Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Vol. 18 No. 2

SUMMER 2014

INSIDE

2. Director’s Corner

5. Best Paper Award

6. MKO Visitors

7. International Intern

News

8. OESI News

10. Upcoming Speaking

Events

11. Student Research

13. Symposium

- Program

- Exhibits

- Sponsorships

18. Hazards 25

Call For Papers

21. Continuing

Education

22. Distance Learning

The 2014 International Symposium will be held at the College Station

Hilton Conference Center on October 28-30.

Mr. Brian Salerno, Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, US Department of Interior, will present the Frank P. Lees Memorial Lecture on the first day of the symposium. The keynote speakers will include Professor Ian Cameron, University of Queensland, Australia, Dr. Steve Flynn, BP, and Mr. Dwight Johnston, Shell Oil Company.

17th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM Beyond Regulatory Compliance, Making Safety Second Nature

In association with IChemE

Centerline Centerline

Dr. Mannan Awarded Engineering Genesis Award for Multidisciplinary Research

The inaugural Engineering Genesis Awards were presented on May 29, 2014. (See Page 4 for

full story.)

Early registration is available until September 30.

The program is available online at http://psc.tamu.edu/symposia/2014-sym and on Pages 14-16

Left: Dr. M. Katherine Banks, Dean of Engi-

neering and Director of the Texas A&M Engi-

neering Experiment Station, presents the Engi-

neering Genesis Award to Dr. Sam Mannan.

2 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Director’s Corner December 2014 will mark the 30

th anniversary of the

tragic Bhopal (India) methyl isocyanate gas release tragedy. It can be argued that over these thirty years we have seen tremendous strides in culture, practices and attitudes in the chemical handling community, as well as in the regulatory environment that governs the industry. If Bhopal was a wake-up call, the appeal for ongoing improvement in chemical safety has been answered in numerous ways by the industry and many other stakeholders. The demand for engineers and professionals who have process safety education has never been stronger and this trend continues to rise. However, what is also undeniably true is that catastrophic incidents keep happening and there remains no way of determining if we as an industry, country or world are getting safer. The answer to the simplest question: “Are we doing better or worse?” continues to be an elusive quest. We produce periodic ‘report cards’ on almost everything (e.g., state of the economy, health, education) except chemical safety. I find this situation scandalous.

While I am concerned about the status quo and lack of a quantitative assessment of our progress in chemical safety, we cannot answer the question of superior or inferior performance in our chemical safety matters. Some would assert that since I do not have the data either way, I should say nothing. I find that to be a circular argument since the same people that make that assertion are also the same people who fight hard and strong against the need or reason to collect data or make data available. However, if I were to philosophize the reasons why progress is being impeded (if that is the case) with regard to process safety performance and reduction/elimination of incidents, I can think of many reasons. In this somber occasion of the 30

th anniversary of the Bhopal incident, I have

decided to dedicate my director’s corner editorial to an account of these conjectures. First, I offer regrets to anyone who will take umbrage by these personal sentiments. Please pardon any offense, if such is taken, as I do not presume to have all the answers.

We must develop and implement a national surveillance system for process safety incidents.

There are presently no reliable means for evaluating the performance of industry in limiting the number and severity of accidental chemical releases. There is also limited data with which to prioritize efforts to reduce the risks associated with such releases. Without this information, the measurement and effectiveness of present programs will remain unchecked.

Rulemaking processes should be streamlined so that regulations are based on good science and

risk-benefit. Most importantly, appropriate resources should be provided for the implementation and enforcement of regulations. Unfunded mandates or inadequately funded mandates have the potential to do more harm than good, particularly in the area of safety regulations.

Enforcement of existing regulations by governmental agencies should be improved. It is not

helpful to promulgate new/revised regulations if existing regulations are not enforced in a meaningful manner. All governmental agencies with responsibility to regulate safety/risks and associated issues should be required to conduct a screening to determine their regulatory landscape. Once the regulatory landscape is established, a plan and schedule should be developed and implemented for ensuring compliance through regular inspections.

Universities must play a role in continuing to integrate process safety into the academic and

research programs in the engineering disciplines as well as in other disciplines (e.g., sciences,

3 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

M. Sam Mannan

Summer 2014

geosciences, management, business). While many universities have taken very proactive steps in this regard, a vast majority of universities still do not address the realities of this crying need (see survey results in Centerline, vol. 16, no. 2, Summer 2012).

