Intensification safety effects

Many of the incidents in this book were the result of leaks of hazardous materials, and the recommendations describe ways of preventing leaks by providing better equipment or procedures. As we have seen, equipment can fail or can be neglected, and procedures can lapse. The most effective methods, therefore, of preventing leaks of hazardous materials are to use so little that it hardly matters if it all leaks out (intensification or minimization) or to use a safer material instead (substitution). If we cannot do this and have to store or handle large amounts of hazardous material, we should store or handle it in the least hazardous form (attenuation or moderation). Plants in which this is done are said to be inherently safer because they are not dependent on added-on equipment or procedures that might fail the hazard is avoided rather than controlled, and the safety is inherent in the design. 

Table 5 illustrates inherent safety parameters and the selection of them by Edwards and Lawrence (1993) and Heikkila et al. (1996). E.g. inventory has been chosen by both. It is relative to the capacity of a process and residence times (hold-up s) in vessels. It has a large effect on the degree of hazard and it should be kept small by intensification. 

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