Enhanced Process Safety

Process safety is an important issue for chemical industry in general and for exothermic reactions and reactions involving hazardous chemicals in particular. High hold-up of reactants in conventional batch reactors leads to very high impact in the case of accidents. A common approach to handle fast exothermic 

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Understanding and Encouraging Operational Discipline A workshop to enhance process safety, environmental responsibility, quality and profitability. AntiEntropics Inc., 1999. 

Process and equipment integrity Maintenance process and equipment integrity contributes to exposure control at the same time as it enhances process safety... 

Safety. The MR is much safer than the MASR. (1) The reaction zone contains a much smaller amount of the reaction mixture (hazardous material), which always enhances process safety. (2) In case of pump failure, the reaction automatically stops since the liquid falls down from the reaction zone. (3) There is no need to filter the monolithic catalyst after the reaction has been completed. Filtration of the fine catalysts particles used in slurry reactors is a troublesome and time-consuming operation. Moreover, metallic catalysts used in fine chemicals manufacture are pyrophoric, which makes this operation risky. In a slurry reactor there is a risk of thermal runaways. (4) If the cooling capacity is insufficient (e.g. by a mechanical failure) a temperature increase can lead to an increase in reaction, and thus heat generation rate. 

Preventive—Applying measures to reduce the frequency of occurrence of an event, including enhancing process safety management effectiveness. 

Process safety is a dynamic field. Enhancing process safety knowledge is one of the twelve key elements recognized hy CCPS for successfully managing process safety. 

PROCESS SAFETY COMPETENCY Execute Activities that Help Maintain and Enhance Process Safety Evaluate and Share Results Adjust Plans Maintain a Dependable Practice... 

Presence of objectives related to enhancing process safety competence in each manager s, supervisor s, and technical staff member s personal performance plans, and in the trend over time X... 

Validate the process instrumentation, and enhance process safety and control. 

A recent article in Process Safety Progress addressed our industry s need to maintain unease or a sense of vulnerability. The article basically described methods to enhance process safety awareness for process engineers and mechanical designers, as well as plant maintenance, operations and support employees, by showing the failures of the past. The article aimed at reducing complacency within the process industries. This chapter expands on that concept. 

AFTER - An issue that does not impact safe startup or operation but, if corrected, enhances process safety. 

Flixborough Case History in Building Process Safety Culture Tools to Enhance Process Safety Performance, Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York, 2005. 

Various methods have been introduced to enhance process safety and health performances in the process indnstry. However, most of them were focnsing on evaluating safety and health performance aspects in a proposed process design rather than incorporating those aspects when designing the process. Undonbtedly, hazard and risk assessment is an important element of safety and health management systan—bnt the benefits will be greatest if... 

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