Release of Hydrocarbons and Hydrogen in a Refinery
The accident occurred on one of the heat exchangers of the hydro-desulfurisation unit. The role of the exchanger , located between the charge pumps and the furnace, is to heat the charge using the hot products from the reactor. Before the exchanger, pressurized hydrogen is injected into the charge. The exchanger is equipped with interchangeable bundles mounted with deflector plates. During a shutdown, some beams were mistakenly reassembled upside down. When the installation is restarted, and the compressor of the hydrogen circuit arrived at 75% of its capacity, one of the deflectors was blown off and obstructs the inlet of the exchanger. Consequently, the safety device of the compressor triggered the compressor stop and the pressure release valves released part of the contents.
Event Date
January 31, 1984
Record Quality Indicator
Region / Country
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Causes
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
heat exchanger
Storage/Process Medium
Location Type
Location description
Industrial Area
Pre-event Summary
The desulfurization unit was restart after a shutdown during which component of the heat exchanger unit were (wrongly) reinstalled
Currency
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
Unknown
Event Nature
Emergency Action
Unknown
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References
Original description of the event in database ARIA