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Safety Assessment for Chemical Processes
Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries 13 (2000) 179–180 www.elsevier.com/locate/jlp
Book review Safety Assessment for Chemical Processes Jorg Steinbach; Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany and New York, 1999, pp. 305 This book is based on the author’s experience consisting of 15 years of research in the field of chemical safety and 10 years in the chemical industry. He is now a professor at the Technical University of Berlin where he teaches this subject. The book was written to provide newcomers with an easy introduction to this field and also to help practitioners in the chemical industry to answer questions that arise in their daily work with hazardous materials or potentially dangerous chemical plants. In essence, it is a primer on process safety and loss prevention. The book is intended to cover the following topics: 1. determination and interpretation of substance-related safety data, as they characterize the hazard potential, 2. organizational and engineering safety concepts, as they influence the probability of the occurrence of an incident, 3. methods of hazard analysis to provide safety assessment in a systematic manner. The book contains 8 chapters, a listing of literature references cited in the book, and a rather short subject index. Chapter 1 is a brief discussion of the basic terminology used in loss prevention, reviewing general safety terms (hazard potential and expectable damage and risk) and basic terminology for plant and process operation. This is followed in Chapter 2 by an outline of the systematic approach to obtaining hazard assessments for chemical processes and physical unit operations. Among the topics covered are: scope of investigation that can be used during the process development stage, definition of significant plant or process modifications, and types of investigations corresponding to the life cycle of a plant or process. Two useful tables are presented which show the information obtainable from thermodynamic and kinetic tests methods, and an overview of the recommended procedures that should be used for safety assessments during the life cycle progression of a process. In Chapter 3, the author presents a very good discussion of test methods for evaluating the thermal stability of pure substances and mixtures. The topics covered include: theoretical considerations for laboratory processes, screening methods for kg-scale processes (DTA
and DSC procedures, the Carius tube test, the miniautoclave test, and open cup measuring techniques), further basic assessment test methods for kg-scale processes (burning tests for solids, test for the ignitability of solids, tests for flash points of liquids, and tests for autoignition temperature of liquids), some tests for explosion risk (drop hammer test for liquids and solids; friction test for solids, pastes, and gel-type substances; friction test for solids, pastes, and gel-type substances; and the Koenen steel cartridge test), deflagration testing, and recommended test methods for various unit operations for kg-scale processes. This chapter will be very useful for those engineers and scientists not familiar with hazard testing. Methods for the investigation and assessment of chemical reactions are very thoroughly discussed in Chapter 4. Many practical subjects are reviewed, including the following: reaction engineering fundamentals, the heat explosion (runaway reaction) theory, investigation and assessment of normal operating conditions, and investigation and assessment of upset operating conditions. These discussions pertain to safe normal operation of the cooled continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), the cooled plug flow tube reactor (PFTR), cooled batch reactors (BR), and cooled semibatch reactors (SBR); safe normal operation of reactions under reflux and polymerization reactors; investigation methods for the characterization of normal operating conditions; the assessment of the CSTR, SBR, and BR under upset conditions; and methods for the investigation of upset operating conditions. This chapter is an excellent overview of chemical reactor operations, and is very useful for the evaluation of their safety. Chapter 5 is a rather short review of dust explosions in milling, mixing, and drying operations. It covers fundamentals of dust explosions, relevant technical safety data and experimental test methods and apparatus, and protective measures against dust explosions. This is a rather disappointing chapter, and NFPA 68 and NFPA 69 (which are the basic standards used in the USA) are not even cited in the list of literature references. Also, the latest editions of VDI 3673 and Eckhoff’s book and some excellent books published by the IChemE are not listed. Methods for the identification of deviations and their assessment are briefly discussed in Chapter 6. The methods presented are qualitative methods (checklists, preliminary hazard analysis, the “what if” method, and HAZOP analysis) and quantitative methods (fault-tree and event tree analysis), and special methods (Dow Fire
0950-4230/00/$ - see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 5 0 - 4 2 3 0 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 7 3 - X
180
Book review / Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries 13 (2000) 179–180
and Explosion Index and the ICI Mond-Hazard Index). This chapter also is rather disappointing and some of the references are not the latest editions. In Chapter 7, plant technical safety concepts are discussed. Among the topics covered are: design of emergency relief systems (general fundamentals of two-phase pressure relief, design according to Leung’s equilibrium model, and design for multi-purpose plants), safe disposal and containment of emergency relief streams [assessment of vent line design to and from relief devices, catch tank design (knockout drums), and cyclone separator with separate/integrated catch tank], and protection against explosions by inertization (description of the assessment procedure for explosion risk, classification of protection measures against explosion, and fundamentals of inertization). Again, this chapter is a very short coverage
of the subject. Chapter 8 is just some concluding remarks about process safety and loss prevention. This book will be of use to neophytes who have no knowledge of this very important field of process safety and loss prevention. However, Chapters 3 and 4 will also be very helpful to experienced engineers as well. The author has written the book from both a European and American perspective, which makes for a well-rounded presentation of the subject. It would have been even better if there were more numerous and up-to-date references given. Stanley S. Grossel (President) Process Safety & Design, Inc., 41 Sussex Road, Clifton, NJ 07012-2017, USA E-mail address: [email protected]
