Profit from Process Safety Pointers eHANDBOOK

Profit from Process Safety

Pointers

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 2

TABLE OF CONTENTSProcess Safety: Get Ready for 10 Changes 6Ten emerging trends will reshape how chemical makers approach and manage safety

PSM Demands Better Maintenance Planning 14Follow some pointers to succeed at sites covered by the statute.

Mitigate Explosions in Spray Drying System 20Available mitigation approaches depend on the spray dryer system and design limitations

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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 4

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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 6

The practice of safety in the chemical

industry has changed and matured

significantly over the past several

decades and will continue to evolve. Taking

a glimpse into the future based on current

trends is a good place to start a dialogue

on what those changes might be. Preparing

for the future is never an exact science but

even an inexact attempt is better than no

preparation at all. That said, let me outline

some trends I see based on my extensive

consulting and field experience in chemical

safety that might impact you.

First, and possibly foremost, safety excel-

lence is growing in its critical importance

to the chemical industry. Safety mishaps

always have been an expense and negative

influence on production — but in the future

they also may provide the basis for more

and more stringent legislative and regulato-

ry actions. The past decade has seen safety

regulatory agencies turn from a cooperative

stance to an enforcement mentality, in-

creasingly focusing on catching and punish-

ing the worst offenders rather than encour-

aging the best performers.

Regardless of any changes the Trump ad-

ministration makes, organizations will seek

to stay off the radar screen of regulatory

agencies. The best way to do this is to have

excellent lagging indicators for safety. Even

though we are discovering the limitations

of lagging indicators in helping to improve

performance, they remain the holy metric

to regulators. The very nature of lagging

indicators will tempt some chemical manu-

facturers to manipulate the numbers; regu-

lators will look closely for such issues. Orga-

Process Safety: Get Ready for 10 ChangesTen emerging trends will reshape how chemical makers approach and manage safety

By Terry L. Mathis, ProAct Safety

www.chemicalprocessing.com

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 7

nizational leaders will begin to take a more

active interest in such metrics as they hear

of others in their ranks being punished for

offenses they once could blame on subor-

dinates. Safety performance and measure-

ment will become an issue for the board-

room as well as the safety department.

Savvy leaders will turn to their engineers

and other subject matter experts (SMEs) for

advice on improving performance to shape

lagging indicators.

The Trump administration most likely won’t

reduce the emphasis on safety but will

change the methods for achieving it. Expect

regulatory agencies to reemphasize former

programs such as the Voluntary Protection

Program and others that encourage a part-

nership between regulators and organiza-

tions to further safety efforts and technolo-

gies. Such programs increase the positive

reinforcement for excellence and reserve

punishment for more willful and flagrant of-

fenders. Any changes from the new admin-

istration won’t be immediate and lawmakers

could resist them, leading to even more

delays. So, organizations can hope for a re-

laxing of punitive measures in the future but

should stay mindful of current realities.

OTHER KEY DRIVERSAnother important impetus for an enhanced

emphasis on safety will come from organi-

zational leaders who will focus more seri-

ously on so-called “major operational risks”

(MORs). These risks will include safety

issues but also critical environmental and

financial threats. MORs are the risks that po-

tentially could cost the whole business. As

such, they head the priority list for stock-

holders, directors of publicly held firms and

owners of private enterprises. Very few

organizations turn over the management of

these risks to the safety department. Some

assign top executives to manage each of

them. Others are forming teams or com-

mittees to oversee the risk management

efforts. Chemical engineers will serve as key

members of such committees; their tech-

nical knowledge is crucial to successfully

manage MORs.

Insurance companies are driving the focus

on MORs as well. As they sense the high po-

tential impact of such events on traditional

coverage, umbrella coverage and public

Preparing for the future is never an exact science

but even an inexact attempt is better than no

preparation at all.

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 8

relations, insurers are attempting to help

their covered organizations protect them-

selves. As of now, most major insurance

carriers don’t agree on a clear single path to

such protection — but a growing list of sug-

gested steps is beginning to show similari-

ties. Many of these steps closely resemble

or exactly match safety efforts. This expan-

sion of safety efforts from simply prevent-

ing occupational injuries to averting other

high-impact events will have one of two

effects: It will either expand the traditional

definition of safety and greatly impact the

scope of the safety department, or it will

change the organizational design of overall

risk management, bringing it closer to the

boardroom and further from simply being a

delegated assignment.

