PROC2086

Environmental & Hazard Analysis

PROCESS SAFETY

Prof. D. R. Swinbourne

Week 2

Hazards and their realisations 1

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Tutorial 1
Natural gas was being dried by passing it through
a bed of small porous particles which absorb H2S
and H2O. They have a greater ability to absorb
H2O than H2S, so if they are wetted they will release H2S
and take up the water.

They had to be replaced every 4 years.

The old material was wetted to keep
down dust, then poured down a chute
into a high-sided tipper truck.

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 Tutorial 1
They formed a mound. A man entered the truck to
spread them level, and collapsed. Three other men
entered the truck to rescue him. All 3 collapsed.
The first man died.

What went wrong here?

What questions would you

ask at an inquiry into the
accident?

How could it be avoided in

the future??
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Tutorial 1 Answer

Wetting the molecular sieves released toxic H2S gas.

The high-sided truck was not recognized as a confined

space.

H2S is heavier than air and accumulated in the truck.

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 Tutorial 1 Answer

were the men (or management) aware of the danger?

why wasn’t safety breathing apparatus available?

why weren’t the sieves spread as they dumped into the

truck? (avoids the need to enter the confined space)

was a procedure for this process written down? Was the

procedure followed?

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ConcepTest

Which of the following substances cannot be liquified by

pressure at 25 oC?

1) carbon dioxide, CO2 (Tc = 31 oC)

2) ammonia, NH3 (Tc = 132 oC)

3) fluorine, F2, (Tc = -129 oC)

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 ConcepTest
The answer is (3)

-129oC 25oC 31oC 132oC

F2 CO2 NH3

Any compound with a critical temperature below 25oC

cannot be liquified by increasing the pressure.
Fluorine is compressed to a supercritical fluid
in cylinders - like nitrogen and oxygen. It could
also be cooled to its boiling point of – 188oC
but this is not usual.

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Tutorial 2

what was the hazard?

what was the realisation i.e. what outcome happened?

what was the immediate cause of the realisation of

the hazard? (what event allowed chlorine to escape?)

what factors contributed to the realisation of the hazard?

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 Tutorial 2 Answer

the hazard? …………..chlorine

the realisation? …….. people needing medical help

immediate cause?......the transfer hose ruptured

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Tutorial 2 Answer

other contributing factors?

1. the transfer hose was made of the wrong material

2. emergency shutoff valves were corroded and failed to operate

3. operators didn’t check the equipment for corrosion

4. operators didn’t understand why checking equipment mattered

5. there was no alert system for the community

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 Tutorial 3

A liquid ammonia storage tank is hit by a truck and ruptures,

releasing 10 tonnes of liquid ammonia. The temperature of the
liquid in the tank was 26oC.

1. Calculate how much of this

ammonia flashes to vapor.

2. What is the temperature of

the remaining liquid pool?

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hl hv
DATA

1 bar pressure is between

0.9322 bar and 1.196 bar….. i.e.
between -35oC and -30oC

interpolating, the boiling point

of ammonia at 1 atm. pressure
is about -33 oC.

G.F.C.Rogers & Y.R.Mayhew “Thermodynamic and Transport

Properties of Fluids” 4th edn. Blackwell Publishers, p.12
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 Tutorial 3 Answer hlb hvb

-33oC

hls = 303.7 ≈ 304 kJ/kg

hlb ≈ 33 kJ/kg (interpolated)
hvb ≈ 1402 kJ/kg (interpolated)

α = (304 – 33) = 0.20

(1402 – 33)

1. 2 tonnes of ammonia flash to vapor

2. the liquid pool will be at -33 oC

26oC hls
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