Opportunities in the Design of Inherently Safer Chemical Plants

Abstract

This chapter addresses the factors related to chemical plant. Many techniques can be used to assure that a plant will be inherently safer than was ever possible before. Some of the latest knowledge available in the area of safe plant design is described in the chapter. The chapter discusses the process of identification of hazards, general design opportunities, process design opportunities, and equipment design opportunities. An inherently safe plant is safe by its nature and the way it is constructed. The term intrinsic has a meaning similar to inherent, but common usage of intrinsic in the chemical industry usually means a protection technique related to electricity. There is no method of making a plant truly inherently safe, because there is always risk when human activity is involved. However, if the technology available is carefully examined, chemical plants can be made inherently safer than they might be without such an examination. If hazards can be identified early in the design, changes are usually much easier and cheaper, and often better, than changes made late in the design. Quantitative risk assessment of the plant design can be of great value in building a safer plant as well as in improving an existing plant. General design opportunities and process design opportunities require primarily the knowledge and experience of technical experts in the areas of process design, research, and manufacturing; although in some cases strong management input is required. The chapter also discusses equipment design opportunities that require input from a variety of technical support groups as well as manufacturing experts.