Additionally, more major players in the

chemical industry will insist on safety ex-

cellence from their contractors and suppli-

ers. Most of these chemical makers either

are very good at safety or have convinced

themselves they are. As such, they don’t

want to dilute their safety programs and

cultures by mixing in contractors and sup-

pliers with lower levels of safety perfor-

mance. Good safety programs and metrics

will become not just desirable but necessary

to get contracts with the big boys. Major

petrochemical firms will use safety as an ad-

ditional screening criterion to select those

with whom to contract. Some already are

doing this on a lower level — such screening

will increase and become more stringent. In

the next few years, no other area of excel-

lence will compensate for poor performance

in safety when bidding on projects or sup-

plying major firms.

Middlemen who have placed themselves

between the major players and the contrac-

tors will become the absolute gatekeepers

for contractors. Their already strong posi-

tion will grow even stronger as the major

firms divest themselves of internal expertise

and completely outsource the screening of

contractors. Many of these companies also

will begin to require their gatekeepers not

only to select the contractors but also to

orient and train them as well. This already

has begun and has the potential for either

improvement or disaster. It remains to be

seen exactly how the companies that are

screening contractors will handle the ad-

ditional responsibilities their clients want

them to assume. However, this could mean

chemical contractors may have a new set of

standards to address in the near future.

MAJOR UNIVERSAL SAFETY TRENDSIn addition to the growing importance of

safety and the expansion of preventative ef-

forts from traditional safety to MORs, seven

other trends are emerging.

1. The very definition of safety excellence

will undergo reframing from zero ac-

cidents to sustainable and repeatable

value. Lagging indicators won’t disap-

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 9

pear but leaders will realize excellence is

in the process that produces it and not

just in the results. The goal of safety will

be defined as adding value to the safety

efforts. Both the use of new “big data”

analysis and traditional trial-and-error

will determine the algorithms between

value-add activities and results. The

leading indicators safety profession-

als are seeking will turn out to be those

activities that add value to the safety ef-

forts. The definition of safety excellence

and the approach to achieve it will move

significantly from reactive to proactive.

2. The increasing importance of safety will

drive organizational leaders to move from

the traditional programmatic approach

to a strategic one. While the detail work

of safety will continue to be delegated,

the strategy will not. Leaders will find it

necessary to develop safety strategies to

synergize with business strategies rather

than compete with them. The proverbial

“production versus safety” battle will be

fought in the boardroom by senior leaders

rather than on the plant floor by workers

and supervisors.

Such strategy will result in some basic

changes to organizational structure.

What was once the almost exclusive

duty of the safety department will be

divided among other organizational

silos according to its nature. This means

safety engineering will become the

major responsibility of the engineering

department. Safety department person-

nel will serve as SMEs to advise engi-

neering about regulatory details but the

real work of design, preventative main-

tenance and standard operating proce-

dures development will fall back to the

technical experts who best understand

the processes.

3. Organizational leaders will provide

safety leadership, not delegate it to

safety SMEs. (See “Process Safety

Begins in the Boardroom.”) The work

still will be delegated but not the

leadership. The development of safety

strategy mentioned above will be the

re-entry point of leaders into safety.

Addressing MORs also will be viewed

as a management responsibility that

can’t be delegated completely. Leaders

will break through the silos that have

divided safety from production; the

potential for truly “safe production” will

begin to become a reality.

4. Safety professionals will progress from

grunt (doing all the work) to guardian

(managing the work) to guru (becom-

ing the advisor and resource for the

line managers and supervisors who will

manage safety as a part of produc-

tion). As leaders take back the strate-

gic responsibilities of safety, the daily

oversight of safety in the workplace will

begin to be more a part of mainstream

supervision. As this happens, safety

professionals will evolve from managers

and supervisors to SMEs and advisors to

both leaders and supervisors. Likewise,

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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 10

some engineers will find themselves ac-

tive members of interdisciplinary safety

committees or teams that will replace

the traditional safety-only departments.

Safety will become an aspect of every-

one’s job and will find its way more and

more into job descriptions and respon-

sibilities. This not only will impact en-

gineering but also production, training,

logistics, human resources and other

functions whose expertise is a necessary

part of safety excellence.

5. A new kind of safety consultant will

emerge. Such specialists will offer cus-

tomized solutions rather than a universal

program; their role will include modi-

fying and tailoring many existing pro-

grams rather than scrapping them and

starting over from scratch.