Book review Safety Assessment for Chemical Processes Jorg Steinbach; Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany and New York, 1999, pp. 305 This book is based on the author’s experience consisting of 15 years of research in the field of chemical safety and 10 years in the chemical industry. He is now a professor at the Technical University of Berlin where he teaches this subject. The book was written to provide newcomers with an easy introduction to this field and also to help practitioners in the chemical industry to answer questions that arise in their daily work with hazardous materials or potentially dangerous chemical plants. In essence, it is a primer on process safety and loss prevention. The book is intended to cover the following topics: 1. determination and interpretation of substance-related safety data, as they characterize the hazard potential, 2. organizational and engineering safety concepts, as they influence the probability of the occurrence of an incident, 3. methods of hazard analysis to provide safety assessment in a systematic manner. The book contains 8 chapters, a listing of literature references cited in the book, and a rather short subject index. Chapter 1 is a brief discussion of the basic terminology used in loss prevention, reviewing general safety terms (hazard potential and expectable damage and risk) and basic terminology for plant and process operation. This is followed in Chapter 2 by an outline of the systematic approach to obtaining hazard assessments for chemical processes and physical unit operations. Among the topics covered are: scope of investigation that can be used during the process development stage, definition of significant plant or process modifications, and types of investigations corresponding to the life cycle of a plant or process. Two useful tables are presented which show the information obtainable from thermodynamic and kinetic tests methods, and an overview of the recommended procedures that should be used for safety assessments during the life cycle progression of a process. In Chapter 3, the author presents a very good discussion of test methods for evaluating the thermal stability of pure substances and mixtures. The topics covered include: theoretical considerations for laboratory processes, screening methods for kg-scale processes (DTA
and DSC procedures, the Carius tube test, the miniautoclave test, and open cup measuring techniques), further basic assessment test methods for kg-scale processes (burning tests for solids, test for the ignitability of solids, tests for flash points of liquids, and tests for autoignition temperature of liquids), some tests for explosion risk (drop hammer test for liquids and solids; friction test for solids, pastes, and gel-type substances; friction test for solids, pastes, and gel-type substances; and the Koenen steel cartridge test), deflagration testing, and recommended test methods for various unit operations for kg-scale processes. This chapter will be very useful for those engineers and scientists not familiar with hazard testing. Methods for the investigation and assessment of chemical reactions are very thoroughly discussed in Chapter 4. Many practical subjects are reviewed, including the following: reaction engineering fundamentals, the heat explosion (runaway reaction) theory, investigation and assessment of normal operating conditions, and investigation and assessment of upset operating conditions. These discussions pertain to safe normal operation of the cooled continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), the cooled plug flow tube reactor (PFTR), cooled batch reactors (BR), and cooled semibatch reactors (SBR); safe normal operation of reactions under reflux and polymerization reactors; investigation methods for the characterization of normal operating conditions; the assessment of the CSTR, SBR, and BR under upset conditions; and methods for the investigation of upset operating conditions. This chapter is an excellent overview of chemical reactor operations, and is very useful for the evaluation of their safety. Chapter 5 is a rather short review of dust explosions in milling, mixing, and drying operations. It covers fundamentals of dust explosions, relevant technical safety data and experimental test methods and apparatus, and protective measures against dust explosions. This is a rather disappointing chapter, and NFPA 68 and NFPA 69 (which are the basic standards used in the USA) are not even cited in the list of literature references. Also, the latest editions of VDI 3673 and Eckhoff’s book and some excellent books published by the IChemE are not listed. Methods for the identification of deviations and their assessment are briefly discussed in Chapter 6. The methods presented are qualitative methods (checklists, preliminary hazard analysis, the “what if” method, and HAZOP analysis) and quantitative methods (fault-tree and event tree analysis), and special methods (Dow Fire
0950-4230/00/$ - see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 5 0 - 4 2 3 0 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 7 3 - X
180
Book review / Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries 13 (2000) 179–180
and Explosion Index and the ICI Mond-Hazard Index). This chapter also is rather disappointing and some of the references are not the latest editions. In Chapter 7, plant technical safety concepts are discussed. Among the topics covered are: design of emergency relief systems (general fundamentals of two-phase pressure relief, design according to Leung’s equilibrium model, and design for multi-purpose plants), safe disposal and containment of emergency relief streams [assessment of vent line design to and from relief devices, catch tank design (knockout drums), and cyclone separator with separate/integrated catch tank], and protection against explosions by inertization (description of the assessment procedure for explosion risk, classification of protection measures against explosion, and fundamentals of inertization). Again, this chapter is a very short coverage
of the subject. Chapter 8 is just some concluding remarks about process safety and loss prevention. This book will be of use to neophytes who have no knowledge of this very important field of process safety and loss prevention. However, Chapters 3 and 4 will also be very helpful to experienced engineers as well. The author has written the book from both a European and American perspective, which makes for a well-rounded presentation of the subject. It would have been even better if there were more numerous and up-to-date references given. Stanley S. Grossel (President) Process Safety & Design, Inc., 41 Sussex Road, Clifton, NJ 07012-2017, USA E-mail address: [email protected]