Process Safety Risk Research Articles

Benefits of customizing dust hazard controls to meet your needs

AbstractThe OSHA Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP), recent studies commissioned by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Research Foundation and U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), as well as emphasis by insurance companies have brought more urgency to combustible dust safety. NFPA standards are being revised for consistency and clarity of standards for combustible dust safety. While that is a significant improvement from conditions of past decades, the situation can be improved even more by implementing risk‐based methods to help develop application‐specific explosion protection. Many facilities that handle combustible particulate solids follow prescriptive requirements of applicable NFPA standards, especially for new installations. Decisions are often driven primarily by meeting codes and standards with minimum capital cost. Legacy installations that do not meet current standards typically claim “grandfather” status as the reason for not implementing the current standard requirement or good engineering practice. The goal of this paper is to present a method of adapting the familiar process safety risk matrix to assess likelihood of a deflagration event rather than the overall the risk of a consequence. This method provides an objective basis to assist staff of a legacy facility to make decisions to prioritize capital improvement projects, to follow current good engineering practice, and to stop relying on “grandfather” status. This paper makes the broad, practical assumption that any deflagration event has serious consequences. The magnitude of those consequences may vary based on facility siting, deflagration area of effect, population of personnel in the affected area, or business criticality of affected equipment and structures. Decisions based solely on the likelihood matrix may inadvertently prioritize a more likely, but less consequential, concern over an event that may put multiple people at risk, or have serious commercial implications. Methods such as Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) are useful to more comprehensively understand risks. Flexible, outside‐the‐box thinking in applying safeguards, Independent Protection Layers (IPLs), administrative controls, and facility siting may provide a better solution than merely following prescriptive code without making the effort to fully understand the hazard.

A systematic review of the integration between occupational and process safety risk analysis methodologies

Safety considerations in process industries primarily revolve around process and occupational safety. In recent times, there has been a growing emphasis on the development and application of risk estimation frameworks to provide a more holistic evaluation of these critical risk types. While previous studies have offered valuable insights into the concurrent assessment and management of occupational and process hazards, a comprehensive review of frameworks and models incorporating risk estimation dimensions is lacking. Accordingly, this review aims to systematically examine studies that have devised methods to integrate the estimation of both occupational and process risks, with a focus on categorizing applied criteria for risk estimation. A thorough literature review was conducted using reputable databases, including Web of Science and Scopus, resulting in the identification of 16 studies meeting the predetermined inclusion criteria. Subsequently, the selected studies were classified into four categories: (1) New Framework Developments, (2) Existing Framework Adjustments, (3) Hybrid Frameworks, and (4) Management System/Risk Management Integration. Furthermore, employing a relevant risk dimension perspective, the identified studies were categorized based on four primary dimensions: (a) Scenario Probability, (b) Scenario Consequences, and (c) Economical Damage. It is crucial to note that the existing literature on occupational-process hazards and associated risk dimensions lacks reliable and robust studies. Therefore, further research efforts are imperative to effectively evaluate, quantify, and precisely delineate diverse risk dimensions within the integrated domain of occupational-process safety.

Empowering process safety hazard awareness and technical learning in energy operations

The Process Safety Management discipline is still misunderstood and deemed complex despite the efforts and progress that have been made over the past decades in the energy industry. This is important as the energy industry turns towards the energy transition and needs to remember the fundamentals of managing process safety risks in emerging technologies. At Origin Energy, leadership, risk management and learning are tightly connected when it comes to ensuring good process safety. In this context, Origin Energy’s Integrated Gas Business Unit has implemented Process Safety Management initiatives over the last 5 years grouped under three Process Safety Management strategic pillars: empowered process safety leadership; open-minded learning culture and best practice process hazard management. The aim of these initiatives was to develop a heightened process safety culture across the business unit. The approach used was to demystify process safety concepts to generate engagement and ownership at all levels. This was supplemented with implementing a companywide Engineering and Technical Community of Practice to enable sharing of technical learning across boundaries and building strong process safety risk awareness foundations supported by a Process Hazard Analysis Revalidation program.

