1,721,075 research outputs found
Key Performance Indicators for inherent Safety: Application to the Hydrogen Supply Chain
No full textA consequence based approach to the quantitative assessment of inherent safety
No full textThe availability of inherent safety drivers for early process design is a critical issue for the further development of the chemical and process industry. In this study, a consequence-based method for the inherent safety assessment of process alternatives was developed. Key performance indicators (KPIs) for inherent safety were defined and a procedure for their quantitative assessment was developed. A specific equipment classification and the related failure modes were identified, in order to define the potential accidental scenarios associated to each process unit. Rules for the calculation, by physical model runs, of the damage distances for conventional effects were also defined. Credit factors to account for the safety score of the different equipment classes were introduced. KPIs were defined by the combination of the expected damage distances and of credit factors. The methodology was demonstrated through a case study, and provided useful results both for the identification of safety critical units, and for the assessment of the inherent safety of alternative processes. The comparison of the results with those obtained from other literature methods for inherent safety assessment showed that the KPIs introduced allowed considering the hazards coming from auxiliary equipment, that are often overlooked in conventional inherent safety assessment methods
Inherent safety key performance indicators for hydrogen storage systems
No full textThe expected inherent safety performance of hydrogen storage technologies was investigated. Reference schemes were defined for alternative processes proposed for hydrogen storage, and several storage potentialities were considered. The expected safety performance of alternative process technologies was explored estimating key performance indicators based on consequence assessment and credit factors of possible loss of containment events. The results indicated that the potential hazard is always lower for the innovative technologies proposed for hydrogen storage, as metal or complex hydrides. This derived mainly from the application of the inherent safety principles of "substitution" and "moderation", since in these processes hydrogen is stored as a less hazardous hydride. However, the results also evidenced that in the perspective of an industrial implementation of these technologies, the reliability of the auxiliary equipment will be a critical issue to be addressed. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
The assessment of inherent safety and escalation hazard in the early stage design of hydrogen storage plants
No full textProcess hazard and operability analysis of BPCS and SIS malicious manipulations by POROS 2.0
Full text linkThe increasing interconnectivity with external networks and the higher reliance on digital systems make the facilities of the chemical, process, and Oil&Gas industry more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. These attacks have the potential of causing events with severe consequences on property, people, and the surrounding environment such as major event scenarios. The application of the currently available methodologies for cyber risk identification to complex plants with a large number of units may be demanding and cumbersome. The present study proposes an updated methodology, named POROS 2.0, that allows reducing time and effort in application by limiting the scope of the analysis to relevant cybersecurity scenarios. The latter are identified by investigating the potential escalation of consequences propagating among process and/or utility nodes of the manipulations of BPCS and SIS, similar to what is done in the HazOp technique in the safety domain. POROS 2.0 was demonstrated by the application to a case study addressing a fixed offshore platform for gas exploitation
Application of selected life cycle occupational safety methods to the case of electricity production from pyro-oil
No full textLife cycle thinking is a necessary component in preventing the shifting of burden along the life cycle and from one impact category to another. For this reason, many have focused on integrating life cycle thinking into occupational risk assessment. The resultant methods have different properties in terms of scope and outcomes. Literature has been reviewed for life cycle occupational risk assessment methodologies, and 3 methods (life cycle inherent toxicity (LCIT) method, work environment characterization factors (WE-CFs) method, and life cycle risk assessment (LCRA) method) have been selected and applied in a case study of electricity production from pyro-oil to identify suitability and research gaps in the existing literature. The results of the LCIT method were highly heterogenous over life cycle of electricity production. For the current case, the major cancer and non-cancer impacts originated from the same life cycles. The results from WE-CFs method were highly heterogenous over the life cycle of electricity production as well. Agriculture contributed the most to the occupational risks. In the LCRA method, averaging caused the information about the frequency of the risks over life cycle to be lost. The method showed the well-known bargaining between accuracy and simplicity when complex systems are considered. Results from this method were quite homogenous among life cycles, due to the averaging effect. Detailed reporting and follow-up of the worker health issues can enable a more accurate application of the WE-CFs method. The overall results showed that it was possible to apply these 3 methodologies for the EU-28 region
Sustainability assessment of hydrogen production by steam reforming
No full textA specific methodology was applied to investigate the expected impact on sustainability of processes for hydrogen production by steam reforming of natural gas. Reference process schemes based on the current industrial state-of-the-art and on innovative steam reforming technologies were defined and assessed. The methodology allowed the calculation of a sustainability "fingerprint" of the reference schemes, based on sustainability key performance indicators. The results obtained evidenced the potential advantages of innovative processes, based on integrated conversion and internal membrane separation reactors. However, the valorization of the by-product streams is an essential requirement to reduce the impact on sustainability of these processes. Besides the improvement of the reaction section, the optimization of the overall separation efficiency and of energy requirement emerged as the key elements that control the overall sustainability performance of these processes. © 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy
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