Using process stream index (PSI) to assess inherent safety level during preliminary design stage

In the current practice, safety assessment is conducted once the process design has been completed. At this stage of design, the freedom to change the conceptual design is very limited and whatever strategies to be implemented will only control the hazard. This paper reports on the development of inherent safety index known as a process stream index (PSI) for inherent safety level assessment at preliminary design stage from the perspective of an explosion. The aim for PSI is to calculate, compare and prioritize the level of inherent safety of process streams during simulation work that influences the explosion. By prioritizing the streams based on the potential for the explosion, the design engineers can easily identify the critical streams to be considered for improvement in order to avoid or minimize explosion hazards. An enhancement technique to reflect the contribution of the individual components in the mixture is introduced, which provide significant contribution to the ranking of inherent safety level of process streams. The assessment of inherent safety level using PSI is demonstrated by case studies of HYSYS simulation for Acrylic Acid Plant and Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) plant.     

Systematic review on the implementation methodologies of inherent safety in chemical process

The accomplishments of inherent safety in the field of loss prevention thus far are impressive due to its scientific philosophy: reducing risks at source rather than adding engineered and procedural protections. Generally, the implementation of inherent safety can be done through a cohesive set of fourteen principles elucidated by Kletz and Amyotte. This work, guided by the fourteen principles, presents a systematic review on the implementation methodologies of inherent safety. Firstly, PRISMA procedure was adopted to select eligible literatures according to inclusive and exclusive criteria. After obtaining the selected literatures, the preference, level of application, and gaps in using these principles were critically analyzed. Of the fourteen principles, intensification, substitution, attenuation, simplification, limitation of effects, and avoidance of knock-on effects are preferable to implementing inherent safety in chemical process. Although the remaining principles are also potentially useful, they are not commonly used due to their costs and complexities of implementation. Overall, this work presents a complete spectrum to look across the implementation methodologies of inherent safety and concludes with some holistic and inclusive approaches as future research recommendations.     

I2SI: A comprehensive quantitative tool for inherent safety and cost evaluation

This paper presents details of an integrated inherent safety index (I2SI). The conceptual framework of this index was presented at the 37th Annual Loss Prevention Symposium of the AIChE (2003) and published in Process Safety Progress (volume 23(2), 136–148, 2004). In addition to the framework, the current paper discusses additional features of the index such as the cost model and system design model, which were not presented or discussed earlier. I2SI is called an integrated index because the procedure considers the life cycle of the process with economic evaluation and hazard potential identification for each option. I2SI is comprised of sub-indices which account for hazard potential, inherent safety potential, and add-on control requirements. In addition to evaluating these respective characteristics, there are also indices that measure the economic potential of the option. To demonstrate the applicability and efficacy of I2SI, an application of the index to three acrylic acid production options is also discussed in the paper.     

Comparison of inherent safety indices in process concept evaluation

In conceptual design, process routes can be compared and ranked by using inherent safety indices. In this paper, some inherent safety index methods presented in literature are compared and their properties and limitations discussed. As a case study, an inherent safety evaluation of methyl methacrylate process routes is presented. Three index based inherent safety evaluation methods are compared with expert evaluations on methyl methacrylate process routes and their subprocesses. Also the index based inherent safety ranking of process routes is compared with an expert ranking.     

Assessing the hazards from a BLEVE and minimizing its impacts using the inherent safety concept

