Conference Papers
A natural gas fired industrial oven exploded during an attempted restart a few hours after a cold start. The explosion was caused by accumulation of natural gas during the hours preceding the restart. The oven had a fully-automated control system, and the start, shutdown, and restart were controlled by process controls and a flame safeguard system. A malfunction of the flame detector allowed the automated controls to complete the start sequence and establish normal operating status without a flame present in the burner. The UV flame sensor gave a false positive signal, which allowed unburned natural gas to enter the oven. The investigation explored the cause of the incident and the failure modes of the flame detector.
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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