Gexcon to present at the 13th National Conference on Safety, Environment and Health 2023

Interactions between the environment of and human health are often highly complex and difficult to assess. Most importantly environmental alterations resulting from human activities are often imperceptible, but perilous. Notably, over the years, the Chemical, Petrochemical, Steel, Pharmaceutical and Power plant industries accidents in India, are on rise. As per the industrial accident statistics for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 collected by the authors of the current article, the total reported incidents of fire, explosion, and toxic gas dispersion as of date were more than 400 with associated 460 fatalities and 2000 injuries. These numbers mean the operations of the chemical industries are still perceived to be extremely dangerous and unsafe for workers involved in their operations as well as the public at large surrounding these industrial clusters. It is high time that all stakeholders must shoulder the responsibility to correct the course and think differently and make use of latest advanced techniques to prevent the likelihood and mitigate the consequences of the accidents/disasters. 

Understanding the effects/consequences and associated risks of industrial accidents during the early stages of projects (concept select and design stages) help the decision makers in implementing adequate safety and loss prevention systems as a part of design thereby minimizing the likelihood and the consequences of incidents and ensure effective risk management. Various tools and technique are available such as Gaussian model and other empirical models using 2D software tools and 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools, and finally the experimental testing of the incidents such as fires and explosion within the laboratory and test sites. 

Whilst the experiments on flammable, toxic (Hazardous) gas dispersion, fires and explosions may provide accurate results, the associated costs and risks involved with conducting such experiments in a controlled environment would render them impractical and inaccessible to many industrial clients. The 2D software tools as mentioned above have limitations and cannot accurately simulate the actual turbulences generated by unknown quantities of the environmental geometric bodies and congestion due to process plant equipment and structures. Whereas the use of 3D CFD numerical modelling has proven to be able to accurately simulate the actual turbulences and predict the behavior of fluids in all situations of accidental inventories release to as close to reality as possible.

CFD techniques have been extensively used for performing Consequence analysis and risk assessments within the Chemical and its aligned industries as well as in oil and gas industry for more than a decade. Though the initial cost of performing risk assessments using 3D CFD tools may be higher in comparison with that of 2D software tools, the accurate assessment of consequences and risks by eliminating the assumptions and approximations related to the geometry and environmental conditions would help in minimizing capital expenses (capex) for safety systems such as active and passive fire protection, blast resistant design of buildings and emergency systems without compromising on management of futuristic loss of assets, human and environment risks. 

A case study of LPG dispersion providing the detailed results of accident scenario consequences such as the extent of gas dispersion, fire and Explosion and the ability to investigate different parameters using CFD approach which are useful for implementation of risk reduction measures (RRM) such as active and passive fire protection and blast resistant design and Emergency response planning (ERP) is discussed here in detail.