Hydrocarbon Fires and Explosions

Double and triple bonded hydrocarbons Fire and explosion... 

The scope of this book is to provide a practical knowledge and guidance in the understanding of prevention and mitigation principals and methodologies from the effects of hydrocarbon fires and explosions. The Chemical Process Industry (CPI), presents several different concerns that this book does not intend to address. However the basic protection features of the Hydrocarbon Process Industry (HPI) are also applicable to the chemical process industry and other related process industries. 

The scope of this book is to provide practical knowledge on the guidance in the understanding of prevention and mitigation principals and methodologies from the effects of hydrocarbon fires and explosions. 

The next simplest ether is the ether with the simplest alkane as one of the hydrocarbon backbones and the next alkane, which is methyl ethyl ether. Its molecular formula is CH3OC2H5. It is a colorless gas with the characteristic ether odor. It has a flash point of 31 °F, and an ignition temperature of only 374°F. This property, of course, makes it an extreme fire and explosion hazard. 

D. K. McKibben, Safe Design of Atmospheric Pressure Vessels, Paper presented at Seminar on Prevention of Fires and Explosions in the Hydrocarbon Industries, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, June 21-26, 1982. 

The cause of this fire and explosion was ignition of hydrocarbon mixture. 

Chemical and hydrocarbon plant losses resulting from fires and explosions are substantial, with yearly property losses in the United States estimated at almost 300 million (1997 dollars).1 Additional losses in life and business interruptions are also substantial. To prevent accidents resulting from fires and explosions, engineers must be familiar with... 

Accident statistics have shown that fires and explosions represent 97 percent of the largest accidents in the chemical industry (J. Coco, ed., Large Property Damage Losses in the Hydrocarbon-Chemical Industry A Thirty Year Review, J. H. Marsh and McLennan, New York, 1997). 

The UFL increases as the pressure is increased. A very approximate equation for the change in UFL with pressure is available for some hydrocarbon gases (Zabetakis, Fire and Explosion Hazards at Temperature and Pressure Extremes, A1CHE Inst. Chem. Engr. Symp ser. 2, pp. 99-104, 1965) ... 

Due to the destructive nature of hydrocarbon forces when handled incorrectly, fire and explosion protection principles should be the prime feature in the risk philosophy of any hydrocarbon facility. Vapor cloud explosions in particular are consider the highest risk at a hydrocarbon facility. Disregarding the importance of protection features or systems will eventually prove to be costly both in economic and human terms should a catastrophic incident occur without adequate safeguards. 

Hydrocarbon materials have several different characteristics that can be used to define their level of hazard. Since no one feature can adequately define the level of risk for a particular substance they should be evaluated as a synergism. It should also be realized that these characteristics have been tested under strict laboratory conditions and procedures that may alter when applied to industrial environments. The main characteristics of combustible hydrocarbon materials which are of high interest for fire and explosion influences are described below. 

The most destructive incidents in the petroleum and related industries are usually initiated by an explosive blast that can damage and destroy unprotected facilities. These blasts have been commonly equated with the force of a TNT explosion and are quite literally a "bomb". The protection of hydrocarbon and chemical industries is in rather a unique discipline by itself, which requires specialized techniques of mitigation and protection in a systems based approach. The first step in this approach is to understand the characteristics of hydrocarbon releases, fires and explosions. 

If a hydrocarbon release is ignited, various possible fire and explosion events may result. The events are primarily dependent on the type of material, the rate of release, the item at which it is ignited and nature of the surrounding structure. 

The following terminology is used in the description of the various fires and explosions that can occur at a hydrocarbon facility. 

Historical Survey of Fire and Explosions in the Hydrocarbon Industries... 

The following is a brief selective listing of major worldwide fire and explosion incidents within the hydrocarbon and chemical industries during the last 25 years (1970 - 1994), both onshore and offshore. Numerous smaller incidents have been recorded that are not listed here but may be studied in other references. Where the number of fatalities has been reported in public accounts they are listed next to the financial loss. Financial losses are direct property damage losses and do not include business interruption, legal, or environmental impacts. 

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