Conference Papers
An open question with regards to facility siting studies, consequence analyses, and risk assessments for release scenarios involving very low laminar burning velocity (LBV) fuels (i.e., significantly lower than methane’s LBV) has been whether such releases pose an unconfined vapor cloud explosion (VCE) hazard. There are no reports of an accidental unconfined VCE with such fuels, and applicable VCE test data has not been published. One approach taken within industry has been to use methane as a reference for such fuels. This is clearly a conservative approach, as the flame speeds achieved with very low LBV fuels would be expected to be much lower than those achieved with methane in a VCE under the same conditions. An alternative approach taken by some has been to discount the potential for a VCE with very low LBV fuels.
As the biofuels industry continues to expand in support of global decarbonization mandates and objectives, facility owners and developers are being challenged to balance production efficiency, operational reliability, and personnel safety.
As high hazard facilities, biofuels sites should focus on developing a fire protections strategy informed by performance-based analysis so strategies implemented meet the unique challenges found at each facility.
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