Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
concentration approaches the MOC. More frequently, however, the inerting system
consists only of a regulator designed to maintain a fixed positive inert pressure in the
vapor space; this insures that inert is always flowing out of the vessel rather than air
flowing in. The analyzer system, however, results in a significant savings in inert gas
usage without sacrificing safety.
Consider an inerting system designed to maintain the oxygen concentration below
10%. As oxygen leaks into the vessel and the concentration rises to 8 percent, a signal
from the oxygen sensor opens the inert gas feed valve. Once again the oxygen level is
adjusted to 6 percent. This closed loop control system, with high (8 percent) and low
(6 percent) inerting set points, maintains the oxygen concentration at safe levels with
a reasonable margin of safety.
There are several purging methods used to initially reduce the oxygen
concentration to the low set point, as described below.
Vacuum Purging
Vacuum purging is the most common inerting procedure for vessels. This procedure is
not used for large storage vessels because they are usually not designed for vacuums,
and usually only withstand a pressure of a few, inches of water.
Reactors, however, are often designed for full vacuum, that is -760 mm Hg gauge
or 0.0 mm Hg absolute. Consequently, vacuum purging is a common procedure for
reactors. The steps in a vacuum purging process include (1) draw a vacuum on the
vessel until the desired vacuum is reached, (2) relieve the vacuum with an inert, such
as, nitrogen or carbon dioxide to atmospheric pressure, (3) repeat steps 1 and 2 until
the desired oxidant concentration is reached.
Pressure Purging
Vessels may be pressure purged by adding inert gas under pressure. After this added
gas is diffused throughout the vessel, it is vented to the atmosphere, usually down to
atmospheric pressure. More than one pressure cycle may be necessary to reduce the
oxidant content to the desired concentration.
Sweep-Through Purging
The sweep-through purging process adds purge gas into a vessel at one opening, and
withdraws the mixed gas from the vessel to the atmosphere (or scrubber) from another
opening. This purging process is commonly used when the vessel or equipment is not
rated for pressure or vacuum; the purge gas is added and withdrawn at atmospheric
pressure.
Charges also accumulate when- -solids-are transported. The buildup results from
the separation of solid particle surfaces. Since solid geometries are almost always ill
defined, electrostatic calculations for solids are handled empirically. The charge
build-up characteristics are determined using generally accepted guidelines.
Example 7-1
In figure 7-2 explain the potential hazards in this process for a flowrate of
a. 0.1m/s
b. 5 m/s
If the charged nozzle approaches the grounded vessel, a spark will discharge with an
energy exceeding most MIEs. If the surrounding vapors are flammable, a fire and/or
explosion will be initiated.
Example 7-2
Determine the voltage generated and the energy buildup while filling a vessel which
has a glass liner for corrosion protection as shown in Figure 7-3. Using the data below
determine the hazards of this system for cases a and b.
Solution a. (Organic A)
In summary, the voltage (20.2 volts) and stored energy (1.92 x 10-5 mJ) are considerably below
the minimum requirements for ignition, 350 V and 0.1 mJ.
b. (Organic B) All the conditions are the same except the physical properties for organic
B are used:
u 5m / s and
In summary, for part b, the voltage (2016 volts) and stored energy (0. 191mJ) are large
enough to cause ignition. The hazard of this particular system (see Figure 7-3) is the
result of a spark which will be generated when the organic liquid approaches the
grounded thermocouple. If the atmosphere above the liquid is explosive, the ignition
will create a deflagration within the vessel If the vessel is not designed to withstand
the pressure a catas1rophy will result.
In this example the ignition hazard increases as the fluid conductivity increases,
primarily because the streaming current, Is, increases and the leakage resistance
remains the same. The controlling resistance is the glass wall. If the glass wall were
absent, the more conductive fluid would have a lower leakage resistance to the
grounded wall, and less charge would accumulate. Also, if the fluid were pumped into
the vessel from the bottom, leakage current could flow out through the inlet line. In
this case the more conductive fluid would have less leakage resistance.
In cases similar to Examples 7-1 and 7-2, it is common practice to add a grounded
noble metal plug on the liquid side of the liner. As illustrated in these examples,
however, resistance through nonconductive liquids is large enough to minimize the
effect of this single ground. Even if the entire surface is grounded, high voltages and
energies are generated when the liquids are pumped at a high rate and when the
liquids' have low conductivities.
When pumping fluids into a vessel through a pipe on top of the vessel, the separation
process produces a streaming current Is which is the basis for charge buildup. It is
possible to substantially reduce this electrostatic hazard by adding an enlarged section
of pipe just prior to entering the tank. This "hold" provides time for charge reduction
by relaxation. The residence time in this relaxation section of pipe should be about
twice the relaxation time determined.
In actual practice,' it was found that a hold time equal to or greater than one half
the calculated relaxation time is sufficient to eliminate charge buildup. The "twice the
relaxation time" rule, therefore, provides a safety factor of 4.