Strong, visible and effective leadership is a cornerstone of good safety performance. Safety

thrives where leaders personally commit to safety; when all leaders genuinely and visibly accept safety as a core value (as opposed to a priority) of the organization; and when leaders plainly communicate its importance to all members of the organization. This is an imperative for leaders at all organizational levels, including senior corporate executives and operating site managers; these practices would also be relevant for leaders in industry, government and academia. Leaders should also be appropriately qualified and trained for leading and implementing the organization’s safety mission and programs.

A company’s culture will influence both personnel safety and process safety. However, it must

be remembered that personnel safety and process safety are two distinctly different issues and should be approached as such. Just because a company is doing well in personnel safety does not mean that they are also doing well in process safety. Thus, the culture of the company should be such that appropriate attention is paid to process safety, and appropriate resources and management systems are put in place to accomplish process safety goals. A safety culture that has truly accepted safety as a core value will begin to eliminate arbitrary distinctions between “safety” tasks and “operations” tasks. In addition, everyone from the top of the organization to the front line, and everyone working in all departments of the organization must be responsible and accountable for their roles with regard to process safety.

Human factors and lack of adequate attention to human factors engineering in plant design and

related operations continues to be a major factor and reason behind a vast number of incidents. We have to make progress in addressing these issues by incorporating human factors analyses early on during the design and engineering phases of the life cycle of a plant.

Competency in process safety programs and activities related to process safety continues to be

another major factor impeding the progress in process safety performance. Overcoming this problem can be of great value for both government agencies as well as industry.

I am not unhappy with the progress we have made with process safety programs but I am disappointed with some of the areas in which we have not made progress. I would like to see the dawn of a new process safety era wherein we talk publicly about our process safety performance, based on quantitative and transparent data collection; wherein we provide unfettered access to lessons learned from incidents, including our own incidents; wherein we challenge academics and researchers to consider the application of process systems engineering, complex systems analysis, multi-scale modeling and engineering for sustainable development, to solve process safety problems. I hope we have the political will and stakeholder support to address these weighty issues.

4 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

More information on becoming a

consortium member can be found at

http://psc.tamu.edu/membership,

or by calling Ms. Valerie Green at

979-845-6884

Partners

Air Products

Bayer

BP

Chevron

ConocoPhillips

Dow Chemical Company

ExxonMobil

Formosa Plastics

Huntsman Corporation

IndianOil Corporation Ltd

INVISTA

KMCO

Occidental Petroleum

Reliance Industries

Saudi Aramco

Shell International

TPC Group

Wanger Consulting

Sponsors ABS Consulting Acutech Consulting AE Solutions Apex Safety Consultants Atkins Americas AVEVA Bureau Veritas DNVGL GexCon HIMA Americas Honeywell KBR Lloyd’s Register MMI Engineering Sage Environmental Consulting Siemens OGM SK E&C

More information on becoming a

consortium member can be found at

http://psc.tamu.edu/membership,

or by calling Ms. Valerie Green at

979-845-6884

Associates

Kestrel Management Services

Lisam

MKOPSC Consortium Members

The inaugural Engineering Genesis Award for Multi-disciplinary Research was presented to three Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) re-searchers and their research teams during the TEES Inaugural Advisory Board meeting held May 29. The award, which is presented to TEES research-ers who have secured significant research grants of $1 million or more, was given to Dr. Richard J. Malak, Dr. Arum Han, and Dr. M. Sam Mannan. Dr. Man-nan received the award as the principal investigator on a five-year agreement with the Bu-reau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to lead a team of Texas institutions to manage the Ocean Energy Safety Institute. The group will provide a forum for dialogue, shared learning and cooperative research among academia, government, industry and other non-government organizations in offshore-related technologies and activities that help ensure environmentally safe and responsible off-shore operations. TEES is partnering with Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston to manage the institute.

Engineering Genesis Award—from Page 1

Valerie Green

presents a Center

poster to an indus-

try representative

at the TEES In-

dustry Advisory

Board Meeting

5 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

The paper entitled “Effect of shock strength on dust entrainment behind a moving shock wave” received the Best Paper Award at the Tenth International Symposium on Hazards, Prevention, and Mitigation of Industrial Explosions (X ISHPMIE) in Bergen, Norway. Dr. Eric Petersen, a Faculty Fellow at the MKOPSC, presented this paper at the conference. The first author, Amira Chowdhury, is a PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering co-advised by Dr. Sam Mannan and Dr. Petersen. The paper’s co-authors included Dr. Mannan and Mechanical Engineering graduate students Brandon Marks and Greg Johnston.

