Methanol Storage and Handling

The most common ways of transporting methanol is through bulk transportation,

which includes rail, truck, and pipelines. During transferring or storage, the systems

should be cleaned, flushed, and sampled in order to ensure integrity of the product.

Materials and methods of construction must be compatible with methanol service.

Methanol is non-corrosive to most metals at ambient temperatures, except to lead,

magnesium, and platinum. Mild steel is usually selected as the construction material.

Also, coatings of copper, zinc, or aluminum are attacked slowly by methanol. Preferred

methods of methanol service include, nylons, rubber, particularly nitrile and ethylene

propylene rubber. Teflon and neoprene are also preferred components of equipment in

methanol service.

Storage tanks of welded construction are considered satisfactory for methanol.

They should have secondary containment such as dikes to reduce fire or prevent large

spills. Large tanks should have control devices such as level gauges, conservation vents,

and pressure vacuum relief valves.

Sources of Exposure to Methanol

Inhalation of methanol vapors is the most frequent exposure. The methanol

threshold limit value is 200 ppm. This is the maximum average concentration a worker

should be exposed to over a eight hour period. The short term exposure limit is 250 ppm.

This is the maximum average concentration a worker should be exposed to over 15

minute periods, four times per day with at least 60 minutes between exposure periods.

Methanol can also be ingested orally. One to four ounces of methanol have been known
to cause fatalities. There are no serious effects from skin contact to methanol as long

repeated and excessive exposures are avoided. Personal protective equipment should be

used in the presence of exposure to methanol. This can include appropriate footwear,

face shields, respiratory protection, or chemical suits.

Methanol is labeled as a Class 1B flammable liquid by the Occupation Safety and

Health Administration (OSHA). Pure methanol has a flash point of 12C. Flash point is

defined as the minimum temperature at which the vapour pressure of a liquid is sufficient

to form an ignitable mixture with air near the surface of the liquid. The lower explosive

limit (LEL) of methanol is 6% by volume and the upper explosive limit (UEL) of

methanol is 36% by volume. The UEL corresponds to a methanol temperature of 41C.

In order to deal with the flammability of methanol, many precautions have to be

considered. Smoking must be prohibited, grounding is required for all equipment,

including tanks, pipe racks, pumps, vessels, and filters. Ventilations must be sufficient to

cope with the maximum expected vapor levels in the buildings. There will be relief

valves in place on distillation columns, flash drum, and reactor. All controls can be

viewed under the control scheme section of this report.

Another safety hazard in this plant is the amount of CO2 that will be released. A

thermal oxidizer will be used to destroy hazardous air pollutants and volatile organic

compounds. They will be destroyed via thermal combustion and eventually changed to

form CO2 and water. CO2 will also be released from distillation column 1 in the distillate

stream at an amount of 23,180.57 lb/hr. Precautions muse be taken to ensure there no

leaks and that the CO2 is successfully released into the atmosphere and not built up inside

the buildings.