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The utmost idea about this design project is to develop a processing scheme that will produce in
the most economical manner, the desired product in a safe fashion and within the confines of an
environmentally friendly mode. The fulfillment of the following requirements will serve as the
standard of safety:
II. Suitable provisions must be made to cope with unsafe deviations from design conditions.
III. Safe start-up and shut-down procedures must be established and complied with.
All manufacturing processes are to some extent hazardous, but in chemical processes there are
additional, special hazards associated with the chemicals used and the process conditions. The
designer must be aware of these hazards and ensure through the application of sound engineering
practice, that risks are reduced to acceptable levels. Hazards from combustion and runaway
reactions play a leading role in many chemical process accidents. In addition, much of the damage
and loss of life in chemical plant accidents resulted from the sudden release of material at high
pressure, which may or may not result from fire. Accidents generally occur as a result of equipment
A hazard and operability study is a procedure for the systematic, critical examination of the
operability of a process. It indicates potential hazards that may arise as result of deviations from
the intended design conditions (Haliru, 2010). An operability study just like environmental
auditing as example, is carried out by a team of experienced personnel, who have complementary
skills and knowledge, led by a team leader who is experienced in the technique. The team should
examine the product; vessel by vessel and line by line using the plant guide lines to help generate
the way deviations from the intended operating conditions can cause hazardous situations (Haliru,
2010).
environment. It will include all emissions to air, land, and water; and cover the legal constraints,
the effect on community, the landscape, and the ecology. Products will be considered, as well as
processes. When applied at the design stage of a new development it is more correctly called an
To identify environmental problems associated with manufacturing process and the use of
There are stearic acid side effects that are considered as mild and can be easily controlled or
Skin Irritations: Irritations of the skin may be accompanied by severe itching and often time
redness and swelling. There are also rash-like symptoms that may occur like small red spots.
Sensitivity of the Skin: One of the milder side effects of stearic acid is making the skin
Damage of the Skin: In certain occasions, hive-like spots may occur in the skin which will
often turn into blisters that can damage the skin. There are also times wherein the skin will
turn scaly.
Stearic acid has been considered as a low-hazard ingredient. But there have been many cases that
reported several harmful effects of this fatty acid. These harmful side effects include the following:
Toxicity: Commonly used sources of stearic acid which are palm and cottonseed oil often
contain altered products after being hydrogenated. These products are often toxic to the body.
On the other hand, palm and cottonseed oil contain pesticides that can be very harmful to the
body.
Absorption Problem: One of the cons of consuming products that have stearic acid is its
way in making the digestive system have difficulties in absorbing essential nutrients that is
Overdose: The problem with stearic acids usually occurs when large amounts are consumed.
Overdose of the fatty acid can lead to serious and unusual health effects.
Immune Responses: Normal functioning of T-cells in the body will be greatly affected when
a patient consumes large amounts of stearic acid. These T-cells are needed for immune
responses and if these are damaged, the immune system will be weakened.
Inhalation of fumes that contain Stearic acids can cause severe respiratory problems which
Stearic acid can also cause problems in the intestines which lead to gastroenteritis.
Long exposure of large amounts of stearic acid had been studied to cause cancer.
This is carried out by using both physically and chemical treatments. The physical treatment
involves the removal of large floating or suspended particles from the waste water. This is achieved
by gravity settling. This is further processed by filtration to clarify the effluents. The next stage is
the chemical treatment. It involves the neutralization of acids and alkali, conversion of ions to
catalytic oxidation, etc. these methods are mainly used to deactivate and remove the impurities of
inorganic compounds.
8.5 SAFETY
Safety could be defined as appositive organized program, based on the knowledge of the reaction
between man and his working environment, to protect the equipment operator and the environment
(Perry, 1997). Safety can also be defined as the reaction between man and his working
environment, which aids business enterprise by minimizing human, economic and social, loses
caused by injuries, health impairments, fires, explosions and other occupational accidents. The full
cost of accidents is never completely covered by insurance, and never absorbed directly into
operating expenses, for that reason, and many others, in addition to save guard the health and
welfare of the employees in a chemical process plant and the general public at large, chemical
Most chemical manufacturing processes are to greater or lesser extent, inherently unsafe, and
dangerous situation can develop if the process conditions deviate from the design values. To
prevent a dangerous situation developing and to minimize the consequences of any accident
occurring, the hazards confronting this process has to be evaluated. The likely associated hazards
The fundamental safety and fire protective measures that should be included in this plant are listed
below:
i. Adequate and secure water supply for fire fighting.
iv. Safe location of auxiliary electrical equipments, transformers and switch gears.
x. All plant personnel entering the process plant area will be required to wear the following
personal protective equipments: safety helmet, pair of safety boots, heat resistance hand gloves,
operability of a process. It indicates potential hazards that may arise as result of deviations from
An operability study should be carried out by a team of experienced personnel, who have
complementary skills and knowledge; led by a team leader who is experienced in the technique.
The team should examine the product vessel by vessel and line by line using the plant guide lines
to help generate the way deviations from the intended operating conditions can cause hazardous
Thus since the reactor in the heart of the plant we carry out a HAZOP study on it.
8.6.1 Toxicity
Toxicology is the science dealing with the effects, conditions, and detection of toxic substances or
poisons. Six primary factors affect human response to toxic substances or poisons. These are
detailed below:
1. The chemical itself: Some chemicals produce immediate and dramatic biological effects,
2. The type of contact: Certain chemicals appear harmless after one type of contact (e.g., skin) but
may have serious effects when contacted in another way e.g., lungs.
3. The amount (dose) of a chemical: The dose of a chemical exposure depends upon how much of
4. Individual sensitivity: Humans vary in their response to chemical substance exposure. Some
types of responses that different persons may experience at a certain dose are serious illness, mild
symptoms, or no noticeable effect. Different responses may also occur in the same person at
different exposures.
5. Interaction with other chemicals: Toxic chemicals in combination can produce different
biological responses than the responses observed when exposure is to one chemical alone.
6. Duration of exposure: Some chemicals produce symptoms only after one exposure (acute), some
only after exposure over a long period of time (chronic), and some may produce effects from both
An HAZOP study will only identify potential hazards, but gives no guidance on the likely hood of
an incident occurring, or the loss suffered. Risk analysis is concerned with predicting the likelihood
of an incident occurring. Incidents usually occur through coincident failure of two or more items,
failure of equipment, control system and instrument and mis-operation. The sequence of events
that leads to a hazard is normally shown on a fault tree (logic tree), such as that in figure 8.2