Chemical Engineering September 2020 - 50

Environmental Manager
Process Changes: Understanding and
Mitigating Fire- and Life-Safety Risk Factors
When making a change in your process, do not overlook new potential hazards that
may arise, as discussed here
McKenna Pearson
Telgian Engineering & Consulting,
LLC
L
arge-scale chemical processing
can be inherently risky.
This is especially important
to keep in mind when making
changes to a process. As we have
seen recently during the COVID-19
pandemic, many companies have
begun creating essential new products,
from hand sanitizer to plastic
face shields. If new raw materials are
used, or if existing equipment is used
to create a new product, the associated
hazards may also change.
During an emergency, once a new
process is operating, it is easy to
overlook any new risks that have
been created. Many factors must be
considered, and some may require
council from a fire- and life-safety professional.
Among the major considerations
for confirming that fire and life
safety systems are adequate for your
process are: ensuring the proper
storage of hazardous material, considering
the risk of the process to the
facility, and system maintenance.
Storing new hazardous materials
A major factor that should be examined
in detail when making any
changes to a chemical process is
the storage of any new hazardous
materials (Figure 1). These can be
raw materials, finished products or
waste. Just a few considerations
include the specifics on how to
store these materials, as well as the
overhead fire sprinkler protection required
for the specific hazard posed.
Some of the top fire and life safety
hazards are flammable and combustible
liquids (such as ethanol,
isopropyl alcohol, gasoline or any
oil derivative), dust hazards (created
from such operations as milling, agricultural
and food processing), and
Group A plastics.
50
Figure 1. A new process could entail the storing of new hazardous materials, such as flammable solvents,
finished products or waste
While the risk posed by storage
of any hazardous material should
always be considered, this has become
particularly imperative during
the pandemic. When personal
protective equipment (PPE) shortages
hit the doctors, nurses and
first responders, many people asked
themselves: what can I do to help?
The answer for some was to make
masks at home with scraps of fabric
and their sewing machines, while
others went to work reconfiguring
their equipment to produce plastic
face shields, ventilators and even
hand and surface sanitizers. This
has caused many professional processes
to operate outside of their
original design parameters. Consequently,
some facilities started storing
and utilizing large quantities of
flammable and combustible liquids
and Group A plastics that were not
storing these items before.
One example is the local wineries
and breweries that began making
and distributing hand and surface
sanitizers. It is important to note, the
average alcohol content of beer is
approximately 5% and wine is approximately
12%, according to the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism [1]. The alcohol content
of the sanitizing products ranges
from 60 to 80%. While the intent of
this creative way to support the
community is noble, fire protection
systems in these facilities may not be
capable of adequately protecting the
increased hazard that comes from
storing and processing large quantities
of a highly flammable liquid (Figures
1 and 2). For instance, fire- and
life-safety systems designed for distilleries
must consider the quantity of
spirit that will be maintained on-site
in order to appropriately protect the
facility and people within it. Breweries
and wineries often do not require
the same level of protection.
Additionally, companies from many
industries have started producing
medical equipment, such as plastic
face shields, face masks and ventilators.
Most notable are the companies
in the automobile industry,
but local manufacturers of electrical
equipment and furniture have also
answered the call. Medical products
are subject to strict regulation that extends
to how the products are manufactured
(Figure 3). Not only can the
onsite storage of hazardous materials
(think Group A plastics used for
ChemiCal engineering www.Chemengonline.Com September 2020

http://www.Chemengonline.Com

Chemical Engineering September 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering September 2020