Many worlds' major process industry accidents are due to BLEVE such as at Feyzin, France, 1966 and San Juan Ixhuatepec, Mexico City, 1984. One of the approaches to eliminate or minimize such accidents is by the implementation of inherently safer design concept. This concept is best implemented where the consequence of BLEVE can be evaluated at the preliminary design stage, and necessary design improvements can be done as early as possible. Thus, the accident could be avoided or minimized to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) without resorting to a costly protective system. However, the inherent safety concept is not easy to implement at the preliminary design stage due to lack of systematic technique for practical application. To overcome these hurdles, this paper presents a new approach to assess process plant for the potential BLEVE at the preliminary design stage and to allow modifications using inherent safety principles in order to avoid or minimize major accidents. A model known as Inherent Fire Consequence Estimation Tool (IFCET) is developed in MS Excel spreadsheet to evaluate BLEVE impacts based on overpressure, radiation heat flux and missile effects. In this study, BLEVE impacts are the criteria used as the decision-making for the acceptability of the design. IFCET is integrated with iCON process design simulator for ease of data transfer and quick assessment of potential BLEVE during the design simulation stage. A case study was conducted to assess of potential BLEVE from a propane storage vessel at the design simulation stage using this new approach. The finding shows promising results that this approach has a potential to be developed as a practical tool.     

Systematic inherent safety and its implementation in chlorine liquefaction process

As a proactive safeguard, inherent safety has been regarded as the top hierarchy for loss prevention and risk management due to its salient features in eliminating or significantly reducing risks at source rather than mitigating them by add-on protections. Simultaneously, various assessment tools have been developed for ranking and selecting inherently safer designs or modifications. However, there still lacks a metric that can systematically incorporate various hazardous factors, which may hinder most industries from utilizing it to a full extent. To address this limitation, this work developed a Systematic Inherent Safety Metric (SISM) for measuring the inherently safer modifications. Firstly, the conceptual framework of SIS was proposed based on 5M1E (man, machine, material, method, measurement, and environment). Subsequently, analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation were adapted to conduct risk identification and assessment. Finally, taking chlorine liquefaction process as a case study, the applicability and efficacy of SIS were validated based on PDCA (plan-do-check-action) cycle. The results show that the SISM value has improved from the relatively dangerous (RD) to the relatively safe (RS) after implementing SIS, thus demonstrating that the revised design is inherently safer than the base design.     

Quantification of inherent safety aspects of the Dow indices

The Dow fire and explosion index (F&EI) and chemical exposure index (CEI) have been successfully implemented in a Visual Basic environment as a tool for the inherent safety assessment of chemical processes. Subprograms were developed to quantify the inherent safety aspects of the Dow indices. These aspects are presented graphically with the indices on the vertical axis and an inherent safety indicator on the horizontal axis. Dow indices of the MIC storage unit involved in the Bhopal disaster were evaluated to quantify the effects of process temperature, pressure and inventory of hazardous materials on the index values.

As operating pressure was reduced, the F&EI decreased in accordance with the principles of inherent safety. The change in F&EI due to reduction of inventory was more significant than that resulting from pressure reduction. The results show that the F&EI change, given the same range of the independent variables (quantity of hazardous materials, operating temperature and pressure), is larger when a unit in the process area is evaluated compared to a unit in a storage area (tank farm). Reduction of the inventory of hazardous materials had no direct effect on the CEI for vapor releases, whereas the size of the hole diameter impacted the CEI to a great extent. However, there is a significant change in the CEI as the inventory of materials decreases for liquid releases involving temperatures above their flash and boiling points. Pressure reduction decreases the CEI, whereas temperature reduction leads to an increase in the CEI when these parameters are treated independently.     

Incorporating inherent safety during the conceptual process design stage: A literature review

This paper reviews principal concepts, tools, and metrics for risk management and Inherently Safer Design (ISD) during the conceptual stage of process design. Even though there has been a profusion of papers regarding ISD, the targeted audience has typically been safety engineers, not process engineers. Thus, the goal of this paper is to enable process engineers to use all the available design degrees of freedom to mitigate risk early enough in the design process. Mainly, this paper analyzes ISD and inherent safety assessment tools (ISATs) from the perspective of inclusion in conceptual process design. The paper also highlights the need to consider safety as a major component of process sustainability. In this paper, 73 ISATs were selected, and these tools were categorized into three groups: hazard-based inherent safety assessment tools (H-ISATs) for 22 tools, risk-based inherent safety assessment tools (R-ISATs) for 33 tools, and cost-optimal inherent safety assessment tools (CO-ISATs) for 18 tools. This paper also introduces an integrated framework for coordinating the conventional process design workflow with safety analysis at various levels of detail.     

