Optimal Design of Safety Instrumented Systems for Pressure Control of Methanol Separation Columns in the Bisphenol a Manufacturing Process
Department of Safety Engineering, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Korea
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Academic Editor: Bhavik Bakshi
Sustainability 2017, 9(1), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010049
Received: 25 August 2016
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Revised: 12 December 2016
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Accepted: 21 December 2016
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Published: 30 December 2016
(This article belongs to the Section Sustainable Engineering and Science)
A bisphenol A production plant possesses considerable potential risks in the top of the methanol separation column, as pressurized acetone, methanol, and water are processed at an elevated temperature, especially in the event of an abnormal pressure increase due to a sudden power outage. This study assesses the potential risks in the methanol separation column through hazard and operability assessments and evaluates the damages in the case of fire and explosion accident scenarios. The study chooses three leakage scenarios: a 5-mm puncture on the methanol separation column, a 50-mm diameter fracture of a discharge pipe and a catastrophic rupture, and, simulated using Phast (Ver. 6.531), the concentration distribution of scattered methanol, thermal radiation distribution of fires, and overpressure distribution of vapor cloud explosions. Implementation of a safety-instrumented system equipped with two-out-of-three voting as a safety measure can detect overpressure at the top of the column and shut down the main control valve and the emergency shutoff valve simultaneously. By applying a safety integrity level of three, the maximal release volume of the safety relief valve can be reduced and, therefore, the design capacity of the flare stack can also be reduced. Such integration will lead to improved safety at a reduced cost.
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Keywords:
relief system; safety instrumented system; pressure relief valve; safety integrity level; minimize design capacity
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MDPI and ACS Style
Lee, I.-B.; Woo, I. Optimal Design of Safety Instrumented Systems for Pressure Control of Methanol Separation Columns in the Bisphenol a Manufacturing Process. Sustainability 2017, 9, 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010049
AMA Style
Lee I-B, Woo I. Optimal Design of Safety Instrumented Systems for Pressure Control of Methanol Separation Columns in the Bisphenol a Manufacturing Process. Sustainability. 2017; 9(1):49. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010049
Chicago/Turabian StyleLee, In-Bok, and Insung Woo. 2017. "Optimal Design of Safety Instrumented Systems for Pressure Control of Methanol Separation Columns in the Bisphenol a Manufacturing Process" Sustainability 9, no. 1: 49. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9010049
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