughwatershouldbeavailable,preferablytap
water.Asignindicating"safetywater"mustbeclearlydisplayed.Ifammoniagetsinto
theeyesorontheskin,itshouldberinsedimmediatelywithabundantwater.If
ammonialeaksintotheair,watersprayshouldbeusedto"knockdown"thevapour.
Sprayingpollutedareaswithwaterreducesgasemission.Coveringthenosewitha
wettowelisanefficientmethodofprotection.

Ammonia'sdensityislowerthanairdensity.Ifalargeamountofammoniaisreleased
totheair,peopleshouldrapidlyleavethepollutedarea,movingintothewind.When
drivingoutairfromanammoniacontainer,thegasoutletvalveshouldbeinalow
position.

Theboilingpointofanhydrousammoniais33.34C.Whenanhydrousammonia
vaporizes,agreatamountofheatisabsorbed.Iftheheatsourceisnotsufficient,the
processofvolatilizationissloweddownandammoniawillremainliquidforlonger.If
anhydrousammoniacomesintocontactwiththeskin,temperaturewilldecreaseand
waterwillbeabsorbed,causinginjury.Ifagreatamountofammonialiquidescapes
fromadamagedvalve,ifpossibleasoilorsanddamoradigpitshouldbemade
aroundthedischarge(becausetheammoniaboilingoffwillcoolsurfacesto33.34C)

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y1936E/y1936e0f.htm#TopOfPage 2/5
3/25/2017 Safetyoperationofanhydrousammoniaequipment

toreducegasemission.Heatabsorptionfromtheaircanbefurtherreducedby
sprayingfoamontheliquidammonia,orsimplycoveringitwithaplasticsheet.

Ifitisimpossibletodigaholeortomakeadam,thecontainershouldberapidlyturned
sothatthedamagedvalveisuppermost(fromliquidtogasposition),therebyreducing
thespeedofammoniarelease,since1litreofanhydrousammoniawillvaporizeinto1
000litreofammoniagas.

Whentheammoniacontentintheairgetsto1528percent,ithasreachedthe
explosionlimit.Below15percent,thereisnotenoughammoniafortheexplosion,and
above28percentthereisnotenoughoxygen.Inpractice,ammoniaintheairorin
containersshouldbekeptbelowtheexplosionlimit.Fornewammoniacontainersor
forthosethathavenotbeenusedforalongtime,itisnecessarytodriveairoutbefore
usingthem.Addingalittleammoniaintothecontainerandopeningthelowervalve,
thegasispushedoutintowaterthroughthehose.Repeatingtheprocessseveral
timesuntiltherearenomorebubblesinthewatermeansthatalldischargedgasis
ammonia.Sinceammoniadissolvesrapidlyandthoroughlyinwater,inorderto
preventairfromgoingintoammoniacontainers,alittleammoniashouldbeleftinthe
bottle:thatistosay,thepressuremetershouldremainat0.05MPa(0.5atmospheres
pressure).Inaddition,avoidfireonthehandlingsitestopreventexplosionsandself
ignitionat630C.Attentionshouldbepaidduringweldingorrepairingammonia
containers:ammoniashouldbepurgedbeforehand.

Containersshouldnotbefilledtoexcess.Figure633clearlyshowsthatthevaporizing
pressureincreaseswithtemperature.Ifthecontaineriscompletelyfullofammonia,
withnoemptyspaceforliquidexpansionwithincreasingtemperature,thepressurewill
increasesattherateof1.5x106Pa/C.Ifthetemperatureincreasesby5C,an
explosionwilloccur.Theamountofammoniatobeputinacontainer(G)shouldbe
calculatedusingtheformula:G=0.53V,whereVrepresentstherealvolumeofthe
container(inlitres)and0.53isthemaximumfillingfactor(kg/litre).

Safetysupervisionofammoniacontainers
Inordertoemphasizethemanagementofpressurecontainerswithexplosionrisk,Safety
supervisionregulationsforgasbottles,Supervisionregulationsforpressurecontainers,and
ManagementregulationsforliquefiedgastanktruckshavebeenpromulgatedbytheNational
Council,theMinistryofWorkandPersonnel,andtheMinistryofChemicalIndustry.Clear
regulationshavebeenestablishedforthedesign,manufacture,installation,usageand
inspectionorrepairofpressurecontainers,aswellasforreportingaccidents.

Ammoniatanktrucksandbottlesareclassedasmediumpressurecontainertransport.As
ammoniaisverytoxic,acontainerofmorethan440litrevolumeisaclassIIcontainer,which
canimpliesseriousconsequencesinaexplosion.

Accordingtonationalregulations,thefollowingpointsshouldbeobservedwhenusing
pressurecontainers:

Inspectionandacceptance.Thedesignandmanufacturingcompanymusthavea
CertificateofApprovalfromtheappropriateauthorities,andtheproductsmusthavea
qualitycertificate.