As leaders become more strategic, they

necessarily will become less program-

matic. They will not shop for the newest

consultant-developed program but will

look for strategic partners with corpo-

rate problem-solving skills. Improve-

ment efforts will need to be fit for pur-

pose and systematically woven into the

fabric of the culture. Consultants who

can fill this new role will work more with

the C-suite and less with the site safety

professionals. They will need to be busi-

ness savvy and multidisciplinary.

6. Safety programs will begin to change

their focus from viewing the worker as

a problem to be controlled, to being the

customer whose needs should be met.

As the mindset changes from zero ac-

cidents to adding value, organizations

will realize workers are the customers of

safety to whom value should be added.

It still will be necessary to comply with

regulatory guidelines, which, in the past,

has resulted in some ineffective and inef-

ficient training activities. However, even

these required “refresher” trainings are

being restructured to both meet regula-

tory requirements and provide value to

workers. Organizations are realizing that

if they already are taking workers off the

job for training, they should make the

most of this time. The ability to custom-

ize computer-based training will facilitate

this. The same old required training will

truly add value to employees in the near

future as it already does at leading-edge

organizations.

In addition to the growing importance of safety

and the expansion of preventative efforts from

traditional safety to MORs, seven other trends

are emerging.

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 11

7. Safety metrics will evolve from lagging

indicators to leading indicators to a true

measure of value added at each stage

resembling a balanced scorecard used

by financial managers. (For insights on

potential leading indicators, see: “Bol-

ster Your Lead Process Safety Metrics.”)

The search for leading indicators is a

movement from one-dimensional to

two-dimensional thinking. However, the

world remains three-dimensional. As

organizations discover what adds value

and includes them in their list of leading

indicators, they also will discover what

drives the value-adding indicators and

what intermediate improvements lead

to lagging-indicator gains. These inter-

mediate steps also will be measured; the

result will be a true three-dimensional

balanced scorecard for safety.

SAFETY CULTUREThere’s been a lot of talk for years about the

need for chemical engineering to become

more engaged in the soft skills of culture

building and move away from the strictly

technical approach to safety. I could not

disagree with this more if it were twice as

wrong. The chemical industry has a culture

of safety that, in many respects, is superior

to those who have taken a more touchy-

feely approach. The demands of the indus-

try and the technical skills of key people in

it dictate a very distinct cultural model to

succeed at safety. All successful cultures

adapt to the survival demands of their

environmental realities. Just as indigenous

people living near the Arctic Circle devel-

oped a different culture than those on tropi-

cal islands, chemical workers developed

a different culture than that of workers in

other manufacturing sectors. No culture is

universally superior — or interchangeable

with another.

The nature of the chemical industry’s

safety issues requires more technically

savvy workers. This doesn’t mean they can

neglect to address universal issues such

as trips and falls. It means they have more

critical safety issues that should be priori-

tized as such. A “techier” culture doesn’t

have to be less humanistic or caring; it

simply must be more task- and process-

oriented. Astute leaders are recognizing

this and allowing their safety cultures to

strive for personal best versus some uni-

versal model of perfection. This approach

will continue and spread to organizations

in other industries.

PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENTWithout getting into detailed technical as-

pects of process safety management (PSM),

three important trends will emerge in the

near future:

1. PSM will continue to make almost dizzy-

ing technical advances. Computerized

controls and other technologies will

make keeping up with PSM more like

keeping up with information technology.

Organizations will be in constant flux

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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 12

just understanding the changes, much

less taking advantage of all of them.

2. Organizations outside the chemical

industry will seek to emulate PSM and

adapt its primary principles and meth-

ods. They will offer to partner with

chemical companies to learn how to

do so and will look for other technolo-

gies or methodologies they can offer in

return. Partnerships between dissimilar

and non-competing organizations will

form — with the potential to create

breakthroughs in safety excellence for

both parties.

3. PSM will be viewed as the primary tool

to address technical aspects of the

above-mentioned MORs. Catastrophic

events always have been expensive and

dangerous to organizational survival.

Averting them will be even more criti-

cal in the future. Leaders will give more

attention and resources to ensure their

organizations don’t produce unplanned

major events. Regulatory agencies will

focus on organizations that make the

news with their disasters and that focus

will be increasingly punitive. Negative

coverage by news agencies will add to

the regulatory impact. The best defense

against such events will be prevention;

PSM will take the lead in that effort.

