Event
- Event ID
- 980
- Quality
- Description
In a fertilizer manufacturing plant, a gas leak occurred at an ammonia unit heat exchanger located in a ventilated area outside.
The operator partially stopped the unit, set up steam hoses and monitored the situation by taking measurements outside in the field. At this stage of the process, the gas was composed of hydrogen, water vapour, methane and nitrogen.The unit restarted the next day.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Unignited Hydrogen Release
- Nature of the consequences
- leak no ignition
- Macro-region
- Europe
- Country
- France
- Date
- Component involved
- heat exchanger (generic)
- Failure mode
- rupture, no ignition
- Initiating cause
- unknown
- Root causes
- Unknown
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/01/2024
Facility
- Application
- Chemical industry
- Sub-application
- Fertilisers production
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
ammonia reactor, heat exchanger
- Process temperature range [C]
- High temperature (100°C to 500°C)
- Location type
- Open
- Location
- industrial area
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Emergency action
The operator partially stopped the unit, set up steam hoses and monitored the situation by taking measurements outside in the field.
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas mixture
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2,
Steam,
CH4,
N2 - Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- ARIA
- Reference & weblink
Event description no 54884 in the French database ARIA
https://www.aria.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/accident/54884/
(accessed October 2021)
