Event
- Event ID
- 430
- Quality
- Description
During operation of a gaseous hydrogen purifier system, an explosion occurred when the valves were actuated to admit hydrogen. The purifier consisted of a precooler coil immersed in liquid nitrogen.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- -
- Component involved
- heat exchanger (cold box)
- Failure mode
- internal explosion
- Initiating cause
- inadequate or no purge
- Root CAUSE analysis
The system had not been completely purged because a valve in the system was not opened. This valve did not appear on the control panel schematic. The source of ignition not reported but was considered to be related to the high gas velocity at the inlet to tile adsorber coil.
- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/11/2025
Facility
- Application
- Non-road vehicles
- Sub-application
- Aerospace
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
gas purifier
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location
- countryside or desert
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
- Explosion type
References
- Sources categories
- ORDIN
- Reference & weblink
Mishap no 69 in
P. L. Ordin, Review of hydrogen accidents and incidents in NASA operations, 1974, NASA TM X-71565
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19740020344Hankinson and Lowesmith, Qualitative Risk Assessment of Hydrogen Liquefaction, Storage and Transportation, FCH JU project IDEALHY, Deliverable 3.10 (2013)
confidential
(accessed October 2025)Lowesmith et al., Safety issues of the liquefaction, storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen: An analysis of incidents and HAZIDS, Int. J. Hydrogen energy (2014) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.08.002