BE PREPAREDForward-looking organizations should strive

to identify major trends that could impact

the viability of their safety efforts. The lack

of a crystal ball with exact details shouldn’t

detract from that effort. A few major trends

merit attention and likely will have some

degree of impact in the foreseeable future.

Safety already has grown significantly in

importance and will continue to do so.

Being pretty good at safety may not be

good enough for very long. Astute leaders

will assess the potential impact of the issues

discussed here and develop future-centered

safety strategies that cross over organiza-

tional silos and address safety holistically.

For the less astute, the future always will be

a dark journey full of unpleasant and poten-

tially fatal surprises. For the prepared, the

future will be a series of opportunities to

take the lead in business and drive safety

excellence to new heights.

TERRY L. MATHIS is founder and CEO of ProAct

Safety, The Woodlands, Texas. E-mail him at tmathis@

proactsafety.com.

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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 14

The term OSHA 29CFR, 1910.119 can

provoke angst in maintenance plan-

ners at chemical plants and other

industrial facilities. Maintenance planning

is quite detailed in any such facility — but

those sites subject to this process safety

management (PSM) statute must contend

with significantly increased complexity of

planning. Following the spirit and letter of

the statute are extremely important for two

primary reasons: keeping plant personnel

safe and avoiding potential government

fines. Although on the surface these seem

like separate issues, connections exist be-

tween personnel safety and potential fines.

While the PSM portion of the regulations

of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) is far reaching, one

part affects the maintenance planner more

than the rest. That person has the important

task of screening the incoming requested

work for key words such as “change,”

“modify,” “add” or “delete.” In addition, the

planner must pay special attention to the

repair or replacement of equipment to pre-

clude a mistake that could cause a safety,

environmental or equipment issue. This is

crucial for ensuring the safety of techni-

cians, protecting the environment, and

avoiding collateral damage to equipment;

miscues in these areas can cost a company

dearly. Doing everything I can as a mainte-

nance planner to give the technician all the

tools necessary to complete a job safely is

something I always will be most proud of in

my career.

Very few facilities I have worked in and

around as a work management subject mat-

PSM Demands Better Maintenance PlanningFollow some pointers to succeed at sites covered by the statute.

By Roger Corley, Life Cycle Engineering

www.chemicalprocessing.com

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 15

ter expert fall under the OSHA PSM statute.

Most of them don’t do a particularly great

job of managing changes within their plants.

At plants that must comply with this statute,

OSHA is very clear in the requirements for

management of change (MOC). It’s simple

and complex at the same time. The simple

part is that any change not made “in kind”

requires initiation of a MOC process. The

complex part is determining exactly what

“in kind” means. For example, some may

consider that replacing a 3-in. 300-psi ball

valve used for level control with another 3-in.

300-psi ball valve qualifies as a replacement

in kind. However, if the valves’ Cv (flow coef-

ficient), control mechanism or other factors

don’t match, that may not be so.

I was fortunate to work for a long time in a

facility that took this statute very seriously;

it produced chlorine, phosgene, acids and

caustic. The plant required process engi-

neers to examine even a set point alteration

on a vessel level or process flow change to

determine the upstream and downstream

effects and any unintended consequences

of those changes on the process.

Working in a chemical plant that produced

lethal material caused a paradigm shift in

my thinking, making me very risk averse. So

now, no matter where I go, I view processes

through my OSHA 1910.119 eyes. Every site,

whether or not subject to the OSHA statute,

can benefit from the lessons learned from

working in that environment. The mainte-

nance planner should ask the same ques-

tions. Verifying drawings are correct, en-

suring equipment is replaced “in kind,” and

confirming the computerized maintenance

management system (CMMS) captures the

correct history will make your workplace a

bit safer every day.

PRACTICAL IDEASSo, you’re a planner in a PSM-covered facil-

ity. How does the statute affect what you

must do? Let’s walk through a typical pro-

cess for planning a maintenance job.

1. What jobs should you plan? The simple

answer is that all maintenance jobs can

benefit from some level of planning.

Replacing a reactor vessel obviously

requires a much more detailed job plan

than, say, swapping a manual discharge

valve on a pump. However, you must

look at both these jobs through your

PSM glasses to ensure that things like

material of construction, specifications,

size, etc., are considered before any work

takes place. Even something as simple

as replacing a light bulb deserves some

rudimentary planning: you should verify

a bulb of the right wattage and base size

is specified and available, and arrange for

a ladder or stool, if necessary.

