DESIGN OF FIREWATER NETWORK FOR A TYPICAL

ONSHORE GAS PROCESSING PLANT

Shagufta Ejaz1, Razeen J1, Dr. N.A. Siddiqui2

1
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, 248007, India

Abstract: Gas processing plant is having many hazards which are inherent to the facility.
Even though gas processing installations are generally located in remote areas,
experience shows that residential/industrial units come up in close proximity
with the passage of time. Hence, these installations which store, process and
handle large quantity of flammable materials, pose threat to surroundings as
well, in addition to their own safety. Such conditions, therefore, necessitate the
introduction of in-built fire protection facilities. It is impossible to design the
fire protection facility to control catastrophic fires. Normally fire protection
systems will prevent the spread of fire and to prevent emergencies so the
installations and surrounding can be protected. So designing an effective
firewater network plays an important role in controlling the spread of fire. This
paper deals about the design and analysis of firewater network for a typical
onshore gas processing plant based on OISD - 116.

Keywords: Firewater network, Fire zone, Gas processing plant, Hydraulics.

INTRODUCTION hydrocarbon contamination can be ruled

A firewater network is the most common
and economical fire suppression system
and water is the best medium for
controlling the spread of fire. Firewater
network usually contains three major parts.
They are Firewater storage tank, Piping
distribution system and Fire pump.
Hydrants, monitors and fixed systems like
foam system, deluge systems and fixed
monitors.
Generally, availability of continuous
supply of water is of prime importance for
operation, which is either met by provision
of a storage system and pumps or by
nearby natural source. Firewater supply
can be taken from process systems like
water injection system if the pressure and
flow can be maintained under emergency
conditions and if possibility of
out. As firewater is a very critical aspect of
oil and gas industries, sizing and routing of
firewater network is of prime importance.
The firewater system should be designed
in such a way that the total demand
calculated will be maintained at the outlets
with a minimum required pressure. The
firewater distribution piping shall be
designed in such a way that water flows
evenly to all parts of the network and shall
be able to isolate any section of a network
without affecting other loops.
GAS PROCESSING PLANT
Gas processing plant belongs to the
upstream activity to describe the
production unit performing the first
transformation of the crude oil/gas after
the production wells. The gas processing
plant is situated as closed as possible to the
production wells or offshore platform. The
crude oil/gas just collected from the
wellheads can be directed by the shortest
way to the central processing facility.
Hydrocarbons produced from the wells are
transported to onshore gas processing
facility through pipeline. Hydrocarbons
produced from the well contain natural
gas, natural gas liquids and several
contaminants like H2S, CO2 etc.
Hydrocarbon is passes through several unit
operations to produce clean dry natural gas
free of contaminants to meet end user
requirements. The natural gas liquids
which come as a byproduct is used as it is
or fractionated to different lighter
hydrocarbons like ethane, propane etc.
METHODOLOGY
The methodology to design the firewater
network involves the following steps.
FIRE ZONE DELIANETION
A Fire zone is a geographical area of the
plant, where certain minimum
requirements shall be respected so that in
case of fire occurring within a fire zone,
the potential for fire spread to other fire
zone is limited.
Typically, a Fire Zone shall be an area
segregated by road, access way, pipe racks
or pipe sleepers, and clear spaces of 30 m
width minimum between equipment to
equipment.
FIREWATER DEMAND
CALCULATION
Fire water demand for an installation is the
total fire water requirement to fight the
major two fire scenario in the installation
(It may be either Process area or Tank
farm area or in Transformer area).
Firewater demand for this case study is
calculated based on OISD-116.
Three alternative methods are used to
calculate the demand.
Alternative-1: Fire water demand for
fire zone
Overall area of fire zone x application rate
Application rate:
As required by OISD-116, application rate
to be considered for each fire zone area is
1
l/min/m².
Fire zone surface:
The surface of each fire zone is the sum of
the surfaces of all sub areas included in
this fire zone.
Allowance:
An allowance of 372 m3/hr shall be
considered for supplementary hose stream
protection and/or use of mobile fire-
fighting equipment to protect adjacent
equipment.
Alternative-2: Fire water demand for
10*10 m area
Fire water demand is calculated by
consider 10*10 m area of process unit on
fire & provide cover on area of 30 m x 30
m area.
Application rate:
As required by OISD-116, application rate
to be considered for each fire zone area is
10.2 l/min/m².
Allowance:
An allowance of 372 m3/hr shall be
considered for supplementary hose stream
protection and/or use of mobile fire-
fighting equipment to protect adjacent
equipment.
Alternative-3: Fire water demand for
Water Spray system (Deluge system)
Fire water demand for the deluge
protection for each equipment is assessed.
Allowance:
An allowance of 372 m3/h shall be
considered for supplementary hose stream
protection and/or use of mobile fire-
fighting equipment to protect adjacent
equipment.
HYDRANT & MONITOR LAYOUT
Hydrants
Hydrants shall be located in different areas
of the facility to provide complete
protection for the plant. For hazardous area
provide hydrant post for every 30 m
around the plant and for building and
utility area provide hydrant post for every
45 m.
Hydrants should be placed at 15m from the
edge of storage tank and hazardous
equipment. For process plants location of
hydrants shall be decided based on
coverage of all areas.
Monitors
Monitors shall be located at strategic
locations for protection of cluster of
columns, heaters, gasifiers, etc., and where
it is not possible to approach the higher
levels. A minimum of 2 monitors shall be
