Technical OSH Aspects in a

Chemical Plant
~ Fire and Fire Preventions ~

Text book Chapter 6

HOW and WHY it happened ?
This disaster claimed huge number of victims…
Once it explodes…
Life of the surrounding community
Nobody can escape…
money  life  business  environment
Is it a “pleasant” disaster ?…
• Chemicals present a substantial hazard
in the form of fires and explosions
• To prevent accidents resulting from
fires, engineers must be familiar with
– The fire and explosion properties of
materials
– The nature of the fire and explosion process
– Procedures to reduce fire and explosion
hazards
• Fire, or burning, is the rapid exothermic
oxidation of an ignited fuel
• The fuel can be in solid, liquid, or vapor form,
but vapor and liquid fuels are generally easier
to ignite
• The combustion always occurs in the vapor
phase; liquids are volatized and solids are
decomposed into vapor before combustion
Combustion
is a chemical reaction in which a substance combines with an oxidant and
release energy. Part of energy released is used to sustain the reaction
Ignition
ignition of a flammable mixture may be caused by a flammable mixture
coming in contact with a source of ignition with sufficient energy or the
gas reaching a temperature high enough to cause the gas to autoignite.
Flash point
the flash point of liquid is the lowest temperature at which it gives off
enough vapor to form an ignitable mixture with air.
Explosion
an explosion is a rapid expansion of gases resulting in a rapidly moving
pressure or shock wave. The expansion can be mechanical or it can be the
result of a rapid chemical reaction
• Flash point temperatures are determined using
an open-cup apparatus, shown in Figure 6-3.
The liquid to be tested is placed in the open cup.
The liquid temperature is measured with a
thermometer while a Bunsen burner is used to
heat the liquid. A small flame is established on
the end of a movable wand. During heating, the
wand is slowly moved back and forth over the
open liquid pool. Eventually a temperature is
reached at which the liquid is volatile enough to
produce a flammable vapor, and a momentary
flashing flame occurs. The temperature at which
this first occurs is called the flash point
temperature.
• When fuel, oxidizer, and an ignition source are
present at the necessary levels, burning will occur
• A fire will not occur if
– Fuel is not present or is not present in sufficient
quantities
– An oxidizer is not present or is not present in
sufficient quantities
– the ignition source is not energetic enough to initiate
the fire
• Two common examples of the three components of
the fire triangle are
– wood, air, and a match
– gasoline, air, and a spark
• Various fuels, oxidizers, and ignition sources common
in the chemical industry are
– Fuels
• Liquids: gasoline, acetone, ether, pentane
• Solids: plastics, wood dust fibers, metal particles
• Gases: acetylene, propane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen
– Oxidizers
• Gases: oxygen, fluorine, chlorine
• Liquids: hydrogen peroxide, nitric acid, perchloric acid
• Solids: metal peroxides, ammonium nitrite
– Ignition sources
• Sparks, flames, static electricity, heat
Flammability diagrams show the regimes of flammability in mixtures of fuel,
oxygen and an inert gas, typically nitrogen.
• Useful for
• Determining if a mixture is flammable
• Required for control and prevention
of flammable mixtures
• Red zone – flammable zone

• The air line represent all possible

combination of fuel plus air.
• The stoichiometric line represent all
stoichiometric combination of fuel plus
oxygen
• The LOC any gas mixture containing
oxygen below the LOC is not flammable.

