HCHE 511 – Lecture Notes 3 – Safety

Lecture Objectives:
• Site plan and layout
• Area classification
• Hazard and operability analysis (HAZOP)

Plant Location and Site Selection

• For a new design project, the location of the plant can affect the
profitability of the project and the scope for future expansion.
• Factors to be considered when selecting a suitable site are as follows:
o Location, with respect to the marketing area
o Raw material supply
o Transport facilities
o Availability of labour
o Availability of utilities: water, fuel, power
o Availability of suitable land
o Environmental impact and effluent disposal
o Local community considerations
o Climate
o Political and strategic considerations

Site Layout

• Process units and ancillary buildings should be laid out to give the most
economical flow of materials and personnel around the site.
• Hazardous processes must be located at a safe distance from other
buildings.
• Considerations must also be given to the future expansion of the site.

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• For a site layout, the process units (equipment) will normally be sited first
and arranged to give a smooth flow of materials through the various
processing steps – from raw materials to final product storage.
• Process units are normally spaced at least 30m apart. Greater spacing may
be needed for hazardous processes.
• Ancillary buildings should be arranged so as to minimise the time spent in
travelling between buildings.
• Administration offices and laboratories in which a large number of people
will be working should be located well away from potentially hazardous
processes.
• Control rooms are normally located adjacent to the processing units.
• Siting of the main process units determine the layout of plant roads, pipe
alleys and drains. Access roads are needed to each building for
construction, and for operation and maintenance.
• Utility buildings should be sited to give the most economical run of pipes
to and from the process units.
• Cooling towers should be sited so that under the prevailing wind the plume
of condensate spray drifts away from the plant area and adjacent properties.
• Main storage tanks should be placed between the loading and unloading
facilities and the process units they serve. Storage tanks containing
hazardous materials should be sited at least 70m from the site boundary.

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 Figure 1: A typical site plan

Plant Layout

• Economic construction and efficient operation of a process unit will

depend on how well the plant and equipment specified on the process
flowsheet is laid out.
• Factors to be considered are:
o Economic considerations – construction and operating costs
o The process requirements
o Convenience of operation
o Convenience of maintenance
o Safety
o Future expansion
o Modular construction
• Arrangement of major items of equipment will usually follow the sequence
given on the process flowsheet: Columns and vessels are arranged in rows

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 and the ancillary equipment, such as heat exchangers and pumps,
positioned along the outside.

Hazard and Operability Analysis (HAZOP)

• HAZOP is a procedure for the systematic, critical, examination of the

operability of a process.
• When applied to a process design, it indicates potential hazards that may
arise from deviations from the intended design conditions.
• A formal HAZOP study is a systematic study of the design, vessel by
vessel, and line by line, using guide words.
• “Guide words” help generate thought about the way deviations from the
intended operating conditions can cause hazardous situations.
Guide words Meanings Comments
NO or NOT The complete negation of No part of the intentions is achieved but
these intentions nothing else happens
MORE Quantitative increases or Refers to quantities and properties such as
LESS decreases flow rates and temperatures, as well as
activities like “HEAT” and “REACT”
AS WELL AS A qualitative increase All the design and operating intentions are
achieved together with some additional
activity
PART OF A qualitative decrease Only some of the intentions are achieved;
some are not
REVERSE The logical opposite of the Most applicable to activities e.g., reverse
intention flow or chemical reaction.
OTHER Complete substitution No part of the original intention is achieved.
THAN Something quite different happens

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HAZOP Procedure

• Requires a multidisciplinary team with an experienced team leader.

• The team examines the process vessel by vessel, and line by line, using the
guide words.

Figure 2: Procedure for a HAZOP study

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HAZOP EXAMPLE

Consider the reactor show below. The reaction exothermic so a cooling system is
provided to remove the excess energy of the reaction. In the event that the cooling
function is lost, the temperature of the reactor would increase. This would lead to
an increase in reaction rate, leading to an additional energy release. The result
would be a runaway reaction with pressures exceeding the bursting pressure level
of the reactor vessel. The temperature within the reactor is measured and is used
to control the cooling water flow rate by a valve.

Figure 3: HAZOP Example

Perform a HAZOP study on this unit to improve the safety of the process. Use as
a study node the cooling coil (process parameters: flow and temperature) and the
stirrer (process parameters: agitation).

Solution – Complete!!!

Note – there is no single standard template for performing HAZOP. It is

customised for different organisations.

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Study Note Process Deviation Possible Causes Possible Actions
Variables Consequences
No • Control • Loss of • Select a valve
Flow valve cooling – to fail open
fails possible • Install high
Cooling coil closed run away temperature
• Plugged alarm
coils • Install cooling
• Controller water flow
failure meter
More
Reverse
Temperature No/Less
More

Stirrer Agitation No
More

References

1. Peters, M.S., Timmahaus, K.D. 1991. Plant Design and Economics for
Chemical Engineers, McGraw-Hill New York.
2. Sinnot, R.K. 2005. Chemical Engineering Design, Elsevier Oxford.