provided for the protection of each such
area. Water monitors for protection of
heaters shall be installed so that the heater
can be isolated from the remainder of the
plant in an emergency.
Monitors shall provide protection to
firemen in case of fire and it is also placed
in such a direction to direct water on the
object. The monitors should not be
installed less than 15 M from hazardous
equipment.
There should be proper planning for the
placement of HVLRs so that it delivers its
intended purpose. The maximum distance
of monitors from equipment protected
should be 45m.
FIREWATER NETWORK
HYDRAULICS
Hydraulics is the study of flow of water. It
is a subset of fluid mechanics.
A detailed analysis of the firewater
network has been carried out and critical
parameters like supply pressure, available
pressure at the remotest point, velocity and
head loss is studied.
Firewater network should be sized for
120% of the total water demand. The flow
rate should be properly distributed so that
ample amount of water should be present
during emergency. Several combinations
of flow requirements shall be assumed for
design of network.
The firewater system shall be designed to
provide a minimum residual pressure of
7.0 kg/cm²g for the most hydraulically
remote point of the fire water ring main.
Pipe network problems are usually solved
by numerical methods using software since
any analytical solution requires the use of
many simultaneous equations. Simple
methods used to solve pipe network
problems are by using Hazen William
equation. PIPENET Standard/Spray
Module is used for hydraulic analysis of
firewater systems is in compliance with
NFPA13, NFPA15 and NFPA16 rules.
This addresses the hydraulic analysis
requirements of virtually all national and
international standards.
Hazen-Williams equation:
Pressure drop inside the pipe can be
calculated using Hazen – William’s
formula,
where;
p is the pressure drop or friction loss inside
the pipe (psi),
Q is the volumetric flow rate (gpm),
C is the Hazen – William’s friction loss
coefficient,
d is the pipes internal diameter (inches),
or in SI units,
where;
Pm is the pressure drop (psi),
Q is the volumetric flow rate (gpm),
D is the pipes inside diameter (inches).
DELUGE SYSTEM HYDRAULICS
The hydraulics of deluge system lines from
main header to the equipment connected
through deluge valves is done using
PIPENET VISION Spray/Sprinkler
module.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Fire zone delineation
Pressure drop inside the pipe can be
calculated using Hazen – William’s
formula.
The following considerations have been
taken into account:
 The fire water pressure in the range
of 1.4 to 3.5 barg is to be achieved
for all the water spray nozzles in
the system.
 The maximum allowable velocity
in the header shall be 5.0 m/s for
the water spray pipes & ring pipes.
 Hazen -William co-efficient is
considered as 120.
Nozzle Discharge Formula
The pressure drop at the nozzle discharge
can be calculated by the following
formula,
√
where:
Q is the volumetric flow rate from the
nozzle (gpm),
K is the nozzle K-factor,
P is the pressure drop across the nozzle.
Deluge valve modelling equation
The pressure drop across the deluge valve
can be calculated by the following
formula,
P = QX / K
where
P is the pressure drop across the deluge
valve,
Q is the volumetric flow rate through the
valve,
K is a constant for the valve,
X is a constant for the valve (with typical
values being 1 and 2).
In this case study, the onshore gas
processing plant is delineated into 15 fire
zones based on OISD – 116. The 15 fire
zones are
01. Slug catcher area
02. Caustic dosing area
03. Gas Compressor area
04. Scrubber area
05. Gas dehydration area
06. Refrigeration area
Firewater demand calculation
In this case study the firewater demand
was calculated for two fire scenario as per
OISD – 116.
Largest two firewater demand are in Fire
zone-01(Slug catcher area) and Fire zone-
03(Gas compressor area).
Demand for slug catcher area = 550.8 +
372(supplementary stream) = 922.8 m3/hr
07. MEG Refrigeration area
08. MEG storage area
09. Produced water storage area
10. Methanol storage area
11. Diesel storage area
12. Hot oil heater area
13. Air & Nitrogen area
14. Substation
15. Liquid propane area
Demand for Gas compressor area = 600 +
372(supplementary stream) = 972 m3/hr
Total firewater demand = 922.8 + 972 =
1894.8 = 1895 m3/hr
Therefore, Firewater demand is 1895
m3/hr.
Firewater pump capacity = 680 m3/hr
No of pumps = 3
50% of standby pumps shall be provided;
so no. of standby pumps = 2
Total pumping capacity = 2040 m3/hr
Hydrant and monitor layout
In this case study the hydrants and monitor
are placed as per OISD – 116.
For hazardous area provide hydrant post
for every 30 m around the plant and for
building and utility area provide hydrant
post for every 45 m.
The total no. of hydrants required to
protect the onshore gas processing plant is
81.
Firewater network hydraulics
The hydraulics is done by taking in to
account that;
Firewater storage capacity = 2040 x 4 =
8160 m3
Monitors shall be located at strategic
locations for protection of cluster of
columns, heaters, gasifiers, etc., and where
it is not possible to approach the higher
levels. A minimum of 2 monitors shall be
provided for the protection of each such
area.
The total no. of monitors required to
protect the onshore gas processing plant is
22.
 The length of pipes is considered
as 1.5 times the layout dimensions
to cater the fitting losses.
  Maximum velocity in the firewater
network should not exceed 5 m/s.
 The minimum available pressure at
the remotest point shall not fall
below 7 kg/cm2g.
In this case study, the firewater demand
calculated was 1895 m3/hr.
The firewater network is sized 120% of the
required water demand i.e. 2274 m3/hr.
The network hydraulics is done for two
major fire scenario. The two major
demand are in Gas compressor area and
Slug catcher area.
Deluge system hydraulics
 Hazen -William co-efficient is
considered as 120.
Deluge system hydraulics for gas
compressor
The theoretical firewater demand for gas
compressor was found out to be 600 m3/hr.
Assumptions
The length of pipes is considered as 1.5
times the layout dimensions to cater the
fitting losses.
Operating pressure range for Nozzle
Medium velocity water spray nozzle: 1.4 -
3.5 kg/cm2g