2. Is it really necessary to visit every job

prior to planning? It is well known as

a best practice to go to every site of

a planned job before putting together

the job plan. Visiting the job site allows

you, as a planner, to see for yourself

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 16

what the job entails. Putting eyes on

the job can answer many questions that

can’t get answered otherwise. On one

occasion, while coaching a planner at

a refinery, I was working with him on a

particular job of replacing catalyst in a

reactor tower. It was a very complicated

job. During the process, I told him we

needed to climb to the top to verify

the flange sizes and fastener sizes and

types. He argued the equipment draw-

ings contained all this information. I

replied that experience shows drawings

don’t always reflect field changes during

construction. So, we climbed the 80 feet

to the top. The flanges were exactly like

the drawing — but the fasteners weren’t.

A couple of Class-150 flanges some-

how got heavy hex fasteners that didn’t

agree with the drawing. If we hadn’t

looked at the job, the craftspersons

would have made the same climb with

the wrong-sized tools, a waste of their

time. Fortunately, we did the right thing

and took the next steps for a situation

like this: checking the specifications,

allowing for the correct size fasteners,

and ensuring the drawing is updated if

needed. An engineering review may be

necessary as well.

3. What “tools” does a planner need? I

put tools in quotation marks because

some facilities I visit have a collective

bargaining agreement that precludes

the planner or supervisor from turning

wrenches (using tools). Such facilities

sometimes require different arrange-

ments to ensure compliance with the

collective bargaining agreement. This

might include assigning a tradesper-

son to accompany the planner in case

removing a guard or inspection plate

is necessary to properly plan the job.

Regardless, a planner should have some

very basic supplies for correctly creat-

ing a job plan.

• Digital camera. A picture is worth

1,000 words. So, take a good digital

camera with a flash and zoom. An

intrinsically safe (explosion-proof)

camera might be necessary in some

cases; this could be expensive — but is

a necessary tool.

• Digital voice recorder. My single most

important tool in planning jobs is a

digital voice recorder. Wet weather

doesn’t mean we plan jobs from our

desks. Taking a paper pad or job-

planning template into the rain may be

a bad idea but the voice recorder will

work there. Using the recorder to cap-

ture important details about the job

absolutely will make your job easier. It

will free up your hands to carry rags to

wipe off displays or grease from data

plates. Listening to the recording back

in the office can remind you to check

certain aspects of the job that you

might skip on paper. Of course, you’ll

need an intrinsically safe recorder in

explosive areas.

• Micrometer. Digital or analog, a mi-

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 17

crometer is an important tool to

measure flange thicknesses, fastener

sizes and many other items that a tape

measure can’t measure accurately.

• Long tape measure. Pipe typically

comes in 20-ft random lengths, so

take at least a 25-ft measure.

• Magnet. You can use this to determine

if the material of construction is fer-

rous or not. Of course, it won’t dif-

ferentiate among aluminum, titanium

or stainless steel — but can help you

get on the right track. If the metal is

painted, you can’t tell what it is but

the magnet sees through the paint.

• Flashlight and miner’s light. You have

to be able to see what the job is to

plan it correctly.

• Telescoping mirror. This is essential for

looking under and around places you

can’t see otherwise.

Many other tools may help you improve

your ability to plan jobs correctly. I

used to carry paint remover, a screw-

driver and a wire brush because paint-

ers invariably cover the data plates on

pumps. Remember to write a notifica-

tion for the painters to replace what

you removed, especially if the environ-

ment is corrosive.

4. What am I looking for? As a planner in

a PSM-covered facility, you’re the first

line of defense in recognizing when a

MOC process should be initiated. Experi-

ence should make you adept at knowing

what to examine and why. As I men-

tioned earlier, notifications with words

like change, delete, modify, install, etc.,

should raise an alarm for you to look

at the job particularly closely. Even a

job request that says “replace valve”

should remind you that “replace” im-

plicitly means “in kind.” Use resources

like manufacturers’ websites, your local

engineering department, drawings (as

long as they’re current) and, of course,

your work order history and preplanned

work order library.

5. So, is that it? Absolutely not. The

practical tips listed here aren’t a substi-

tute for experience and training. Vet-

eran planners at a facility should im-

part knowledge to less-seasoned staff.

Having the entire planning staff located

in the same area or office can expedite

information exchange. However, I’d be

remiss not to note that an experienced

planner doesn’t necessarily follow best

practices. So, it’s essential that the plan-

ners are trained in a proven program

and held accountable to best manage-

ment practices.

