Event
- Event ID
- 721
- Quality
- Description
A liquid hydrogen production plant was affected by an explosion, which threw debris for tens of metres and heavily damaged the plant. The two workers in the plant at the time were not seriously injured. The liquid hydrogen section appeared to have been to a large part destroyed. The explosion occurred in the body of the plant, where gaseous hydrogen was compressed and chilled. The gaseous hydrogen production plant was unaffected.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- Canada
- Date
- Component involved
- compressor / booster / pump
- Failure mode
- explosion (generic)
- Initiating cause
- unknown
- Root CAUSE analysis
According to Radio Canada reporting the result of the investigation, the cause of the explosion were the incorrect carbon filters. This does not explain however the incident sequence.
- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/01/2020
Facility
- Application
- hydrogen production plant
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
H2 Liquefier
- Process temperature range [C]
- cryogenic temperature (below -50°C)
- Process pressure range [MPa]
- low to medium pressure (below 2 MPa)
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location
- industrial area
- Operational condition
- Description of the facility/unit/process/substances
DESCRIPTION OF THE FACILITY The plant was producing electrolytic hydrogen and liquefying it, with a a capacity of 3,600 tonnes/year of LH2.
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 2
- Post-event summary
Large damage to the LH2 installation. The gaseous production unit was not affected
- Official legal action
The Commission de la santé et de la sécurité au travail (CSST - Commission for Health and Safety at Work) did not conduct an inquiry because no one was killed.
Lesson Learnt
- Lesson Learnt
There was no information which can be used to derive a return of experience.
In-depth data
- Release type
- liquid
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
- Explosion type
- Deflagration
References
- Sources categories
- News
- Reference & weblink
Radio Canada news sof 10 Noember 2005 https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/281000/hydrogenal
Le Novelliste news of 12 November 2004 https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/3307977 (accessed Jan 2023)