Research conducted for this paper was partially funded by MKOPSC. A new facility was built to allow the authors to study shock waves over dust layers. An additional new test section was designed and built to perform these tests behind incident shock waves in an existing shock tube. High speed images of the dust layer after passage of the shock wave were obtained with a shadowgraph technique.

Secondary dust explosion is a serious industrial issue because it occurs under conditions corresponding to an increased quantity and concentration of dispersed combustible dust when compared with the primary explosion. The problems of lifting and dispersing a dust layer behind a propagating shock wave must therefore be understood to ensure safety regarding secondary dust explosion hazards. The study that resulted in this paper demonstrated the capabilities of the new facility and compared results with experimental trends formerly established in literature.

ISHPMIE is noted for bringing together researchers and engineers in the field of industrial explosion safety to discuss state-of-the-art technology for controlling the hazards posed by accidental explosions. The award committee selects papers that are outstanding among all submissions and deserve recognition because of the quality of their scientific content and clarity of presentation.

Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center Faculty and Student

Receive Best Paper Award at X ISHPMIE

Dr. Chad Mashuga Joins TAMU Department of Chemical Engineering

In August, Dr. Chad Mashuga joined the Artie McFerrin Department of Chem-ical Engineering at Texas A&M University as an Assistant Professor. Previ-ously, he was part of the MKOPSC as an Adjunct Faculty member. He was hired after an extensive search for a candidate with experience in chemical process safety, system safety, and risk analysis.

As an Assistant Professor, Dr. Mashuga will teach Chemical Engineering courses and conduct research in flammability, dust explosions, calorimetry, and internal combustion. His BS and PhD are in Chemical Engineering, both from Michigan Technological University. Before joining Texas A&M, he worked for the Dow Chemical Company and BASF Corporation.

We look forward to this opportunity to working more extensively with Dr. Mashuga.

6 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Visitors to the Center

In July, Joan French joined the Center as Program Assistant. She graduated from Texas A&M University in 2013 with a degree in Human Resource Development. Since graduation she worked at Texas A&M University at Galveston as an admis-sions counselor. We welcome Joan to the Center and look forward to working with her.

MKO Welcomes Joan French to Center Staff

Harold Escobar

Universidad de Los

Andes

Jin Li

Tsinghua

University

Richard Bermudez

Universidad Industrial

de Santander

Yu Li

Tsinghua

University

Jose Mendez

Instituto Tecnologico

de Celaya

Erika Corona

Instituto Tecnologico

de Celaya

Visiting Interns

Industry Representatives

Chevron

PETRONAS

Mustang Engineering

Ascend Materials

Acutech Consulting

TOTAL Petrochemicals

University Visitors

University of Maryland

Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS

Texas A&M University Qatar

Visiting Scholars

Richart Vazquez

Instituto Tecnologico

de Celaya

Jo-Ming Tseng

Central Taiwan University

of Science and Technology

Liyan Liu

Tianjin University Feng Wang

Beijing University of

Chemical Technology

Yiu Liu

China University of

Petroleum

This summer we were pleased to welcome the following visitors at the Center. If you would like to

visit the Center, including laboratories and the Library, please contact us!

7 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

The paper titled “Experimental Study of the Effect of CF3I Addition on the Ig-nition Delay Time and Laminar Flame Speed of Methane, Ethylene, and Pro-pane” was presented at the 35th Annual International Symposium on Com-bustion in San Francisco, California. The paper is first authored by Dr. Olivier Mathieu, and co-authored by Jules Goulier, Florian Gourmel, Dr. Sam Man-nan, Dr. Nabiha Chaumeix, and Dr. Eric Petersen. The Symposium is world renowned and averages a 40% acceptance rate. The paper is featured in the journal/proceedings as well.

The Symposium was held on August 3-8 in San Francisco, California, and hosted by the Western States Section of the Combustion Institute. Dr. Eric Petersen, an MKO Faculty Fellow, was one of two Fire Suppressant Track Chairs.

Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center Faculty Paper Pre-

sented at 35th Annual International Symposium on Combustion

MKOPSC International Interns Present Research

International students from countries near and far in-terned at the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University for a summer of study and research that concluded with a presentation of related accomplishments and for some, plans to re-turn for graduate school. “This international internship program focuses on re-cruitment of top students from some very well-known universities in the world, e.g. IIT Kanpur (India)," said department head Dr. Nazmul Karim. "The goal is to showcase our research projects in the cutting edge technologies, with the hope that these students will gain

very positive interactions with their faculty mentors, and would apply to our Ph.D. program in due course.” The interns were paired with expert faculty members and matched according to their research inter-ests. Four of them joined the Center for the summer and worked particularly with Dr. Mannan. During the academic year, Tushti Shah, Madan Taldevkar, and Aditya Samant attend the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, and Jian Kang attends the China University of Petroleum in Beijing.

The four interns presented posters on the topics below:

“Life Cycle Assessment of Health Hazards of Carbon Nanoparticles” – Tushti Shah, Yi Liu, Dr. M. Sam Mannan

“Lithium-Ion Battery Safety Research: Studying Thermal Decomposition Reactions in Li-Ion Battery and Battery-Fire Incident Database” – Madan J. Taldevkar, Dr. M. Sam Mannan

"Risk Evaluation for Oil Storage Tank Zones" – Jian Kang, Dr. M. Sam Mannan

"Safety in Offshore Operations: An Insight Into the Human Error Aspect of Offshore Safety" – Aditya Samant, Ming Zeng, Delphine Laboureur, Dr. M. Sam Mannan

We wish them well with their continuing studies.

8 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

NEWS

Eliminating Barriers to Data Sharing, and Solutions

August 12-13, 2014

OESI’s latest event, a two-day forum entitled: “Eliminating Barriers to Sharing Data, and

Solutions” was held at the University of Houston in August. The objectives of this forum

were to promote dialogue, shared learning among academia, government, industry, and other

non-governmental organizations; and develop topics for further research in this area. Topics

such as existing equipment reliability databases, how to collect and share more reliability

data, and understanding gaps in equipment reliability data and near-miss databases were

discussed. Additionally, the concepts of an OESI Advisory Committee and Research

Oversight Committee were deliberated by those in attendance. Once again, great work was

done by all in attendance, paving the way for future efforts.

For more photos from the Data Forum, visit oesi.tamu.edu.

Subscribe to the OESI Listserv

Left: Brian Salerno

Above: Dr. Sam Mannan

Above: Jim

Pettigrew

9 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Recent Publications Mannan, M.S., R.A. Mentzer, T. Rocha-Valadez and A. Mims, “Offshore Drilling Risks – 1. Study: Risk Indica-

tors Have Varying Impact on Mitigation,” Oil & Gas Journal, May 5, 2014, pp. 64-69. Rocha-Valadez, T., R.A. Mentzer, A.R. Hasan and M.S. Mannan, “Inherently Safer Sustained Casing Pressure

Testing for Well Integrity Evaluation,” Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, vol. 29, May 2014, pp. 209-215.

Medina-Herrera, N., A. Jiménez-Gutiérrez and M.S. Mannan, “Development of inherently safer distillation sys-

tems,” Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, vol. 29, May 2014, pp. 225-239. Benavides-Serrano, A.J., S.W. Legg, R. Vazquez-Roman, M.S. Mannan and C.D. Laird, “A Stochastic Pro-

gramming Approach for the Optimal Placement of Gas Detectors: Unavailability and Voting Strategies,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 53, no. 13, 2014, pp. 5355–5365.

Mannan, M.S., R.A. Mentzer, T. Rocha-Valadez and A. Mims, “Evaluating Offshore Drilling Risks – 2.

(Conclusion): Global, Regional Statistics Show Continuing Improvement,” Oil & Gas Journal, June 2, 2014, pp. 66-71.

Mannan, M.S., R.A. Mentzer and N. Gopalaswami, “Determination of Ignition Probability of LNG Spills,” Pro-

ceedings of the 11th Professional Development Conference & Exhibition – “Innovative Approaches Toward Emerging SHE Challenges,” American Society of Safety Engineers, Middle East Chapter, Kingdom of Bah-rain, March 16-20, 2014, pp. 146-155.

Han, Z., A. Pineda, S. Sachdeva and M.S. Mannan, “Study on Mitigating Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer Explo-

sion Hazards,” Proceedings of HAZARDS XXIV, Institution of Chemical Engineers, IChemE Symposium Series No. 159, Edinburgh, UK, May 7-9, 2014.

Liu, R., R.A. Mentzer and M.S. Mannan, “Consequence Analysis of Uncontrolled Fluid Flow in Wellbore,” Pro-

ceedings of HAZARDS XXIV, Institution of Chemical Engineers, IChemE Symposium Series No. 159, Ed-inburgh, UK, May 7-9, 2014.

