Avoiding Static Ignition Hazards In Chemical Operations

Written by Laurence Britton, who has over 20 years' experience in the fields of static ignition and process fire and explosion hazards research, this resource addresses an area not extensively covered in process safety standards or literature: understanding and reducing potential hazards associated with static electricity. The book covers the nature of static electricity, characteristics and effective energies of different static resources, techniques for evaluating static electricity hazards, general bonding, grounding, and other techniques used to control static or prevent ignition, gases and liquids, powders and hybrid mixtures.

Written by Laurence Britton, who has over 20 years' experience in the fields of static ignition and process fire and explosion hazards research, this resource addresses an area not extensively covered in process safety standards or literature: understanding and reducing potential hazards associated with static electricity. The book covers the nature of static electricity, characteristics and effective energies of different static resources, techniques for evaluating static electricity hazards, general bonding, grounding, and other techniques used to control static or prevent ignition, gases and liquids, powders and hybrid mixtures.

This textbook covers the essential aspects of process safety engineering in a practical and comprehensive manner. It provides readers with an understanding of process safety hazards in the refining and petrochemical industries and how to manage them in a reliable and professional manner. It covers the most important concepts: static electricity, intensity of thermal radiation, thermodynamics of fluid phase equilibria, boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE), emission source models, hazard identification methods, risk control and methods for achieving manufacturing excellence while also focusing on safety. Extensive case studies are included. Aimed at senior undergraduate and graduate chemical engineering students and practicing engineers, this book covers process safety principles and engineering practice authoritatively, with comprehensive examples: • Fundamentals, methods, and procedures for the industrial practice of process safety engineering. • The thermodynamic fundamentals and computational methods for release rates from ruptures in pipelines, vessels, and relief valves. • Fundamentals of static electricity hazards and their mitigation. • Quantitative assessment of fires and explosions. • Principles of dispersion calculations for toxic or flammable gases and vapors. • Methods of qualitative and quantitative risk assessment and control.

Complemented by an estimating tool spreadsheet based on a fixed set of chemicals to assist in risk estimations, Probability of Ignition of a Released Flammable Mass converts a "best guess" to a calculated value based on available information and current technology. The text documents and explains the science and background of the technology-based approach. The tool, when populated with appropriate data, yields an estimate of the probability that a defined release of a flammable material will ignite if exposed to an ignition source. This information can be used to make risk assessments with a higher degree of confidence than estimates made before and it provides valuable information for use in the development of a facility's Emergency Response Plan.

This updated version of one of the most popular and widely used CCPS books provides plant design engineers, facility operators, and safety professionals with key information on selected topics of interest. The book focuses on process safety issues in the design of chemical, petrochemical, and hydrocarbon processing facilities. It discusses how to select designs that can prevent or mitigate the release of flammable or toxic materials, which could lead to a fire, explosion, or environmental damage. Key areas to be enhanced in the new edition include inherently safer design, specifically concepts for design of inherently safer unit operations and Safety Instrumented Systems and Layer of Protection Analysis. This book also provides an extensive bibliography to related publications and topic-specific information, as well as key information on failure modes and potential design solutions.

The subject of this manual is safe practice for avoiding electrostatic discharge hazards in the manufacturing and processing of chemical and plastic powders. It is written with the practicing engineer and plant technician in mind. Practical information to enhance the process safety is provided in straightforward terms. The manual describes the basic phenomena of powder electrostatics, giving special emphasis to polymer powders. The identified types of electrostatic discharges are discussed and explanations of the conditions that favor or inhibit each type are given. A number of industrial incidents where ESD-induced dust ignitions occurred are reviewed, with the authors contributing their own views on causes and preventive measures. The important quantitative measures of electrostatic hazards are identified, along with the methods needed to perform meaningful measurements. Concrete recommendations, based on the authors' experience, are provided in the form of a list of "Do's" and "Don'ts" applicable in the plant environment. Finally, appendices provide a wealth of useful background data plus an informative "Q and A" section covering practical engineering issues. This manual will be extremely useful to chemical plant engineers, operating and maintenance personnel, safety engineers, processing plant engineers, design engineers, and consultants, as well as persons in the chemical, pharmaceutical, plastic, and food handling industries.

Since the publication of the second edition several United States jurisdictions have mandated consideration of inherently safer design for certain facilities. Notable examples are the inherently safer technology (IST) review requirement in the New Jersey Toxic Chemical Prevention Act (TCPA), and the Inherently Safer Systems Analysis (ISSA) required by the Contra Costa County (California) Industrial Safety Ordinance. More recently, similar requirements have been proposed at the U.S. Federal level in the pending EPA Risk Management Plan (RMP) revisions. Since the concept of inherently safer design applies globally, with its origins in the United Kingdom, the book will apply globally. The new edition builds on the same philosophy as the first two editions, but further clarifies the concept with recent research, practitioner observations, added examples and industry methods, and discussions of security and regulatory issues. Inherently Safer Chemical Processes presents a holistic approach to making the development, manufacture, and use of chemicals safer. The main goal of this book is to help guide the future state of chemical process evolution by illustrating and emphasizing the merits of integrating inherently safer design process-related research, development, and design into a comprehensive process that balances safety, capital, and environmental concerns throughout the life cycle of the process. It discusses strategies of how to: substitute more benign chemicals at the development stage, minimize risk in the transportation of chemicals, use safer processing methods at the manufacturing stage, and decommission a manufacturing plant so that what is left behind does not endanger the public or environment.