FINES AND OTHER PUNISHMENTDuring my maintenance planning career, I

have had the unfortunate task of dealing

with the repercussions of injuries and even a

fatality. Generally speaking, if investigators

come to your site, they will interview the

maintenance planner. As the “super user” of

the CMMS, the planner will be asked to pull

data from the system so the investigators

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 18

accurately can determine the cause of the

incident. Some things such as paperwork

errors or clerical mistakes can incur small

fines or none at all but can lead to action

items to make corrections. Something more

serious such as willfully hiding or otherwise

withholding information can prompt larger

fines. More and more often, those respon-

sible face jail time.

In a perfect world, fear of fines and jail time

shouldn’t be the motivation for “doing the

right thing.” Instead, being risk averse and

correcting these problems by careful exami-

nation should preclude “the interview” from

a regulator. As a maintenance planner, I

always have considered the most important

aspect of my job to be the safety of those

technicians that I planned for and worked

with every day.

ROGER CORLEY is a work management and materials

management subject matter expert at Life Cycle Engi-

neering, Charleston, SC. Email him at rcorley@LCE.com

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GOT COMBUSTIBLE

DUST?Call REMBE® – Your Explosion

Protection SpecialistProtection Specialist

WE ARE THE EXPERTS!

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LI REM 86x124mm_4C_ Anz ES ENG Experts.indd 1 12.03.15 14:57

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 20

Drying systems are used in process-

es to reduce the moisture content

of powders. The inherent design

of any dryer system handling combustible

dust lends itself to the potential for an ex-

plosion. A common type of dryer utilized is

a spray dryer. These dryer systems atomize

liquid material into powder through nozzles

that spray material into a chamber where

heat is introduced through an airstream.

Common materials used in spray dryers

range from pharmaceuticals to pigments.

Loss history shows us that over 20% of the

spray dryer explosions FM Global reviewed

occurred in the chemical industry. Dryer

systems typically include some type of dust

collection through a single or series of air

material separators. Cyclones can be used

to collect larger or heavier particles. Bag

style dust collectors are sometimes utilized

for finer or lighter particles. Secondary dry-

ing is also sometimes done using a fluidized

bed dryer in conjunction with a spray dryer.

For a dust explosion to occur five elements

are needed (Figure 1). Three of the elements

are common with the fire triangle: oxygen,

fuel (dust at an appropriate concentra-

tion), and an ignition source. The other two

elements of the explosion pentagon are

suspension of the dust and a confined area.

Spray dryer chambers and ancillary equip-

ment have four of the five elements present

at all times. The only element missing is an

ignition source.

IGNITION SOURCES IN DRYER SYSTEMSIgnition sources can present themselves

through a variety of ways in a spray dryer.

Mitigate Explosions in Spray Drying SystemAvailable mitigation approaches depend on the spray dryer system and design limitations

By Jason Krbec, CV Technology

www.chemicalprocessing.com

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 21

Hot surfaces can occur from

bearings on valves, friction

from atomizer wheels, and

exothermal reactions in

dust deposits. Accumula-

tions of dust can build up

and in some cases cause

self-ignition. Sometimes

dust deposits can increase

in temperature then be-

come disturbed, which re-

leases hot material to areas

of the dryer with suspended

dust. The minimum auto

ignition temperature (MAIT)

of a dust — both in layer

and cloud form — should be

known for dust being han-

dled in a spray dryer. Static

electricity can be another

source of ignition in dryers

that handle dusts with low

minimum ignition energies

(MIE). Loss history shows

that overheating is the most

common source of ignition

in spray dryers. FM Global

investigated 18 spray dryer

events in which 8 were at-

tributed to overheating.

DRYER SYSTEM MITIGATION DESIGN APPROACHThe most comprehensive

standard/guideline pub-

lished regarding combusti-

ble dust hazards associated

with spray dryer systems

is VDI 2273, Part 7. 2. This

guideline details the haz-

ards for the different types

of spray dryer systems

and addresses some of the

DUST EXPLOSION PENTAGONFigure 1. Spray dryer chambers and ancillary equipment have four of the five elements present at all times.

HAZARDOUS ZONESFigure 2. A zone analysis identifies hazardous areas in a vertical flow spray dryer system.