Gopalaswami, N. and M.S. Mannan, “Small Scale Experimental Study of Vaporization Fluxes of Liquid Nitro-

gen Released on Water,” Proceedings of HAZARDS XXIV, Institution of Chemical Engineers, IChemE Symposium Series No. 159, Edinburgh, UK, May 7-9, 2014.

Jiang, J., Y. Liu and M.S. Mannan, “A Correlation of the Lower Flammability Limit for Hybrid Mixtures,” Pro-

ceedings of HAZARDS XXIV, Institution of Chemical Engineers, IChemE Symposium Series No. 159, Ed-inburgh, UK, May 7-9, 2014.

Zhang, J., Y. Liu, H. Chen and M.S. Mannan, “Combustion and Explosion Behavior of Nanoparticles,” Pro-

ceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on Hazards, Prevention, and Mitigation of Industrial Explo-sions (X ISHPMIE), Bergen, Norway, June 10-14, 2014.

Sikes, T., E. Petersen and M.S. Mannan, “Laminar Flame Speeds of an Aerosol Mixture Containing Nano‐

Aluminum in CH4/O2/N2,” Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on Hazards, Prevention, and Mitigation of Industrial Explosions (X ISHPMIE), Bergen, Norway, June 10-14, 2014.

Jiang, J., Y. Liu and M.S. Mannan, “Effect of Different Hydrocarbon‐Air Mixtures in the Minimum Explosible

Concentration of Niacin Dust,” Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on Hazards, Prevention, and Mitigation of Industrial Explosions (X ISHPMIE), Bergen, Norway, June 10-14, 2014.

Chowdhury, A., B. Marks, H. Johnston, E. Petersen and M.S. Mannan, “Effect of Shock Strength on Dust En-

trainment Behind a Moving Shock Wave,” Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on Hazards, Prevention, and Mitigation of Industrial Explosions (X ISHPMIE), Bergen, Norway, June 10-14, 2014.

10 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Recent and Upcoming Speaking Events

June 8-11—Dr. Hans Pasman Emergency Response Planning as Part of Building System Resilience Current Trends and Initiatives in Process Safety and Risk Assessment in the Aftermath of the Ammonium Nitrate Explosion in West, Texas World Conference on the Safety of Oil and Gas Industry Okayama, Japan July 1– Dr. Sam Mannan Ocean Energy: Safety Issues and Opportunities in the Horizon Petroleum Club Houston, TX July 11-15– Dr. Sam Mannan Lectures at the Colombian Meeting of Chemical Engineering Students Universidad de San Buenaventura Cartagena, Colombia July 16-18– Dr. Sam Mannan Process Safety at the Crossroads of Systems Engineering, Complex Systems, and Engineering for Sustainable Development Foundations of Computer Aided Process Design Cle Elum, Washington

August 6– Dr. Sam Mannan Process Safety: An Essential Component of Productivity and Sustainability for the Chemical and Energy Industry TEES Workshop Rio de Janeiro, Brazil August 21– Dr. Sam Mannan Process Safety at the Crossroads of Systems Engineering, Complex Systems, and Engineering for Sustainable Development China Process System Engineering Conference Chine University of Petroleum August 28– Dr. Sam Mannan Lessons Learned from Recent Pipeline Incidents Qingdao 2

nd China Conference on Process Safety

September 2-3– Dr. Sam Mannan Fundamentals of Process Safety and Loss Prevention Nanjing University of Science and Technology September 18– Dr. Sam Mannan The Future of Process Safety Management from an Industry, Government, and Academic Point of View America EHS and Manufacturing Excellence Conference The Woodlands, TX

Pineda, A., S. Sachdeva, M. Papadaki and M.S. Mannan, “Study of Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer Explosion

Hazards,” Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium on Hazards, Prevention, and Mitigation of In-dustrial Explosions (X ISHPMIE), Bergen, Norway, June 10-14, 2014.

“West Explosion and Its Aftermath,” paper presented at the 2014 TCC/ACIT Safety Seminar, Galveston, Texas,

June 2-5, 2014. “Ocean Energy: Safety Issues and Opportunities in the Horizon,” invited presentation to SPE International,

Gulf Coast Section, Petroleum Club, Houston, Texas, July 1, 2014. “Role of Education and Research in Developing Future Leaders Committed to Safety,” keynote speech at XXIV

ENEIQ – Encuentro Nacional de Estudiantes de Ingeneria Quimica de Procesos, Universidad de San Bue-naventura, Cartagena, Colombia, July 15, 2014.