Stoichiometric is the calculation of quantities relationship of the reactants and products in a

balanced chemical reaction. It can be used to calculate quantities such as the amount of products
that can be produced with given reactants and percent yield.
 • The flash point temperature is one of the major quantities used
to characterize the fire and explosion hazard of liquids.
• Vapor mixtures
frequently Lower Flammability Limit (LFL) and Upper
Flammability Limit (UFL) for mixture are needed. These mixture
limits are computed using the following formulae;

Flammability limits
• A mixture is flammable only when the composition is
between the LFL and the UFL
• Commonly used units are volume percent fuel
(percentage of fuel plus air)
• Lower explosion limit (LEL) and upper explosion limit
(UEL) are used interchangeably with LFL and VFL
• LFLi – lower flammability limit for
component i (in volume %) of
component i in fuel and air
• UFLi – upper flammability limit
for component i (in volume %) of
component i in fuel and air
• yi – mole fraction of component i
on a combustible basis
• n – number of combustible
component
Assumptions
• Constant heat capacities
• Constant number of moles
• Combustion kinetics unchanged
• Adiabatic temperature rise is the
same for all species
• Previous formula valid at 25°C and 1 atm
• T & P , flammability ranges 
• P has little effect of LFL, except at very low pressures (< 50 mm
Hg absolute)

» Hc is heat of combustion
• Many hydrocarbon vapors exhibits LFL and UFL as a
function of stoichiometric concentration of fuel (Cst)
[Cst is volume % fuel in fuel plus air]
• LFL = 0.55Cst & UFL = 3.50Cst (Cst = 100 / (1 + (z/0.21))
• General combustion reaction;
CmHxOy + zO2  mCO2 + 0.5xH2O [z = m + x/4 – y/2]
• Correlation between flammability limits with heat of
combustion of the fuel
• A good fit was obtained for 123 organic materials
containing C, H, O, N, S
• UFL is only applicable over the range of 4.9-23 %
(pg 234)
What are the LFL and UFL of a gas mixture composed of 0.8%
hexane, 2.0% methane and 0.5% ethylene by volume ?

Answers
LFL 2.75% by volume total combustibles
UFL 12.9% by volume total combustibles
• Twofold strategies
– Prevent the initiation
– Minimize the damage after a fire/explosion has
occurred
• Most important is to eliminate any of the three
conditions of the fire triangle
• Strategies
– Inerting
• To reduce the oxygen or fuel concentration to
below a target value using an inert gas
• Nitrogen is the most common
– Use flammability diagram

Fire fighting system filled with inert gas

• Strategies
– Controlling static electricity
• How did it happen?

– By separation of two materials

– As materials are separated, electrons must redistribute
themselves
– If materials are both conductors, electrons move rapidly
– If one or more materials are non-conductors, the electrons
cannot move very fast and final result is a difference in charge
– Examples: Rubbing, Falling, Moving, Flowing
• Strategies
– Controlling static electricity
• Grounding and Bonding
• Be careful of
– Glass containers /vessels/pipes
– Plastic containers
/vessels/pipes/pumps
– Low conductive liquids:
benzene, toluene, xylene,
heptane, hexane
• Avoid free fall of liquids into
vessels
• Strategies
– Ventilation
• For inside storage areas, use 1 ft3/min/ft2 of floor area
• For inside process areas, use 1 ft3/min/ft2 or more of floor
area
– Sprinkler system
• Closed Head: Typically found in occupied buildings
• Open Head: Activated from a central location
• Monitor nozzles: Fixed location, but can be directed
• Water requirements: 0.25 – 0.5 gpm/ft2 protected
– Fire extinguisher
– Foam
ventilation
sprinkle

Fire extinguisher

foam
• Fire triangle – all three components must exist for
fire to initiate
• Flammability and explosion can be estimated via
flammability diagram
• Fire prevention strategies consist of two approaches
– to prevent initiation of fire (prevention is better
than cure) and to minimize damage after
fire/explosion occurrence
 NEW INFORMATION ON MINI PROJECT

NEXT WEEK
Please find news or information about fires that did occurred in
chemical industries
By answer 5W 1H
(what, who, where, when, why, PLUS How did it happen)

 Each group must PRESENT their project.

 ONLY one presenter (please select among the best)
 Each group was given 10 minutes to present theirs
 You are required to submit your report just after
a presentation

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THANK YOU

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