Development of Process Safety Cumulative Risk Assessment and Visualization Model/Framework for Petroleum Facilities in Niger-Delta Region, Nigeria

One of the key challenges in preventing major process safety accidents in an operating plant is the lack of an integrated system/model that brings together the risks posed by the deficiencies / deviations on the safety critical barriers, for operational decision making. Based on this context, an exploratory study was undertaken to develop a model/framework for visualizing the accumulation of process safety risks arising from safety critical barriers impairments in petroleum facilities in Niger-Delta Nigeria. A “focused group” was used to test/validate the model/framework using two case studies. The results indicate that the process safety cumulative risk assessment framework/model offers a transparent mechanism for assessing and visualizing the cumulative risks arising from the barrier impairment problems. For the facility in the first case study, 3.2% of the total number of safety-critical barriers was deviated and the model revealed risk accumulation in the gas compression functional location. For the facility in the second case study, 1.7% of the total number of safety-critical barriers was deviated and the model revealed risk accumulation in the gas dehydration functional location. When applied properly, the model/framework will reduce the risk of major accident in petroleum facilities by (a) aiding better management of safety critical barriers deviations through improved risks visual and (b) eliminate variability in human interpretation of process safety risk levels. One improvement area identified in the model/framework is the need for a web-based software for automation of barrier impairment data collection and real-time visualization of the cumulative risk picture.

Measuring risk of renewable diesel production processes using a multi-criteria decision strategy

This study proposes measuring the risk of five alternative renewable diesel production technologies using a multi-criteria decision matrix strategy. Evaluated criteria include environmental, economic, technological, social, and process safety risks. The subjective Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with stakeholder input provides criteria and sub-criteria weightings and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) ranks alternatives. Alternative renewable diesel options are Green Diesel from first, second, and third-generation feedstocks, Fischer-Tropsch Diesel from second-generation biomass, and the transesterification of vegetable oils (VO) to make biodiesel. This study is a response to an earlier work measuring the sustainability of the same renewable technologies. While the previous work indicated Fischer-Tropsch Diesel as the most sustainable, this current work indicated the process as the “most risky,” suggesting that risk is a significant driver of decision making over sustainability, and newly developed decision tools should address both perspectives.

Energy transition technology comes with new process safety challenges and risks—What does it mean?

AbstractDecarbonization and energy transition will have a large impact on how our mobility, as well as supply of materials for clothing, building, and construction, and even for food, will be energized and processed. This review will give a brief survey of a few main changes and what they mean for process safety. It concerns hazards of hydrogen production and handling, battery systems, and electrification of the process industry, which will bring a range of changes, some easy, others intricate. Coincidentally, three recent papers in the journal Ergonomics prove to be in line with these process safety challenges.

Risk assessment methods for process safety, process security and resilience in the chemical process industry: A thorough literature review

This paper presents a systematic literature review of risk assessment methods in the chemical process industry (CPI), focusing on process safety, process security, and resilience. We analyzed peer-reviewed articles from 2000 to 2022 using the PRISMA methodology and identified twelve predominant methods. Our findings reveal a shift towards dynamic, systemic-based assessments like the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) and System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP). These methods are particularly effective at capturing the complexities of sociotechnical systems in the CPI. However, a significant observation from our review is the limited emphasis on the resilience paradigm within many existing methods when addressing both process safety and process security risks, which is crucial for preventing and recovering from disruptions. Given the evolving challenges in system safety and security threats, there is an urgent need for holistic methods that integrate process safety, process security, and resilience. Our review highlights the opportunity for further research to better prepare the industry for future challenges, ensuring safer, more secure, reliable, and resilient operations.

Development of Process Safety Cumulative Risk Assessment in Niger-Delta Region, Nigeria

One of the key challenges in preventing major process safety accidents in an operating plant is the lack of an integrated system/model that brings together the risks posed by the deficiencies / deviations on the safety critical barriers, for operational decision making. Based on this context, an exploratory study was undertaken to develop a model/framework for visualizing the accumulation of process safety risks arising from safety critical barriers impairments in petroleum facilities in Niger-Delta Nigeria. The results indicate that the process safety cumulative risk assessment framework/model offers a transparent mechanism for assessing and visualizing the cumulative risks arising from the barrier impairment problems. For the facility in the first case study, 3.2% of the total number of safety-critical barriers was deviated and the model revealed risk accumulation in the gas compression functional location. For the facility in the second case study, 1.7% of the total number of safety-critical barriers was deviated and the model revealed risk accumulation in the gas dehydration functional location. When applied properly, the model/framework will reduce the risk of major accident in petroleum facilities by (a) aiding better management of safety critical barriers deviations through improved risks visual and (b) eliminate variability in human interpretation of process safety risk levels. One improvement area identified in the model/framework is the need for a web-based software for automation of barrier impairment data collection and real-time visualization of the cumulative risk picture.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Application in Process Safety Cumulative Risk Visualization for Petroleum Operations: Conceptual Framework

One of the key challenges in preventing major process safety accidents in an operating plant is the lack of an integrated system/model that brings together the risks posed by the deficiencies / deviations on the safety critical barriers, for operational decision making. Based on this context, a model/framework was developed for assessing and visualizing the accumulation of process safety risks arising from safety critical barriers impairments in petroleum facilities in Niger-Delta Nigeria. Based on the review of the model, the need for an intelligent web-based software was identified. An exploratory study was therefore undertaken through extensive literature review and focused group participants, to develop a conceptual framework for an intelligent web-based software for process safety cumulative risk visualization. The results from the study make it evident that the conceptual framework provides a novel approach in developing an intelligent web-based software using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, for real time visualization of process safety cumulative risk picture.