“Process Safety at the Crossroads of Systems Engineering, Complex Systems, and Engineering for Sustaina-ble Development,” invited speech at FOCAPD 2014 – 8th International Conference on Foundations of Com-puter-Aided Process Design, Suncadia Resort, Cle Elum, Washington, July 17, 2014.

(Recent Publications Continued)

11 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Case History— Fire and Explosion at a Hazardous Waste Facility

Presented by Ming Zeng

In 2006, a fire and explosion occurred at the Environmental Quality Company in Apex, North Carolina (EQNC), which conducted hazardous waste bulking, solidification, storage and transfer. The whole facility was destroyed and was not rebuilt. About 17,000 residents were evacuated for two days and 30 people sought medical attention. This case study included three parts of analysis: fire causes analysis, fire protection barriers analysis, and past incident analysis. The incompatible waste reaction could be the most possible reason for this fire. According to the analysis, it is also the most common reason for incidents in hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs). Hence, it is recommended to develop a guideline for handling, storage and treatment for hazardous materials at TSDFs, especially for chemical reaction hazards. Many deficiencies in fire protection barriers in this facility show that a guideline is needed.

This incident is about pipeline ruptures and gas explosions. The incident happened on June 3, 2008. There were 4 pipeline ruptures in total, which caused $60 million direct economic loss. There were no fatalities or injuries. In the incident analysis, I used PHAST to simulate the pipeline rupture process and analyzed the causal factors for the incident. The initial line rupture was caused by mechanical failure due to external corrosion. The causal factors are external corrosion, ineffective anti-corrosion coating, ineffective cathodic-protection technique, and ineffective inspection and monitoring. Four recommendations were given based on the analysis. They were about pipeline layout, Cathodic-protection, concern in shore crossing zone and corrosion integrity management.

Case History—

Pipeline Rupture and Gas Explosion on Varanus Island Australia

Presented by Yizhi Hong

Steering Committee Meeting—August 14, 2014

Hosted by Huntsman Corporation

Research Summary

“Thermal Instability of Organic Peroxides” Jiayu Lu, Intern Four widely used organic peroxides, namely di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP), bis-(1,1-dimethylpropyl) per-oxide (DTAP), 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di (tert-butylperoxy) hexane (BTDH) and tert-butyl peroxybenzoate (TBPB), were investigated for hazards caused by their thermal instabilities. Chemically pure materials without diluents were adopted to reveal their thermal decomposition and associated kinetic processes. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal screening unit (TSu) and accelerating rate calorime-ter (ARC) were employed to carry out the experimental thermal study. The Friedman isoconversional method, the Kissinger method, and AKTS software were used for kinetic calculations and numerical sim-ulations. Experimental results showed TBPB had the lowest detected “onset temperature”, and unlike DTBP, DTAP and BTDH, all of which showing a two-stage decomposition, TBPB’s decomposition oc-curred in a single stage. Then, a risk diagram was established to determine the conditionally acceptable conditions of use for the OPs. Pressure evaluation results indicated the generation of non-condensable

gas during runaway reactions should be seriously considered.

12 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

“Phase Equilibrium studies on N-oxidation systems to determine homogeneous mixture conditions” Sunder Janardanan, PhD Chemical Engineering Student Two-phase liquid systems are common in industries. Generally, 2 phase systems exhibit side reactions, which decrease the overall selectivity. N-oxidation is an example of a two-phase system used in pharmaceutical industries. The reaction involves the oxidation of alkyl pyridines to alkyl pyridine n oxides in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (30%) and water-soluble phoshpotungstic acid. Hydrogen peroxide is a selective oxidant and does not produce any harmful waste products. However, the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the aqueous phase in the presence of the catalyst reduces the overall efficiency of the process. This phenomenon is seen in the case of higher alkyl pyridines (di/trimethyl pyridines) since the solubility of alkyl pyridines in water is low. Past research at the center showed that the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is five times more in case of higher alkyl pyridine systems as compared to lower alkyl pyridine systems. Another important finding, which created scope for research, was that the n-oxide homogenized the system at the end. So, if phase equilibrium tests are conducted on the 3 component – 2 phase system it would be possible to determine the homogeneous mixture conditions. If such conditions are determined, the same reactions can be conducted in single phase and the resultant decrease in hydrogen peroxide decomposition and increase in selectivity can be measured. Currently, work is being done to setup the apparatus required to conduct phase equilibrium tests. This setup will be used to test the phase diagrams of alkyl pyridine - water systems and compare them with the literature data available. Once the data is validated, further tests will be performed with n-oxides and catalysts. The phase equilibrium tests will be performed with water (not aqueous hydrogen peroxide) to avoid any chemical reactions during the tests. In addition to this, theoretical models like UNIFAC and SAFT will be used to validate the experimental results.