An index to account for safety and controllability during the design of a chemical process

Inherent safety is well known as the best technique of risk management, but its implementation is a challenge when there is a conflict with other factors, in particular with the process dynamic performance when the application of the minimization principle is considered. In this work, a combined safety-controllability index applicable during the design stage of a process is presented. The index accounts for the process controllability and the risk of the chemical inventory inside the process. The condition number is used to assess controllability, and the quantitative risk analysis technique is carried out to obtain a distance of affectation as a metric for individual risk. The index, based on a combination of normalized values of metrics for controllability and risk, was applied to three case studies dealing with distillation processes that separate flammable and toxic chemicals. The effect of relevant design variables such as column diameter and residence time was analyzed. It is shown how conflicts between safety and controllability exist for different values of those design variables and how a proper controllability-risk compromise can be identified with the use of the proposed index.     

桥梁工程规划设计阶段施工安全风险评估的研究

研究表明,有相当大比例的工程事故原因可以追溯到规划设计的不当。将工程的规划设计纳入施工安全管理全过程,就是将事故防控的"关口前移"和"源头管理"的创新思路。本研究以桥梁工程领域为例,探讨了我国在规划设计阶段进行施工安全风险评估的发展思路,包括:完善基础理论、将工程实践和立法推动相结合、从在建工程的施工安全现状反推其规划设计等,为提升我国工程建设施工安全提供借鉴。崇启大桥及泰州大桥工程实践表明,安全是可"构建"的,通过施工风险评估,能够改善规划设计,降低施工安全的风险,从而减少施工过程人员的伤亡或健康危害。     

Strategies for assessing and reducing inherent occupational health hazard and risk based on process information

Over the last few decades, the concept of inherent occupational health has gained increasing attention to reduce occupational hazards that may adversely impact workers’ health. In order to assess occupational hazards in the chemical process, different inherent occupational health assessment methods have been developed at the early stages of process development and design. The methods in the order of process information availability – ranging from the detailed piping and instrumentation diagrams to a simple sketch of process concepts are the: occupational health index (OHI), health quotient index (HQI) and inherent occupational health index (IOHI). This paper proposes systematic heuristic frameworks to assist process designers and engineers in assessing and reducing inherent occupational health hazards or risks based on process information availability. Strategies for reducing health hazards or risks in the OHI, HQI and IOHI methods based on inherently safer design (ISD) keywords of minimization, substitution, moderation and simplification are included in this study. It is worth mentioning that the proposed frameworks act as guidelines for design engineers in systematically selecting the appropriate index and methodology to assess and reduce health hazards/risks based on the availability of the process information. A case study is solved to illustrate the proposed framework.     

石化企业平面布局安全设计中事故场景的选择研究

基于安全性能思想的设计方法是石化行业平面布局安全设计的一个重要发展方向,文章对这种设计方法中目前存在的主要不确定因素——事故场景的选择问题进行了研究。对《石油化工企业设计防火规范》等指令性规范中各级别平面布局安全设计的依据进行了统计分析,给出了各级别布局设计中主要的安全考虑和大致的安全间距范围,并对目前安全考虑中存在的模糊性进行了分析,给出了导致其存在的原因主要为＂事故场景考虑不同＂和＂‘相互影响’的含义不同＂;由此,结合事故伤害理论,对石化行业常见的9种19类常见事故场景的后果分析估算,得到了各事故场景对目标设施造成不同程度＂影响＂的范围,并以之为依据,分析给出了各级别布局安全设计中适合考虑的事故场景及适当的安全设计目标。     