Bonding and Grounding
bpttom of the vessel (see Figure 7-10), to help eliminate the charge generation (and
accumulation) due to separation during the filling operation. Also, the inlet velocities
should be low enough to minimize the charge generation via streaming current Is.
Dip Pipes
An extended line, sometimes called a' dip leg or dip pipe, reduces the electrical charge
that accumulates when liquid is allowed to free fall. When using dip pipes, however,
care must be taken to prevent siphoning back when the inlet flow is
stopped. A commonly used method is to place a hole in the dip pipe near the top of
the vessel. Another technique is to use an angle iron instead of a pipe and let the
liquid flow down the angle iron (see Figure 7-10). These methods are also used when
filling drums.
liquid, because an insoluble phase gives an additional source of separation and charge
buildup.
Handling Solids without Flammable Vapors
Charging solids with a nongrounded and conductive chute can result in a buildup of a
charge on the chute. This charge can accumulate and finally produce a spark which
may ignite a dispersed and flammable dust.
Solids are transferred safely by bonding and grounding all conductive parts and/or
using nonconductive parts (drum and chute). See illustrations shown in Figure 7-11.
A safe design for this operation includes closed handling of the solids and liquids
under an inert atmosphere, see Figure 7-12.
present even under abnormal conditions. For non-XP designated areas, open flames,
heated elements, and other sources of ignition may be present.
Explosion-Proof Housings
In an XP area, the electrical equipment and some instrumentation must have special
explosion proof housings. The housings are not designed to prevent flammable vapors
and gases from entering but are designed to withstand an internal explosion and
prevent the combustion from spreading beyond the inside of the enclosure. A motor
starter, for example, is enclosed in a heavy cast walled box with the strength needed to
withstand explosive pressures.
The explosion proof design includes the use of conduit with special sealed
connections around all junction boxes.
Area and Material Classification
The design of electrical equipment and instrumentation is based on the nature of the
process hazards or specific process classifications. The classification method is
defined in the National Electrical Code; it is a function of the nature and degree of the
process hazards within a particular area. The rating method includes Classes I, II, and
III, Groups A-G, and Divisions 1 or 2.
The classes are related to the nature of the flammable material.
Class I: Locations where flammable gases or vapors are present.
Class II: Same for combustible dusts.
Class III: Hazard locations where combustible fibers or dusts are present but not
likely to be in suspension.
The groups designate the presence of specific chemical types. Chemicals which are
grouped have equivalent hazards
Group A: acetylene
Group B: hydrogen
ethylene
Group C: carbon monoxide
hydrogen sulfide
Group D: butane
ethane
ethyl alcohol
Group E: aluminum dust
Group F: carbon black
Group G: flour
Division designations are categorized in relationship to the probability of the material
being within the flammable or explosive regions.
Division 1: Probability of ignition is high; that is, flammable concentrations are
normally present.
Division 2: Hazardous only under abnormal conditions. Flammables are normally
contained in closed containers or systems.
Design of XP Area
When designing an XP area, all pieces of electrical equipment and instrumentation are
specified for the class, group, and division as discussed previously. All pieces of
Open air plants are recommended because the average wind velocities are high
enough to safely dilute volitile chemical leaks which may exist within a plant. While
safety precautions are always practiced to minimize leaks, accidental releases from
pump seals and other process points may occur.
Example 7-3
A plant handling substantial quantities of flammable toluene is located 1000 feet from a
residential area. There is some concern that a sizable leak of flammable vapors will form
a flammable cloud with subsequent ignition in the residential area. Determine the
minimum mass flow rate of toluene leakage required to produce a vapor cloud in the
residential area with a concentration equal to the LFL. Assume a 5 mph wind and D
atmospheric stability.
Solution Assume a continuous leak at ground level. The plume concentration directly
downwind along the cloud centerline is given by Equation 5-48.
Qm
y z
Solving for Qm, the mass flow rate form the leak,
Qm C y z
The LFL for toluene is 1.2% in air (from Table 6-1). Converting the units,
Frequently, processes cannot be constructed outside. In this case, local and dilution
ventilation systems are required.
Local ventilation is the most effective method for controlling flammable gas
releases. Dilution ventilation, however, is also used because the potential points of
release are usually numerous and it may be mechanically or economically impossible
to cover every potential release point with only local ventilation.
There are empirically determined design criteria for designing ventilation systems
for flammables inside storage and process areas. These design criteria are given in
Table 7-4.
the LFL (approximately 25%) or when a fire is detected through heat. Table 7-5
provides design specifications for these deluge systems.
Monitors are fixed water hydrants with an attached discharge gun. They are also
installed in process areas and storage tank areas. Fire hydrants and monitors are
spaced 150 to 250 ft apart around process units, located so that all areas of the plant
can be covered by tW9 streams. The monitor is usually located 50 ft from the
equipment being protected.' The specifications for monitors are also in Table 7-5.