Research Summaries (Continued)

Dust explosion is a hazard with severe consequences. Based on

CSB’s report, from 1980 to 2005 281 combustible dust incidents

happened in the United States. These incidents killed 119 workers

and injured 718 workers. When it comes to nanoparticles, the com-

bustion and explosion becomes a controversial topic; however, no

one can deny the hazards exist, since expected combustion and

melting were observed in laboratories. This research conducted

explosibility tests of various Carbon Nanofibers (CNFs) according

to ASTM standards. MECs were identified. This study found out

that CNFs are not very reactive, but are good exemplars for study-

ing the explosibility of nanoparticles. It is also found that smaller

CNF agglomerate facilitates the explosion while iron nanoparticles (Fe NPs) also promote the CNF explo-

sion. Based on the experimental results, a qualitative heterogeneous analysis is performed to describe

the effect of agglomerate size and Fe NPs.

“Combustion and Explosion Behavior of Carbon Nanofibers”

– Jiaqi Zhang, PhD Chemical Engineering Student

Titanium powders in dust container

(Wu and Wu, 1997)

13 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

2014 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

Beyond Regulatory Compliance,

Making Safety Second Nature

In association with IChemE

October 28-30, 2014

Hilton Conference Center

College Station, Texas

Early registration discount ends September 30

Online Registration is available at:

http://psc.tamu.edu/symposia/2014-sym

The symposium qualifies for 16.25 Professional Development Hours (PDHs).

The Texas Board of Professional Engineers requires 15 PDHs (including 1 PDH in

Engineering Ethics). A one-hour session on Engineering Ethics is offered immediately

following the symposium on Wednesday, October 29.

See website for more information: http://process-safety.tamu.edu

14 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

15 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

16 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Reserve your EXHIBIT Space! Exhibit Hall—Bluebonnet Ballroom

Fee: $1,750

Includes

8′X8′ booth

electrical hookup

table and chairs

listing in meeting programs, print and online

one complimentary registration

2014 International Symposium

http://psc.tamu.edu/symposia/2014-sym Contact Alanna Scheinerman — ascheinerman@tamu.edu

Phone: 979-845-5981

Tabletop–Promenade

Fee: $1,250

Includes

Table and chairs

electrical hookup

listing in meeting programs, print and online

one complimentary registration

17 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

18 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Key dates

Call for abstracts closes: 1 October 2014 Deadline for submitting full paper: 9 January 2015 Conference programme to be published: 31 January 2015 Conference dates: 13-15 May 2015

Abstracts of no more than 500 words are invited under the following broad themes: asset integrity and extending the operating lifespan

alternative energy

biosafety

chemical reaction hazards

consequence assessment and modelling

dust explosion

education, training and communication

environmental protection

fire and explosion hazards

hazard and risk

human factors

inherent safety

legislation and compliance, including Seveso III

lessons learned from recent incidents and near misses

management of non-routine operations

nuclear industry process safety

offshore process safety

pressure relief

process safety management

product safety

safer plant operations

safety culture and leadership

water industry hazards (including water treatment/biogas/sludge disposal)

Abstract deadline: 1 October 2014

CALL FOR PAPERS

Submit your abstract

19 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

- Partial Stroke Device

- Safety Instrumented Systems

- Asset Management Systems

- Project Management

- Security

- Instrument Mechanical Integrity

and Reliability

- Control Valve Sizing

- Enterprise Integration

- Cyber Security

- What’s New in Standards?

- LOPA

- Control Systems

- Safety Systems

- Inferential Sensors

- New Technology

- Back to Basics (for Students)

Symposium Registration and Information:

http://instrumentation-symposium.che.tamu.edu/

_______________________________________________________

For more information, please contact: frenchj@tamu.edu

Special Focus Areas

20 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

We Want YOU

For the Process Safety Taxonomy Wikisite!

The objective is to create consensus useful, consistent, structured definition of pro-cess safety terms, which allows better communication and knowledge sharing in the field. A significant benefit is the creation of standard keywords that will allow precise searches in the exponentially expanding process safety world.