Nozzle specification

Type K-factor Flow rate at Flow rate at Nozzle angle

1.4 barg 3.5 barg (oC)
(lpm) (lpm)
MVWS 70 82.82 130.95 120

Theoretical flow rate

Equipment Length Breadth / Surface Application Theoretical Flow

Protected (m) Dia. Area Rate Rate
(m) (m2) (lpm/m2) lpm m3/hr
Gas compressor (7) 14 5 70(7) 20.4 9996 600

Installed flow rate

Equipment Protected Average Numbers Installed flow rate

Flow rate of Nozzles
 per Nozzle (Nos.) lpm m3/hr
(lpm)
Gas compressor 113 112 12600 756

Deluge system hydraulics for Flare KO Assumptions

drum The length of pipes is considered as 1.5
The theoretical firewater demand for gas times the layout dimensions to cater the
compressor was found out to be 137.28 fitting losses.
m3/hr. Operating pressure range for Nozzle
Medium velocity water spray nozzle: 1.4 -
3.5 kg/cm2g

Nozzle specification

Type K-factor Flow rate at Flow rate at Nozzle angle

1.4 barg 3.5 barg (oC)
(lpm) (lpm)
MVWS 42 49.69 78.57 120

Theoretical flow rate

Equipment Length Breadth / Surface Application Theoretical

Protected (m) Dia. Area Rate Flow
(m) (m2) (lpm/m2) Rate
lpm m3/hr
Flare KO 17 4.2 224.32 10.2 2288 137.28
drum

Installed flow rate

Equipment Protected Average Numbers Installed flow rate

Flow rate of Nozzles
per Nozzle (Nos.) lpm m3/hr
(lpm)
Flare KO drum 68.03 42 2857.66 171.46
 Hickey, Hydraulics for Fire
Protection, National Fire Protection
Association
4) Cunha, M.C., and Sousa, J., (1999),
“Fire Water Network Design
Optimization: Simulated Annealing
Approach”, Journal of Water
Resources Planning and Management,
Vol. 125, No. 4, pp. 215-221.
5) Lansey, K.E., and Mays, L.W., (1989),
“Optimization Model for fire Water
CONCLUSION Distribution Design”, Journal of
Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 115, No.
The firewater network for a typical 10, pp. 1401-1418.
onshore gas processing plant is designed 6) Dragan A. Savic, Godfrey, “A.
as per OISD -116 “FIRE PROTECTION Walters An Evolution Program For
FACILITIES FOR PETROLEUM Pressure Regulation In Water
Distribution Networks”, Centre for
REFINERIES & OIL/GAS PROCESSING Systems and Control Engineering, UK
PLANTS”. Effective operation of the ring Larry W Mays, “Water Distribution
main is modelled to acquire adequate flow, System Handbook”, Mc Graw Hill
velocity and pressure for the smooth Handbooks
operation during emergency conditions 7) NFPA 15 Standard for Water
like fire breakout. The simulation and Spray Fixed Systems for Fire
hydraulic design of the firewater ring main Protection 2001 Edition
system of an onshore processing terminal 8) NFPA 20 Standard for the
to determine the pipe sizes is accomplished Installation of Stationary Pumps for
using PIPENET software. The assessment Fire Protection 2003 Edition
of the fire protection system meeting the
OISD standards is analyzed by using
PIPENET Spray/sprinkler module. The
pipe sizing (diameter) are modelled in the
software. The typical output illustrates the
flow, velocity and direction in each pipe
segment and pressures at each node.

REFERENCES
1) Mannan, Sam, ed. Lees' Loss
prevention in the process industries:
Hazard identification, assessment and
control. Butterworth-Heinemann,
2004.
2) OISD 116 Fire Protection Facilities
for Petroleum Refineries and Oil/Gas
Processing Plants – Second Edition,
2012
3) Gordan P. Mckinnon, Keith Tower,
Fire Prevention Handbook, National
Fire Protection Association Harry E.