Event
- Event ID
- 212
- Quality
- Description
The fire developed on one of two naphtha crackers for the production of ethylene.
The rupture of the reactor made that the hydrogen, petroleum products (benzene) and the pyrophoric catalyst came outside the reactor. The mixture immediately caught fire in the air. The fire was brief but intense.
The fire reduced ethylene production by 40% for two weeks.
The release species were: benzene: 12 tonnes; hydrogen: amount unknown; catalyst : amount unknown.- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- fire
- Macro-region
- Europe
- Country
- Netherlands
- Date
- Component involved
- reactor / oven / furnace / test chamber
- Failure mode
- rupture & ignition
- Initiating cause
- unknown
- Root causes
- Unknown
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/01/2021
Facility
- Application
- Petrochemical industry
- Sub-application
- Hydrocracking process
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
Reactor
- Process temperature range [C]
- Very high temperature (500°C to 1000°C)
- Process pressure range [MPa]
- medium to high pressure (10 to 50 MPa)
- Location type
- Open
- Location
- industrial area
- Operational condition
- UNKNOWN
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Currency
- Euro
- Property loss (onsite)
- 500.000
- Post-event summary
The damge costs is estimated based on eMARS and other sources
- Emergency action
The firefighters brought the emergency under control in 45 minutes.
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas-solid mixture
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2,
benzene 12 t,
catalyst - Released amount (kg)
- 12000
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- eMARS
- Reference & weblink
Event description in European database eMARS
https://emars.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/emars/accident/view/c8400204-63c9-e1f…
(accessed September 2020)Event no 22301 of the French database ARIA
https://www.aria.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/accident/22301/
(accessed May 2026)