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 22

more controversial design issues regard-

ing spray dryer protection. Dryer systems

can have hazardous areas identified using

a zone analysis as shown in Figure 2. Zone

20 sections of the dryer are considered to

have a combustible dust cloud present at all

times. These areas are typical to the dryer

chamber and air material separators. Zone

21 areas are locations where lower dust con-

centrations may be present at times but is

still considered a hazardous area. These ar-

eas are typical to fluidized bed dryers. Zone

22 areas are considered to not have hazard-

ous amounts of dust present. Air intakes

and clean air sides of the bag house filters

are typical Zone 22 areas. A proper dust

hazard analysis (DHA) as required by NFPA

652 can incorporate this zone approach so

the areas in any dryer system that require

safeguards can be easily identified.

Some research supports the concept that

the minimum explosive concentration (MEC)

of a combustible dust is not present in a

dryer system. However, the issue with this

approach is it does not take into account up-

set conditions and the realities of spray dryer

operations. Dust layers becoming disturbed,

issues with the spray nozzles, and airflow

changes can all provide local increases in

dust concentration in the dryer chamber that

can exceed the minimum explosive concen-

tration resulting in a deflagration. Another

theory is that the optimal dust concentration

is not reached inside the dryer chamber. This

reduced dust concentration can allow for a

more economical explosion mitigation solu-

tion. Typical dust concentrations in a spray

dryer chamber may be as low as 100 to 250

g/m3. The air material separators in the dryer

system see much larger concentrations and

should not be considered for a reduced con-

centration approach.

NFPA 68 Standard on Explosion Protec-

tion by Deflagration Venting provides some

allowance to take a partial volume design

approach, which is considered for calculat-

ing the required explosion vent area. This

approach has the stipulation that the dryer

system is not recirculating dry product

back through the dryer chamber. Also, the

required vent area must be located in the

section of the dryer considered the partial

volume.

INHERENTLY SAFER DESIGNSManagement systems and process monitor-

ing are two ways to improve the inherent

safety of a spray dryer system. Spray dryer

systems with hygienic requirements are of-

ten cleaned at regular intervals which limits

the possibility of dust deposits becoming

a source of ignition. Process monitoring of

spray dryer systems also is critical for proper

operation; they provide another level of safe-

ty to prevent dust explosions. Temperature

monitoring throughout a dryer system can

help provide an early warning to a problem

that may ignite dust clouds or cause fires.

Interlocks to shut off the product feed and

supply/extract fans can help limit fires when

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 23

increased temperatures are

present. A layer of protec-

tion analysis (LOPA) is a

valid approach to identify

layers of protection of dryer

systems including mitigation

techniques.

EXPLOSION VENTINGExplosion vents are the

most simplistic mitigation

technology for protecting

spray dryers. These vents

need to be located on the

lower portion of the dryer

where the spray-dried ma-

terial turns from a slurry to

a powder. Explosion vents

open at a designed pressure

and relieve both the pres-

sure and flame. The flame

path must be accounted

for in the safe design of an

explosion venting solution.

Vents can be exhausted

outdoors through ductwork.

It’s important to consider

the effects the temperature

differential of the outside

elements will have on the

explosion vent. Insulation

on the explosion vents

often is needed to prevent

condensation inside the

dryer chamber. The insula-

tion and duct design both

need to be included in the

venting calculations as they

require a correction to the

required vent area. A partial

volume approach to design-

ing explosion vents may

be appropriate. NFPA 68

provides proper guidance

on partial volume designs.

Venting of the air material

separators on the dryer sys-

tem often is a best practice

approach. However, the

design and location of cy-

clone separators for spray

dryer systems may limit

the possibilities of venting

solutions. Often, chemical

suppression or flameless

venting are better options

for cyclone mitigation.

FLAMELESS VENT INSTALLATIONFigure 3. Flameless vents use a flame arrestor constructed of metal mesh that allows pressure to relieve but quenches the flame through energy absorption.

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 24

FLAMELESS VENTINGOften, explosion venting is

not possible as a result of

the limitations in spray dryer

system layouts. Flameless

venting offers the advan-

tages of an explosion vent

without the concern of the

resultant flame ball. Flame-

less vents (Figure 3) utilize a

flame arrestor on the ex-

haust of an explosion vent.

The flame arrestor is con-

structed of metal mesh that

allows pressure to relieve

but quenches the flame

through energy absorption.