Comparing different methods for olefin quantification in pygas and plastic pyrolysis oils: Gas chromatography-vacuum ultraviolet detection versus comprehensive gas chromatography versus bromine number titration

In steam cracking, upstream pyrolysis oil hydroprocessing, and in many downstream processes, olefinic content is key to assess process performance and process safety risk associated with highly exothermic reactions. When looking to plastic pyrolysis oils as a potential feedstock, as well as downstream products such as pyrolysis gasoline (pygas), these materials contain unsaturated hydrocarbons which are not present in fossil feedstocks. Pygas is a product of pyrolysis and exhibits a large number of chemical structural similarities with plastic pyrolysis oils, especially in terms of olefins structure. Quantification of the unsaturation content (olefins and di-olefins) is extremely important in industry, hence the focus of this manuscript. Detailed hydrocarbon analysis with flame ionization detection is inadequate to fully characterize the hydrocarbon composition of such samples, especially when peaks are closely eluting, or even co-eluting. In this study, the gas chromatography coupled to vacuum ultraviolet (GC-VUV) detection method previously described for the analysis of liquid hydrocarbon streams11M.N. Dunkle, P. Pijcke, B. Winniford, G. Bellos. Journal of Chromatography A, 1587 (2019) 239-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2018.12.026. and plastic pyrolysis oils22M.N. Dunkle, P. Pijcke, W.L. Winniford, M. Ruitenbeek, G. Bellos. Journal of Chromatography A, 1637 (2021) 461837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461837. has been compared with comprehensive gas chromatography (GC × GC) and the industry standard for olefin quantification (i.e., bromine number titration). Although based on different methodologies, a correlation between the olefin content obtained from GC-VUV and the bromine number titration method is hereby presented.

Integrated process safety and process security risk assessment of industrial cyber-physical systems in chemical plants

Aligned with the development needs of Industry 4.0, industrial cyber-physical systems (ICPSs) are widely applied to chemical facilities to facilitate so-called intelligent production processes. Meanwhile, emerging cyber-to-physical (C2P) risks are introduced due to the vulnerability of ICPSs to cyberattacks. An integrated safety and security risk assessment of chemical facilities equipped with industrial cyber-physical systems becomes challenging, particularly in performing a probabilistic/quantitative risk assessment. Targeting this gap, this study develops a systematic approach to construct accident scenarios concerning both safety hazards and security threats and performs a probabilistic risk assessment of chemical facilities considering the interdependency between safety-associated events and security-associated events. In the proposed approach, bow-tie technique is used to perform a safety risk analysis, and meanwhile, the possible dangerous scenarios caused by physical attacks and C2P attacks are also identified and integrated into the bow-tie diagram. Particularly, attack impact modeling of C2P attacks helps to identify dangerous attack modes, and a time-to-compromise (TTC) based method is used to quantify the vulnerability of ICPSs to C2P attacks. Then, a Bayesian network (BN) model is developed to perform an integrated safety and security risk analysis. An illustrative case study is used in this study to give guidance on performing integrated safety and security risk assessment of ICPSs and validate the feasibility of the proposed approach.

Energy transition technology comes with new process safety challenges and risks

This paper intends to give an impression of new technologies and processes that are in development for application to achieve decarbonization, and about which less or no experience on associated hazards exists in the process industry. More or less an exception is hydrogen technology because its hazards are relatively known and there is industry experience in handling it safely, but problems will arise when it is produced, stored, and distributed on a large scale. So, when its use spreads to communities and it becomes as common as natural gas now, measures to control the risks will be needed. And even with hydrogen, surprise findings have been shown lately, e.g., its BLEVE behavior when in a liquified form stored in a vessel heated externally. Substitutes for hydrogen are not without hazard concern either. The paper will further consider the hazards of energy storage in batteries and the problems to get those hazards under control. Relatively much attention will be paid to the electrification of the process industry. Many new processes are being researched, which given green energy, will be beneficial to reduce greenhouse gases and enhance sustainability, but of which hazards are rather unknown. Therefore, as last chapter the developments with respect to the concept of hazard identification and scenario definition will be considered in quite detail. Improvements in that respect are also being possible due to the digitization of the industry and the availability of data and considering the entire life cycle, all facilitated by the data model standard ISO 15926 with the scope of integration of life-cycle data for process plants including oil and gas production facilities. Conclusion is that the new technologies and processes entail new process and personal hazards, and that much effort is going into renewal but safety analyses are scarce. Right in a period of process renewal, attention should be focused on possibilities to implement inherently safer design.

