DETECTING DANGER – THE MISSION CRITICAL ROLE OF GAS DETECTORS AND HIGH PRECISION CALIBRATION GAS MIXTURES IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Refi ning Dangers can be Controlled The recent blaze at the Eni refi nery in the Italian town of Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi, north of Milan, that took place on the 1st of December 2016 is an ever-present reminder of the sad fact that the refi ning and petrochemical processing sector is not without risk. However, the good news is that great strides are being taken to improve the safety of refi nery personnel all around the world. So, what is behind this tremendous increase in hydrocarbon processing safety? There are many factors at play and improvements in gas detection have been tremendously important.
One aspect of improved gas monitoring is simply a better understanding of the risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals. Take the example of benzene which is now a listed carcinogen: in 1960 the 8-hour Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) in Finland was 25ppm; in the 1970s the limit was reduced to 10ppm. Through the 80s and 90s the OEL-8h was down to 5ppm and since the year 2000 the limit has been only 1ppm. A second aspect has been the rapid evolution of high sensitivity, accuracy, reliability and selectivity of gas sensors that are built into the most modern portable and fi xed gas detection equipment.
The safety issues referred to here are not simply theoretical; they are very real. As an example of the hazards involved, consider that on the 5th of November in 2005 at the Delaware City Refi nery in the USA two maintenance contractors died by suffocation. They were raising a pipe onto a reactor which was inerted with nitrogen to protect the catalyst contained within. One of the technicians fainted and fell into the reactor; the second victim was also asphyxiated in trying to save his colleague. One might wonder if these fatalities could have been avoided if the maintenance workers had been better informed of the risks and had been issued with personal gas detectors that could have been sniffi ng for oxygen and making an audible alarm in the case of oxygen defi ciency.
Gas Detection at the Oil Field and in the Refi nery
To avoid the physical hazards of explosion, the risks associated with oxygen defi ciency and the health hazards of toxic gases, refi nery workers wear gas detectors when working in confi ned spaces or close to high risk leak points. An array of fi xed detectors,
often strategically located at fl anges, pumps, valves and other potential leak points will also generally be in place.
One of the most common refi nery toxic gas hazards is H2 S. The
S gas detector when he was overcome by the fumes. The gas detector was audibly alarming and was found to be reading 95ppm when his body was recovered from the scene by co-workers wearing breathing apparatus.
potency of its danger may be understood when reviewing the case of Dan Gunraj who lost his life at the Marathon Robinson refi nery in Illinois in on the 20th of January 2007. He was working in the alkylation unit decanting liquors to the neutralisation pits when he was overcome by high levels of H2 portable H2
S. He was, in fact, wearing his
Joeri Slootjes, Manager of International Business at 7Solutions B.V. in the Netherlands is involved in gas detection daily and, according to his experience, he informs us that “in the petrochemical industry, H2
often with CO, O2
S gas detection is common. We also work very and hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons will be
detected with a lower explosive limit (LEL) sensor when testing for explosion risk and with a photo ionisation detector (PID) sensor when sniffi ng for toxic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (collectively known as BTEX). Beyond this core group, many more gases are detected, depending on the unit operations present at a particular site.”
Portable Gas Detectors
Gas detectors are often worn by refi nery staff and count as one of the most important pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE). Their use is so important that the industry has been pulling for highly visible colours to be used in their construction. Joeri Slootjes explains why: “red, yellow and other bright colours are used for
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER •
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