Development of inherent safety and health index for formulated product design

The numerous formulated products which are introduced to the market consist of chemical ingredients that may cause various safety and health hazards to the consumers. Therefore, it is extremely important to practice a systematic methodology to formulate products with acceptable safety and health performances. This work presents an index-based methodology to assess the safety and health hazards of the ingredients during the early formulation stage of product design. Hence, new inherent safety and health sub-indexes are introduced to improve the current safety and health hazards that are needed in formulated product design. The inherent safety and health sub-indexes are assigned with scores based on the degree of potential hazards. A higher score indicates a higher safety risk or severe health effect, and vice versa. The proposed methodology will greatly assist the users to identify the adverse safety and health effects caused by the ingredients. Hence, it is pivotal to eliminate or reduce the safety and health impacts from product usage. A case study on common ingredients used in the formulation of paint is presented on this study to describe the proposed method.     

安全高效矿井设计探讨

矿井设计阶段要准确掌握矿井的开采条件,针对存在的危险有害因素在工程上采取必要的措施。优化矿井的开采巷道,合理选择开采工艺、通风系统等,促进矿井生产高效,为安全高效矿井建设奠定条件。     

基于Web的安全评价辅助系统的研究

随着我国经济的迅速发展,安全生产的问题在国民经济中的地位越来越重要,安全评价工作正在各个行业开展。目前,对系统安全状况的评价主要通过人工方式,其主要缺点有评价数据精度不高、评价速度慢、评价操作复杂等。本文设计了一个适合政府部门和企业的安全评价辅助系统。将计算机技术应用于安全评价过程中,较好的克服了人工方式的缺点,并能将评价信息及时完整的反馈给安全工作者。该系统运用MicrosoftSQLServer2000和．NET技术,构建了基于B／S／D／C结构的安全评价辅助系统平台,实现了安全评价报告的撰写等功能。其具有一定的实用性,能满足一般用户对安全评价报告的撰写、快速浏览添加以及统计管理等功能。     

设计初期化工过程本质安全化设计策略

该文提出了一种在设计初期进行化工过程本质安全化设计的策略。首先进行危险物质与危险能量两类共计11种危险类型的危险辨识。针对辨识出的危险类型,通过与相应的临界条件比较进行快速的危险评价,对于不可接受的危险必须采取本质安全化措施,可接受的危险可有选择性地进行本质安全化设计。在设计初期可以使用的本质安全化原则主要是消除、最小化、替代和缓和,针对11种危险类型可以应用不同的本质安全化设计模型,以使实际进行本质安全化设计时更加简单与快捷。该文把提出的本质安全化设计策略应用到一个甲苯硝化制硝基甲苯的工艺,形成了多种本质安全化措施,可以用来在设计初期消除或减少危险。     

安全人机工程课程设计新模式

传统的课程设计模式已经不能满足安全工程专业对学生的要求.根据安全工程专业学生的实际情况,结合课程设计的基本要求,文章对安全工程专业课程设计新模式进行了探索,大胆引入了新的设计模式,丰富了课程设计的内容,提高了学生的积极性,取得了较好的成效.     

《矿井通风与安全》课程设计教学模式研究与改革

《矿井通风与安全》课程设计是煤矿安全专业学生重要的实践环节之一,提高课程设计的教学质量对培养学生分析和解决煤矿安全问题的能力起着十分重要的作用。针对当前《矿井通风与安全》课程设计中存在的不足,分析了课程设计改革的必要性,并根据《矿井通风与安全》课程设计的特点与课程的关系,结合多年教学经验,设计了课程设计的教学内容、教学体系、教学方法,提出了《矿井通风与安全》课程设计改革的具体措施,构建了《矿井通风与安全》课程设计新的教学模式,课程设计教学新模式注重学生独立解决问题能力、创新能力及团队合作能力的培养。通过对《矿井通风与安全》课程设计的教学改革,学生学习的积极性、主动性有了极大提高,动手能力、创新能力、独立分析和解决煤矿安全问题的能力得到了进一步加强,取得了良好的教学效果。