Keepingtechnicalrecords.Detailedrecordsshouldbekept,includingdates,
inspections,repairs,measurestakentoresolveproblems,andsoon.

Personneltraining.Operatorsmustbetrained,andreceivetherequiredqualification
afterpassinganexamination.

Careinhandling.Valvesshouldbeopenedslowlytopreventpressurefromrisingor
fallingtooquickly.

Avoidoverfilling.Donotoverfill,toavoidhighpressureandtemperature.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y1936E/y1936e0f.htm#TopOfPage 3/5
3/25/2017 Safetyoperationofanhydrousammoniaequipment

Regularinspection.Accordingtothespecificationsofthepressurecontainers,they
shouldbeinspectedexternallyonceayearandinternallyonceeverytwoyearsbythe
relevantauthorities.Afterinspection,avisibleandpermanentlabeloftheauthority,
withtheyearofinspection,mustbeaffixedtothecontainer.

Safetransport.Ammoniacontainersshouldbeprotectedfromimpactsoroverturning.
Valvesshouldbeclosedandcapswellscrewedonduringtransport.Loadingand
unloadingmustbedoneslowly.Ammoniacontainersshouldneverbeplacedtogether
withothercontainers,especiallyoxygenbottles.Fireextinguishersmustbeavailable.

Regularmaintenance.Pressurecontainersmustberepairedandmaintained
regularlytopreventleaking.Theyshouldbekeptindryareaswhennotused.

Qualifieddriversandoperators.Thedriversandoperatorsoftanktrucksmustbe
trainedandqualifybypassinganexamination.Movingandstoppingammoniatank
trucksshouldrespectnotonlynormaltrafficregulationsbutalsospecialconditions.
Therelevantregulationsshouldbewrittenanddisplayedintheappropriatepositionin
oronthevehicle.

Accidentreporting.Anyaccidentshouldbereportedimmediatelytotherelevant
administration,policeandlabourdepartment.

Regulationsforsafetyinstrawammoniation
Ammoniaistoxicandmayexplodeundercertainconditions.Theammoniacontainersare
classedas"pressurecontainerswithriskofexplosion."Treatingstrawwithanhydrous
ammoniacanendangerlifeandhealthifnotdonecorrectly.Itisthereforenecessarytofollow
theprecautionsandregulationsmadebytheBureauofAnimalProductionandHealth(MOA,
1990):

Safetyoperationrequlationsforstrawammoniation

Operatorsmusthavethenecessarytraining,passtheexaminationandobtaintheir
qualification.

Safetyequipmentavailableattheworkingsiteshouldinclude:

anabundantsupplyoffreshwater

filtermaskswithammoniafilters

glovesandbootsmadeofrubberoranothersuitablematerialand

fireextinguishers.

Eachnewammoniacontainermusthaveanaccompanyingqualitycertificatethatis
properlyfiled.

Neveroverfillwheneveraddingammoniatoacontainer.

Insummer,donotputammoniacontainersinthesun.Inwinter,ifammoniaflowislow,
movecontainerstoawarmplace.Neverheatthemwithfire.

Duringammoniatransport,storageandstrawammoniation,checkcontainersandhosesfor
leakageorswollenparts.Stopoperationtomakeappropriaterepairstodamageiffound.

Ammoniabottlesmustbefirmlysecuredtothevehicleduringtransporttopreventthem
fromfallingduetomovement.

Besurenottohitortorollammoniabottlesduringloadingandunloading,whichshouldbe
doneslowly.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y1936E/y1936e0f.htm#TopOfPage 4/5
3/25/2017 Safetyoperationofanhydrousammoniaequipment

Screwandtightenvalvesduringbottletransportationandstorage.

Transportofanhydrousammoniaandoxygeninsamewagonandstorageinthesame
shedisstrictlyprohibitedtoavoiddangerofexplosion.

Ifthereisstillpressureinacontainer,donotrepairorfastenanypartunderpressure.

Whenammoniatingstraw,firstplacethespearintostraw,thenopenthevalve.

Openandcloseammoniainjectingvalvesslowly.Duringammoniainjectionthegas
pressuremustbebelow0.8Pa.Donothittheammoniabottlewithanytool.

Ammoniaflowshouldstopwhenpressuredropsto0.05Pa.

Theammoniacontainerscannotbeusedtostoreanyothermaterialwithoutthewritten
consentoftheworkingdepartment.

Ammoniacontainersmustbecheckedregularly.

Theoperatorsmustwearprotectiveequipment,includingrubberglovesandprotectivesuit,
andstandupwindfromtheammoniasource.

Ifammonialeakstotheair,peopleshouldlaydownontheground,covertheirnoseswitha
wettowelandmoveupwind.

Fireisforbiddeninthevicinityoftheammoniastationandthesiteofstrawammoniation.

Ifanaccidentoccurs,itshouldbeimmediatelyreportedtoadministrationandlabour
departments.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y1936E/y1936e0f.htm#TopOfPage 5/5