Nov 5, 2012

Risks of Fire & Explosion Associated With the Increasing Use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas - (Introduction)

This is an excellent introduction to the "Risks of Fire & Explosion Associated With the Increasing Use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas"  by S. M. Tauseef with detail to history and case studies.
Abstract:  Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has been in use as household fuel all over the world for several decades. Until the late 1980s, its use in the developing world was largely confined to the economically well-off strata of the society but it has since spread over a much larger catchment. The increasing use of LPG has enhanced and generalized the risk of a “boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion” (BLEVE). This is evidenced from the reports which appear now and then of a LPG cylinder having exploded in a household, some workshop, or on a bus or a train. In fact some very major tragedies have been triggered by such explosions which also set off fires and cause secondary accidents. This paper describes what BLEVEs are and how can they be controlled. The paper focuses on hazards of BLEVE in large installations which deal with LPG, and other pressure-liquefied gases and discusses the nature, mechanism, and means of control of BLEVEs.

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Fig. 2 Frequency of causative events (based on BLEVE incidents reported during 1995–2010)

    * Authors
          o S. M. Tauseef, Pondicherry University Center for Pollution Control and Environmental Engineering Pondicherry 605 014 India
          o Journal Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention
          o Online ISSN 1864-1245
          o Print ISSN 1547-7029
(go to article on publisher's site)