Conference Papers
There are a variety of building design approaches that can be considered and employed to mitigate risks to building occupants. Although the preferred and safest approach is to design buildings for worst-case explosion, fire, and toxic events after completion of a consequence study, this can often be infeasible or cost-prohibitive. An alternative building design approach considers the frequency of each scenario and can be achieved through the use of frequency-consequence exceedance curves to determine a design accidental load (DAL) or by use of risk calculations from a Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA). Using example case studies, the benefits and shortcomings of developing a building design basis employing frequency-consequence exceedance curves versus using a risk-based approach will be examined. Although a risk-based approach may require more complex modelling, additional effort and time compared to determining a DAL, it is important to consider each load (blast, fire, toxic) and the duration of each load to assess the vulnerability to occupants and fully quantify the effectiveness of a building design.
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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