Getting the deal done—While managing process safety risk

AbstractHistorically, chemical complexes originated from a single company that developed a large site with significant infrastructure and diverse operating units. However, as corporate objectives change, companies frequently consider alternative business models such as mergers, acquisitions, leases, and licensing agreements. These deals (referred to as mergers and acquisitions [M&A] in this paper) often result in a shift from the single owner/operator structure toward other ownership, operating, and service provider models. These models can create substantial value; however, if not properly managed, they can also increase risk. Assessing these deals to manage process safety risk is challenging; deals are often confidential, the scope is sometimes fluid, and there is limited time to complete the process safety evaluations. If significant deal risks cannot be mitigated, concerns need to be elevated to upper management so they can be addressed before the deal is signed. Contract provisions may also be needed to clarify expectations and ensure continued safe operation. This paper discusses the challenges in assessing potential M&A deals from a process safety lens and describes a work process for engaging with the M&A team, conducting preliminary screening and more detailed assessments, communicating the results, and incorporating key agreements into the contract language.

Assessment of Factors Influencing Process Safety Risk Accumulation in Petroleum Operations in Nigeria

A cross-sectional exploratory assessment of the factors that influence process safety cumulative risk for accident prevention in petroleum operations in Niger-Delta Nigeria was investigated. For the study, a purposive cum random sampling technique was deployed among selected petroleum companies operating in Niger-Delta, Nigeria. A population of 261 of asset integrity engineers/operators, process safety experts, production safety professionals in the petroleum industry in the Niger Delta were sampled using survey questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics (analysis of variance) were used for data analysis. Overall, the study established that process safety cumulative risk assessment has a significant influence in major accident prevention in petroleum operations in Niger-Delta, Nigeria. The study identified seven influencing factors that need to be considered by petroleum industries in Niger-Delta Nigeria, in assessing process safety cumulative risk: (a) preventive and corrective maintenance deviations (agreed by 100% of the respondents), (b) temporary changes (agreed by 98% of the respondents), (c) inhibits/overrides (agreed by 96% of the respondents. Also (d) 97% accounted for downgraded integrity items and (e) 100% accounted for permit to work as influencing factors. The study further showed that (f) simultaneous operations (averred by 99% of the respondents) and (g) open actions from safety review /audits (averred by 92% of the respondents) were the other influencing factors. Including these influencing factors in process safety cumulative risk assessment by the petroleum industries in the study area, will enable better operational decision making in reducing the risk of major accidents.

Research on automatic metering and pneumatic vibration conveying technology of energetic powder materials

In view of the need to improve the automation and weighing accuracy of solid energetic materials in the weighing process, to reduce the process safety risk of the automatic conveying and loading process and improve the equipment safety control ability, a weight-loss pneumatic vibration conveying device is designed, which adopts the method of weight loss measurement. Through the weighing sensor installed on the weighing platform, the weight of the materials in the weighing hopper is fed back to the controller in real time, The controller obtains the weight reduction per unit time (i.e. the actual flow) through the internal algorithm. According to the difference between the actual flow and the set flow, the controller outputs the speed signal to control the motor speed to achieve the purpose of accurate feeding. A linear pneumatic vibrating conveying chute is designed to continuously convey materials at a certain speed. The linear pneumatic vibrating chute has good linear control through the adjustment of leaf spring, amplitude and frequency, and can realize the automatic and safe measurement and transportation of solid energetic materials.

Improving process safety for the operation of Major Hazard Facilities

The discipline of process safety management has proven to be a valuable tool for assisting operators of Major Hazard Facilities (MHF) in focussing on the critically important ‘few’, with a heightened level of scrutiny than that of the ‘many’ lesser critical yet still important elements of a process system. This discipline attracts much oversight, discussion, and enthusiasm from many areas within and outside asset operations teams. Major Accident Hazards may vary in severity and probability throughout the life cycle of existing assets, it is, therefore, important to review these periodically. Clear purpose and definition of Safety Critical Elements (SCE), and in some cases Integrity Critical Elements (ICE), along with intelligent rationalisation of these to reflect the items of legitimate criticality, will allow higher precision and clarity, leading to higher confidence and an improved ability to manage genuine process safety risk. Further improvements can be made through real-time and near-time reporting through risk visualisation bowtie diagrams to ensure hazards can be managed to As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) and their status made visible to enable the most effective prioritisation of work which prioritises restoration of the most compromised threat and consequence barriers first.

