BKB3533

OSH in Chemical & Biotechnology

Industries
Chapter 7(b):
Technical OSH Aspects in a Chemical Plant
~Dispersion Models~
By:
Dr. Mior Ahmad Khushairi Bin Mohd Zahari
Lecturer, FKKSA, UMP
09-5492837/0148290960
ahmadkhushairi@ump.edu.my; ahmadkhushairi@gmail.com
Contents
 Types of dispersion
 Parameters Affecting Dispersion
 Pasquill-Gifford Models
Objectives
 Illustrate types of dispersion
 Explain parameters affecting atmospheric dispersion of toxic
release
 Apply Pasquill-Gifford Models to solve related problems
Dispersion Models
 Process equipment can release toxic materials quickly in
a huge amount to spread in dangerous clouds throughout
a plant site and the local community
 Such incidents are:
 Explosive rupture of a process vessel as a result of
excessive pressure caused by a runaway reaction
 Rupture of a tank containing toxic materials stored above
its atmospheric boiling point.
 Rupture of a train or truck transportation.
Dispersion Models
 Describe how vapors are transported downwind of a release
 Valid between 100 m to 10 km
 Below 100 m: use ventilation equations
 Above 10 km: almost unpredictable
 Results
 Downwind concentration
 Area affected
 Downwind evacuation distances
Dispersion Models
 Plume model – example?
Dispersion Models
 Puff model – example?
 Dispersion Models
 Maximum concentration occurs at release point and lessen
downwind due to turbulent mixing and dispersion with air
 Factors affecting dispersion
 Wind speed
 Atmospheric stability
 Ground conditions (building, water, trees)
 Height of release above ground level
 Momentum and buoyancy of the initial material released
Factors affecting dispersion
 Wind speed
Factors affecting dispersion
 Atmospheric stability – normal condition
Factors affecting dispersion
 Atmospheric stability - inversion
 Factors affecting dispersion
 Classes of atmospheric stability (Table 5-1 pg 187)
 Unstable
 the sun heats ground faster than heat can be removed
 air temperature near the ground is higher than the air temperature at
higher elevations
 Neutral
 the air above the ground warms and the wind speed increases, reducing
the effect of solar input
 Stable
 the sun cannot heat the ground as fast as the grounds cools, leads to
lower ground temperature
Factors affecting dispersion
 Ground conditions
 Trees and buildings increase mixing
 Lakes and open areas decrease mixing
Factors affecting dispersion
 Height of the release
Factors affecting dispersion
 Buoyancy and momentum
 Change the effective height of the release
 The momentum of a high-velocity jet will carry the gas higher
than the point of release  much higher effective release height
 As the gas travels downwind and is mixed with air, a point will
be reached where the gas has been diluted adequately to be
considered neutrally buoyant  dominated by ambient
turbulence
Factors affecting dispersion
• Buoyancy and momentum
Neutrally Buoyant Dispersion Models
 Used to estimate the concentrations (ppm) downwind of a
release at the point the mixture is neutrally buoyant
 Vapor cloud dispersion type
 Plume – conc. of material released from continuous source
 Puff – temporal conc. of material from single release of fixed
amount of material
Neutrally Buoyant Dispersion Models
 Dispersion models are based on a mass balance. Two
approaches for modeling purpose
 Use eddy diffusivities, K, to represent turbulence.
 Advantage: Nice tidy theoretical model
 Disadvantage: K = K(x,y,z), and impossible to measure
 Use dispersion coefficients which represent the standard
deviations in the concentration profiles
 Advantage: Easy to measure and correlate
Neutrally Buoyant Dispersion Models
 Coordinate system fixed at the release source
Dispersion Models
 Case 1: Steady-state continuous point release with no wind
 Case 2: Puff with no wind
 Case 3: Non-steady-state continuous point release with no wind
 Case 4: Steady-state continuous source release with wind
 Case 5: Puff with no wind and eddy diffusivity is a function of direction
 Case 6: Steady-state continuous point source release with wind and eddy
diffusivity is a function of direction
 Case 7: Puff with wind
 Case 8: Puff with no wind and with source on ground
 Case 9: Steady-state plume with source on ground
 Case 10: Continuous steady-state source with source at height Hr above
the ground
 Dispersion Models
 Eddy diffusivity, K, in case 1-10 is changed to dispersion coefficients, 

 Case 11: Puff with instantaneous point source at ground level, coordinates
fixed at release point, constant wind only in x direction with constant
velocity u
 Case 12: Plume with continuous steady-state source at ground level and
wind moving in x direction at constant velocity u
 Case 13: Plume with continuous steady-state source at height Hr above
ground level and wind moving in x direction at constant velocity u
 Case 14: Puff with instantaneous point source at height Hr above ground
level and a coordinate system on the ground that moves with the puff
 Case 15: Puff with instantaneous point source at height Hr above ground
level and a coordinate system fixed on the ground at the release point
Case 12: Plume with continuous steady-state source at
ground level and wind moving in x direction at constant
velocity u
Case 13: Plume with continuous steady-state source at
height Hr above ground level and wind moving in x direction
at constant velocity u
Pasquill-Gifford Model
Pasquill-Gifford Model
Pasquill-Gifford Model
Pasquill-Gifford Model
Pasquill-Gifford Model
Pasquill-Gifford Model
 Release Mitigation
 The purpose of the toxic release model is to provide a tool
for performing release mitigation.

