Transcript Chemical Manufacturing Incident

MORTON
Chemical Manufacturing
Incident
Paterson,NJ
April 8,1988
9 Injuries
Plant Facility
• Dye Manufactured via
Batch Process
• Various Raw Materials Are
Mixed
• Heat Was Applied to
Initiate the Reaction
Reaction Vessel
• A – Elliptical
Inspection Man-way
• B – Penetration for
Thermocouple
• C – Nozzle for
Rupture Disk
• D,E,F & G – Feed
Lines
CW
OUT
CW
IN
CONDENSER
TO
VACCUM
PUMPS
2
P
RAW
MATERIAL
ADDITION
MANIFOLD
T
1
RECEIVER
REACTOR
K7
STEAM
IN
RECYCLE
CATCH
TANK
TO
THERMAL
OXIDIZER
CW
IN
CW
OUT
1- MAN-WAY
2- RUPTURE
DISC
CONCENTRATE
OUT
PRODUCT
OUT
Incident
• On April 8, 1998 – Started
Producing Yellow Dye
• Inspection of Kettle
• Addition of O-NitrochloroBenzene
• Addition of 2-EHA
Incident
• Staged Heating to
Initiate Reaction
• Steam Introduced Two
or Three Times
• Temperature Increased
Faster than Normal
Accident
• Temperature Increased
Rapidly
• Steam Stopped and Cooling
Water Introduced
• Relief Valve Activated
• Temperature Still Increased
• Vessel Exploded
Root Cause
• Inadequate Cooling System
• Rupture Disc too Small
• Inadequate Operating
Procedures to Control
Runaway Reactions
• Inadequate training
Importance of Potential
Hazards of Chemistry
• On- Set Temperature of
Exothermic Reaction
• Temperature Stability of
Chemicals
• Impact of Vessel Size And
Heat Removal
To Prevent Accidents We
Need Knowledge In
•
•
•
•
•
Design
Thermodynamics
Kinetics
Control
Management and Ethics