Flash point of binary and ternary monoterpene mixtures: Experimental and modeling

The flash point (FP) of pure or mixtures of flammable substances is an important indicator in designing fire risk mitigation and prevention measures in the chemical and oil industry. Although FP data of fuel constituents and blends are often found in the literature, studies addressing other flammable mixtures, such as essential oils (EOs) and their constituents (terpenes and terpenoids), are scarce. EOs are aromatic, volatile liquid mixtures extracted from plant matrices that present diverse biological properties and find numerous applications in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and fragrance industries. In this work, experimental FP measurements of binary and ternary mixtures of four structurally diverse monoterpenes (carvone, eucalyptol, limonene, and linalool), widely found in different EO profiles, were carried out. Besides, the Liaw-UNIFAC model and the COSMO-RS model were used to calculate the FP data of the studied mixtures, resulting in global root-mean-square deviations (RMSD) of 2.0 K and 0.7 K, respectively. Both models deliver better predictions than the ideal approach (RMSD = 2.4 K) for the studied systems, demonstrating the importance of considering nonideal effects when estimating the FP data of terpene mixtures. These results provide essential information for accurate process safety and fire risk assessment in the EO industry.

The evergreen process hazard analysis: An essential next step

AbstractThe evergreen process hazard analysis (PHA) is an essential next step in hazard identification, risk analysis, and process safety risk management. The evergreen PHA addresses weaknesses in PHA practices that allow the facility PHA to degrade and become out‐of‐date during the periods between 5‐year revalidations. This degradation in the PHA has the potential to elevate safety risk in the facility. This paper outlines prerequisites and initial steps that support moving to evergreen PHA. Initial steps include developing the document flow process, establishing triggering events, and defining the PHA protocol for interim PHA studies. A phased approach for implementing evergreen PHA is outlined. Challenges and barriers, real and perceived, are discussed along with solutions. The implementation of a well‐designed and maintained evergreen PHA process not only supports better awareness of hazards within the facility but also allows for continual improvement of the PHA. Five‐year revalidation efforts may be reimagined and refocused to be more effective and to use resource time more efficiently. These benefits can ultimately contribute to safer and more reliable operations.

Reducing boiler operating staff? It might be legal but think through the risks!

AbstractThere's a dire shortage of qualified and licensed boiler operators. Many states have boiler operator laws that set minimum requirements for boiler operators. Many states have allowed for variances to permit remote and unattended operations that help to counter shortages of qualified operators. In some cases, unattended operations are now permitted for periods of time that do not accurately consider all of the risks. Some states require process hazard analyses (PHAs) to allow for variances to boiler operator requirements and licensing requirements. Some states use as a reference NFPA 85, the Boiler Combustion Hazards Code, and this documents reference to PHAs for unattended operations. This document's guidance does not contain many factors related to process safety practices that are important for conducting and implementing PHAs. This article seeks to provide guidance to those who are considering reducing boiler operations staff and/or allowing for remote or unattended operations. It provides a number of considerations that address process safety risk assessment practices that should be used when these kinds of decisions are made.

Building proactive organizational resilience against the risk of major process safety incidents

AbstractMajor process safety incidents remain a key challenge to all industries involved in the handling, processing, manufacturing and transport of hazardous materials, including hydrocarbons. Over the past decade, there have been a number of incidents that have led to significant changes in the manner in which major industrial incidents are perceived and managed. Many companies adopt a traditional risk‐based approach when managing hazards. Larger organizations, such as oil and gas and petrochemical companies, can benefit from a proactive enterprise risk management (ERM) approach to build organizational resilience against potential threats to the business. While general risk management practices are focused on facility/asset level risks, the ERM approach offers a broader perspective when evaluating risks faced by businesses. The approach is flexible, dynamic, and cyclic in nature and provides a structured solution to the constantly evolving business risk environment. The results are intended to provide company executives with “a boardroom preview” of the risks faced and managed by the organization. This paper highlights the practical application of a six‐step ERM framework when assessing, analyzing, and recommending mitigation measures to bridge gaps related to managing major process safety risks. In addition, a structured methodology for the development and utilization of key risk indicators intended for continuous monitoring of process safety risks at a corporate level will be shared. Lessons learned from conducting this exercise will be discussed with practical advice on how to overcome commonly faced barriers.