 Release mitigation is defined as "lessening the risk of a

release incident by acting on the source
(at the point of release) either:

(1) in a preventive way by reducing the likelihood of an

event that could generate a hazardous vapor cloud or;

(2) in a protective way by reducing the magnitude of the

release and or the exposure of local persons or
property."
Example 5.1
Solution
 Toxic Effect Criteria
• One of the important Toxic Effect Criteria is Emergency response planning
guidelines (ERPGs) for air contaminants issued by the American Industrial
Hygiene Association (AIHA)

• These criteria and methods are based on a combination of results from

animal experiments, observations of long- and short-term human exposures,
and expert judgment. The following paragraphs define these criteria and
describe some of their features.

• Three concentration ranges are provided as a consequence of exposure to

specific substance: ERGP-1, ERGP-2 and ERGP-3. ERGP-3

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  ERPG-1 :is the maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed nearly
all individuals could be exposed for up 1 hour without experiencing effects other
than mild transient adverse health effects or perceiving (sensing) a clearly defined
objectionable odour.

 ERPG-2 :is the maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed nearly
all individuals could be exposed for up 1 hour without experiencing or developing
irreversible or other serious health effects or symptoms that could impair their
abilities to take protective action.

 ERPG-3: is the maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed nearly

all individuals could be exposed for up 1 hour without experiencing or developing
life-threatening health effects.
 Table 5-6 (p222) shows ERPG in ppm

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 Equation 2-7 page 58

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 Example
 Chlorine is used in a particular chemical process. A source model study
indicates that for a particular accident scenario 1.0 kg of chlorine will be
released instantaneously. The release will occur at ground level. A
residential area is 500 m away from the chlorine source.
 Determine :

 a. The time required for the centre of the cloud to reach the residential
area. Assume a wind speed of 2 m/s.

 b. The maximum concentration of chlorine in the residential area.

Compare this with an ERPG-1 for chlorine of 1.0 ppm. What stability
conditions and wind speed produce the maximum concentration?


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 Solution
 a. For a distance of 500 m and a wind speed of 2 m/s, the time required
for the centre of the cloud to reach the residential area is

 t = x = 500m = 250 s = 4.2 min

 u 2m/s

 This leaves very little time for emergency warning.

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  b. The maximum concentration occurs at the center of the cloud directly
downwind from the release. The concentration is given by Equation 5-41:

 The stability conditions are selected to maximize (C) in Equation 5-41. This
requires dispersion coefficients of minimum value. From Figure 5-12 the
lowest value of either dispersion coefficient occurs with F stability
conditions. This is for night time conditions with thin to light overcast and a
wind speed less than 3 m/s. The maximum concentration in the puff also
occurs at the closest point to the release in the residential area.

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 From equation 5-41
1.0kg
(C )  3
 2.31  10 3 kg / m 3  2310mg / m 3
2 (3.14) (5.0m) 2 (2.2m)
2

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  This is converted to ppm using Equation 2-7.
 Assuming a pressure of 1 atm and a temperature of 298 K,
 the concentration in ppm is 798 ppm.
 This is much higher than the ERPG-1 of 1.0 ppm.

 Any individuals within the immediate residential area and any personnel
within the plant will be excessively exposed if they are outside and
downwind from the source.

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Exercise 5.2
 A burning dump emits an estimated 3 g/s of oxides of
nitrogen. By assuming that this dump is a point ground-level
source at rural area, estimate the average concentration of
oxide nitrogen from this source directly downwind at a
distance of 3 km on an overcast night with a wind speed of 7
m/s.
 Problem - 1
A burning dump emits an estimated 3 g/s of oxides of nitrogen. Determine the
average concentration of oxides of nitrogen from this source directly downwind at a
distance of 3km on an overcast night with a wind speed of 7 m/s
Assume that this dump is at ground-level source.

The concentration along the centreline of the plume directly downwind is given at y
= z = 0:

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Solution

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 Problem -2
 A trash incinerator has an effective stack height of 100 m. On a sunny day
with a 2 m/s wind the concentration of sulfur dioxide 200 m directly
downwind is measured at 5.0 x 10-5 g/m3.
 a- Estimate the mass release rate (in g/s) of sulfur dioxide from this stack. b-
Estimate the maximum sulfur dioxide concentration expected on the ground
and its location downwind from the stack.

 The ground-level centreline concentrations are found by setting y = z = 0:

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 Solution Problem 2

Case 13

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 THANK YOU

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