You can use this Wiki-like website to:

Help develop the definitions and keywords Find keywords for your papers, publications and blogs Use as a dictionary for process safety terms

http://wikips.tamu.edu/

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21 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

22 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

Spring 2015 SENG 455/655: Process Safety Engineering Applications of engineering principles to process safety and hazards analysis, mitigation, and pre-vention, with special emphasis on the chemical process industries; includes source modeling for leakage rates, dispersion, analysis, relief valve siz-ing, fire and explosion damage analysis, hazards identification, risk analysis, accident investigations.

SENG 460/660: Quantitative Risk Analysis in Safety Engineering Following the growth in complexity of engineering systems, demands are increasing for health, safe-ty, and environmental quality with more stringent requirements for reliability and increased engineer-ing performance. This course presents the funda-mentals of quantitative risk analysis for cost-effective engineering applications, risk criteria, and risk decisions.

SENG 312/674: System Safety Engineering Application of system safety analytical techniques to the design process, emphasis on the manage-ment of a system safety or product safety program, relationship with other disciplines, such as reliabil-ity, maintainability, human factors, and product lia-bility applications.

Distance Learning Objectives These courses may be taken for either continuing education credit or academic credit. Continuing Education programs provide focused training in specialized areas of technology. These courses can be of value to satisfy current job skills requirements and professional and governmental certification requirements. Where needed, we can provide CEU (Continuing Education Unit) certifications for these programs. You do not need to apply to the university to gain a certificate. However, if you wish to take these courses for academic credit, please contact us.

.

Safety Engineering Courses

Online Registration

http://psc.tamu.edu/education/schedule

-of-classes-registration#DLReg

For questions, contact

Joan French Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center 3122 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3122 Phone: 979-458-1863 E-mail: frenchj@tamu.edu

Fall 2014 SENG 310/668: Industrial Hygiene Engineering Application of scientific and engineering principles in the selection and design of control systems related to chemical, physical and ergonomic exposures in the process and manufacturing industries; relationships of criteria, analysis and specifications for the as-sessment and control of occupational related illness-es.

SENG 321/670: Industrial Safety Engineering The course emphasizes the various safety related issues that arise in industrial settings, including health, security, and environmental factors. A broad array of topics will be addressed including perfor-mance measurement and regulatory requirements, as well as the handling of toxic/flammable/explosive materials, fire protection, personal protective equip-ment, emergency response, and accident investiga-tions.

SENG 422/677 Fire Protection Engineering Fire Protection design concepts and considerations for chemical, petrochemical, and hydrocarbon pro-cessing facilities. Special attention given to fire haz-ard analysis, fire risk assessment, fire protection fea-tures, and emergency response.

SENG 430: Risk Analysis Safety Engineering This course provides the opportunity to learn about risk, the applications of risk involved with industrial activities, and how to practice risk-informed decision-making and risk management. Because engineering is a decision-making enterprise, a decision-making way of thinking is used throughout the course.

SENG 455/655: Process Safety Engineering Process Safety differs from Personnel Safety (or In-dustrial Hygiene), in that it is concerned primarily with the identification of potential hazards and haz-ardous conditions associated with the processes and equipment involved in the Chemical Process Indus-tries, and methods of predicting the possible severity of these hazards and presenting, controlling, or miti-gating them.

23 Centerline, Vol. 18, No. 2 Summer 2014

© Copyright 2014. Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center. All rights reserved.

College Station, Texas, USA. August 2014

Contact Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center

3122 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-3122

Phone: 979-845-3489

Fax: 979-458-1493

http://psc.tamu.edu

Symposia October 28-30, 2014

Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center 17th Annual International Symposium

In association with IChemE Beyond Regulatory Compliance, Making Safety Second Nature

Hilton Conference Center College Station, Texas

January 27-29, 2015 70th Annual Instrumentation and Automation Symposium for the Process Industries

Memorial Student Center Texas A&M University College Station, Texas

Register Soon!

September 16-18 SIS Implementation Instructor: Mr. Bill Hearn Location: SIS-TECH, Houston

September 24-25 Process Hazard Analysis Leadership Training Instructor: Mr. Watson Dupont Location: SIS-TECH, Houston

October 1 What Went Wrong? Instructor: Mr. Roy Sanders Location: TBD

October 29 Engineering Ethics Instructor: Dr. Sam Mannan Location: Hilton College Station, International Symposium

(For more info see: http://psc.tamu.edu/education/continuing-education)