Propane tank

The contractors SSAHPs at Sites I and K required that safety and health program inspections be conducted however, these requirements were not effectively implemented at either of these sites. Both Site K contractors required the HSO to conduct daily inspections, and both stated in their written plans that hazards would be immediately corrected. Neither contractor, however, had established hazard abatement procedures to ensure the prompt correction of hazards, and site records for both contractors indicated that hazard abatement activities were either not documented or not completed. For example, the subcontractor s daily safety log contained several notations of safety hazards, including an unstable concrete well and storage of diesel cans near the propane tank however, later log entries and site records did not track the abatement of these hazards. 

The report also includes a list of other similar tank collapses six in the U.S. in the period 1978-1986 (p. 102). A similar incident involving a liquefied propane tank occurred in Qatar in 1977 (see Section 8.1.5). 

Figure 8-1. Drain valves underneath propane tank at Feyzin.

In 1977. the technical press reported that a major leak from a 20,000-m liquefied propane tank in Qatar had ignited and that the resulting fire and explosion had killed seven people and caused extensive damage to the rest of the plant [18]. There had also been a leak the year before, but it had not ignited, and the tank had been repaired. The propane was stored at -42°C and atmospheric pressure. No detailed report on the incident was issued, for legal reasons, but a member of the company concerned published several papers [19-21], which gave new recommendations for t,he construction of tanks for refrigerated LFG, and it is thus possible to read between the lines and surmise what probably happened. 

Enschede, The Netherlands Release and Explosion from a Propane Tank... 

The resulting vapor cloud spread like a white mist to the construction buildings. Most of the workers fled. Calculations based on the size of the hole in the propane tank indicate that approximately 110 kg (240 lb) of propane was released. After 30 seconds, the cloud was ignited by a heater in a construction building. 

PROPANE TANK TRACTOR-SEMITRAILER OVERTURN ANO FIRE ON U S. 501 NEAR LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA ON MARCH 9, 1972... 

Van Laar, G. F. M. 1981. Accident with a propane tank at Enschede on 26th March 1980, Prins Maurits Laboratorium. TNO Report no. PML 1981-145. 

Schulz-Forberg, B., B. Droste, and H. Charlett. 1984. Failure mechanics of propane tanks under thermal stresses including fire engulfment. Proc. Int. Symp. on Transport and Storage of LPG and LNG. 1 295-305. 

A liquefied propane tank truck whose volume is 6000 U.S. gallons (22.7 m ) is involved in a traffic accident, and the tank truck is engulfed by fire from burning gasoline. The tank is 90% filled with propane. Assume that all of the propane will contribute to the fireball. Radiation effects are calculated below blast and fragmentation effects for this problem will be calculated in Sections 9.2 and 9.3, respectively. 

TABLE 9.1. Radiation on a (Vertical) Receptor from a 6000-gallon Propane Tank Truck BLEVE Calculated with Solid Flame and Point Source Radiation Models... 

This will generally be tr-ue as we proceed to look at other alkanes as the number of carbon atoms increases, so does the boiling point. All the alkanes with four car bons or less are gases at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. With the highest boiling point of the three, propane is the easiest one to liquefy. We are all faniliar- with propane tanks. These are steel containers in which a propane-rich mixture of hydrocar bons called liquefied petroleum gas (LEG) is maintained in a liquid state under high pressure as a convenient clean-burning fuel. 

Upon release from a pressurized container, propane vaporizes immediately. This property makes liquid propane economical to store and to transport by pipeline, rail, barge, or truck. Because they are relatively light, propane tanks and canisters can be carried... 

Kingman, AZ, USA, Railroad Propane tank, BLEVE Leaking transfer valve ignited when struck while tightening 13 Fatalities... 

Massive metallurgical weld failure of liquid propane tank... 

Explosion, or BLCBE, involving multiple site initiation during the explosive stage, is described [2], A study of Bleves in propane tanks is combined with a procedure for predicting whether a tank will BLEVE or merely produce a jet leak on overheating [3]. The relationship between BLEVE conditions and subsequent fireballs has been studied [4]... 

Propane Tank Root Cause Analysis Example -Propane Tank Cause and Effect Chart (CEC)... 

Test Station, China Lake, Caiif (Refs 3 vapor clouds were once considered a way-out technique. A cloud of volatile fuel, mixed with air, is discharged and then detonated on a target, with the same violent expin that characterized grain-silo dust explns or blast, when a propane tank truck blows up. This kind of expln can level a city block. 

Propane storage tanks must be built to either U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations for cylinders or American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) pressure vessel codes. Steel is the most common material for propane tanks, though aluminum is also allowed and is popular for portable propane tanks. 

Gases include anesthesia used in medical procedures, as well as gases used in household or commercial products, such as butane lighters, propane tanks, whipped cream dispensers, and refrigerants. 

Directions follow for bombs using the three most common refillablc propane tanks 5-gallon jug, 24-gallon cylinder, and 50-gaJlon sphere. All operate alike but use different bursting techniques. 

Generally, cylinders that are broad and squat in contour are for low-pressure service, such as the propane tanks used on automobiles or with campers. Those that are tall and thin are generally used for high-pressure containment, such as for oxygen, hydrogen, or nitrogen. 

Propane is a gas at room temperature, but it exists as a liquid under pressure in a propane tank. It reacts with oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide and water vapour. 

A 1.2-m-diameIer and 6-m-long cylindrical propane tank is initially filled with liquid propane whose density is 581 kg/m. The tank is exposed to the ambient air at 30°C, with a heal transfer coefficient of 25 W/m °C. Now a crack develops at the top of the tank and the pressure inside drops to 1 atm while the temperature drops to —42 C, which is the boiling temperature of propane at 1 atm. The heat of vaporisation of propane at 1 atm is 425 kJ/kg. The propane is slowly vaporised as a result of the heat transfer from the ambient air into the tank, and the propane vapor escapes the tank at -42 C through the crack. Assuming the propane lank to be at about the same... 

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