However, flameless vents

are not without limitations

when it comes to spray

dryer systems. All flame-

less vents are limited in the

volume of a combustible

atmosphere they are able

to mitigate. Dryer cham-

bers may be too large to

economically protect using

flameless vents. Air mate-

rial separators and fluidized

bed dryers are ideal loca-

tions for flameless venting.

CHEMICAL SUPPRESSION Chemical suppression for

dryer mitigation is perhaps

the most universal solution

across different dryer appli-

cations. Suppression sys-

tems (Figure 4) consist of

timely detection and con-

trols to initiate rapid sup-

pressant delivery from pres-

surized bottles. Detection

can be done using pressure,

thermal, or radiant energy

detectors. The tempera-

tures present in a dryer sys-

tem can pose a challenge

for these detectors and

design limitations should be

considered. Suppressant is

typically in the form of dry

chemical powder propelled

CHEMICAL SUPPRESSIONFigure 4. Suppression systems on spray dryer chambers consist of timely detection and controls to initiate rapid suppressant delivery from pressurized bottles.

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 25

by pressurized nitrogen.

Suppressant bottles range

in size from 2.5L up to 50L

in volume. Larger 50L sup-

pressant bottles provide the

most economical means of

suppression on dryer cham-

bers by utilizing less bottles

to get the required amount

of suppressant delivered

into the volume. Telescopic

suppressant bottle nozzles

that mount flush with vessel

and duct walls are critical to

avoid abrasion and prod-

uct build up in spray dryer

systems. Unlike venting

solutions, chemical suppres-

sion systems require routine

maintenance to sustain the

reliability level needed for

proper mitigation. Typically

circuit testing and detector

calibration is done annually

at a minimum. Proper safety

training for plant operators

is must in facilities that have

suppression systems. Lock

out tag out procedures

must be followed to pre-

vent accidental discharge

during maintenance and

cleaning operations of the

dryer system.

ISOLATIONChemical isolation (Figure

5) is another important ele-

ment in explosion mitiga-

tion for spray dryer sys-

tems. Components of the

dryer system are connected

through pipes and duct-

work that can lead to the

propagation of a flame front

CHEMICAL ISOLATIONFigure 5. Isolation limits the effects of a deflagration by providing a mechanical or chemical barrier to the vessel where the event initiated.

www.chemicalprocessing.com

Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 26

throughout the entire dryer system. The

concept of isolation is to limit the effects

of a deflagration by providing a mechani-

cal or chemical barrier to the vessel where

the event initiated. Mechanical isolation is

possible using explosion isolation pinch or

slide gate valves. Back flap valves and floats

valves tend not to be favorable for dryers

systems due to potential product build up

issues. Larger scale spray dryer systems

often have big pipelines and limited instal-

lation locations making mechanical isolation

more difficult. Chemical isolation is often

the most practical and economical solution

to address the challenges of isolation in

larger dryer systems.

CONCLUSIONSpray dryer systems propose some unique

design challenges for explosion mitigation.

While the dust concentration is often re-

duced in these systems they have inherent

ignition issues. Explosion mitigation is

critical for spray dryer systems handling

combustible dusts. Loss history in the

chemical industry shows these systems can

contribute to large losses of production,

injuries and even deaths. Process monitoring

should be incorporated into any dryer

system mitigation solution. A variety of

mitigation approaches are available depend-

ing on the type of spray dryer system and

design limitations. Considerations should be

given to the temperature requirements,

designs to limit product build up, and opera-

tor training for mitigation solutions utilized

on spray dryer systems.

JASON KRBEC, PE, is engineering manager for CV

Technology, and a technical committee member of

the NFPA 652 committee amongst others. He can be

reached at JKrbec@cvtechnology.com.

REFERENCES1. Febo, Jr, Henry, Processes for Drying

Powders – Hazards and Solutions

2. European Guideline VDI 2263-7, Dust

Fires and Dust Explosions-Hazards, Evalu-

ation and Protection Measures,

3. Siwek, R., van Wingerden, K., Hansen,

O.R., Sutter, G., Kubainsky, C.,

Schwartzbach, C., Giger, G., Meili, R.: Dust

explosion venting and suppression of

conventional spray dryers, Paper pre-

sented during the 11th Int. Symp. On Loss

Prevention and Safety Promotion in the

Process Industries, Prague, 31 May- 3

June, 2004

4. NFPA 68, Standard on Explosion Protec-

tion by Deflagration Venting

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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 28

EHANDBOOKSCheck out our vast library of past eHandbooks that offer a

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