Event
- Event ID
- 192
- Quality
- Description
An explosion without fire or gas emission occurred in the washer of the catalyst activation unit. The unit was stopped for maintenance : 3 external employees were checking the washer. The explosion occurs just after the opening of the manhole on the washer. The employee looking through the hole at this moment was seriously injured.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Macro-region
- Europe
- Country
- France
- Date
- Component involved
- reactor / oven / furnace / test chamber
- Failure mode
- internal explosion
- Initiating cause
- run-away reaction
- Root CAUSE analysis
One of the possible cause of the explosion could have been to the presence of hydrogen in the washer. Another cause, considered more probable by the ARIA report (see references) could be a secondary reaction or a reaction activation which was still running in the washer.
- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/01/2021
Facility
- Application
- Chemical industry
- Sub-application
- Inorganic chemicals products
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
washer, catalyst activation unit, Production of hexamethylenediamine
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location
- industrial area
- Operational condition
- Description of the facility/unit/process/substances
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS
The catalyst was produced with a mixture of aluminium and nickel which reacts with soda to produce Raney nickel and hydrogen. Hydrogen is evacuated by the ventilation and the Raney nickel is transferred in the washer.
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 3
- Post-event summary
Prevention plans will be improved. The water seal of the washer is separated from the rest of the unit to avoid hydrogen entry.
Evacuation plan will be improved.
Lesson Learnt
- Corrective Measures
(1) To eliminate the risk of the accidental presence of hydrogen coming from other part of the installation, hydraulic safeguard of the washer was isolated from the other units;
(2) The incident prevention plan of the factory was improved;
(3) The evacuation rules were reviewed and improved.
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
- Explosion type
References
- Sources categories
- ARIA
- Reference & weblink
Event description no 20274 in the French database ARIA.
