Sigma-HSE Newsletter - October 2024
FREE On-Demand Webinar: Mitigating Fires & Explosions from Electrostatic Discharge
Many processes produce explosive substances which include flammable gases, vapours, liquids and dusts. When mixed with air, these materials can form potentially explosive atmospheres. All that is needed to generate a fire or explosion, is an effective source of ignition.
There are 13 common sources if ignition, with one of them being electrostatic discharge. A hazardous electrostatic discharge occurs when an accumulated static charge is released in the form of a spark with sufficient energy to cause ignition.
In this webinar Mike Weaver, Associate Director, will discuss the fundamental principles of electrostatic hazards, the types of electrostatic discharge and methods for mitigating electrostatic risk.
Whether you’re an engineer, process safety professional, or industry stakeholder, this webinar will provide you with the essential knowledge to understand the complexities of electrical classification and implement robust safety measures within your organization.
What you’ll learn:
Where: Online, just register for free HERE.
What Data Do You Need for Your Basis of Safety?
The ‘Basis of Safety’ (BoS) refers to the fundamental principles, standards, and safeguards put in place to prevent accidents, mitigate process risk and understand your worst-case scenarios.
Your ‘Basis of Safety’ must therefore serve as the foundation for the safe and reliable operation of your processes.
To start formulating your BoS, you need to gather a detailed range of information that supports the implementation of your chosen safety measure. This data should include:
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A separate BoS must be determined for each unit operation, and this cannot be achieved without the above information.
Although Sigma-HSE can aid you with a range of consultancy solutions to help determine your BoS i.e., HAC drawings or guidance on equipment and protective systems, our IEH lab can ensure that the acquisition of your material flammability data is as compact and comprehensive as possible by breaking it down into three main Basis of Safety approaches.
The data obtained from such tests can feed into your on-site HSE programme or can be used by our consultants to guide you towards the most suitable BoS for your processes.
Developing an appropriate ‘Basis of Safety’ is an ongoing process that requires commitment, vigilance, and a proactive approach to identifying and managing risks.
领英推荐
Understanding Your Journey from Laboratory to Large-Scale Production
The journey from laboratory-scale synthesis to large-scale production must involve the testing and analysis of potential Chemical Reaction Hazards, with a range of tools on offer including thermal screening and adiabatic calorimetry testing methods.
The typical scale-up route unfolds from the conceptualisation of a target molecule or product to the identification of synthetic routes. Usually, literature calculations and theoretical simulations guide this initial phase.
Thermal screening tools can be deployed when exploring various synthetic routes and assessing potential thermal decomposition challenges. As the synthesis route is optimised, the integration of reaction calorimetry aids in the transition to pilot plant scale, offering detailed enthalpic information and optimisation opportunities.
The preliminary data collected during the screening stage will guide teams in their process development journey and can then be used to inform and ensure proper plant design (reactor cooling capacity, emergency relief sizing, etc.) via use of adiabatic methods and data for process scale-up.Learn more about how Sigma-HSE can provide bespoke Thermal Screening and Adiabatic Calorimetry testing methodologies for your chemical processes.
From the Engineers’ Desk
HAZOP study on a small-scale reactor
Scope
We recently encountered a client who required a HAZOP study on a small-scale reactor system in an aging chemical manufacturing plant.
Identified Hazard
During the study it was noted that an exothermic reaction could lead to a runaway reaction if the cooling system failed. As a result, we undertook further investigation into scenarios where the chemistry and equipment would not cause a runaway.
Recommendations
We recommended that inherent safety could be achieved by limiting temperature to 100°C by using an atmospheric steam set for heating. We also recommended changes to the equipment to hold more maximum pressure.
We also found that we could limit maximum reagent flow rates through physical devices like orifice plates, interlocks and other process controls so that reagents cannot be added without agitation.
Outcome
Although this particular outcome had short term costs to the business, we managed to keep the process operational while reducing risk, improving energy efficiency and ensuring compliance with regulators.
Resources Library
Learning from our Process Safety Experts
To access our repository of technical articles and on-demand webinars, providing a wealth of insight into mitigating fire and explosion risk, check out our website resources page.