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The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING A LEVEL 3 MODULE, AUTUMN SEMESTER 2010-2011 SAFETY ENGINEERING Time allowed TWO Hours

Candidates may complete the front cover of their answer book and sign their desk card but must NOT write anything else until the start of the examination period is announced Answer QUESTION 1 and 2 in SECTION A and TWO questions from SECTION B Only silent, self contained calculators with a Single-Line display or Dual-Line display are permitted in this examination. Dictionaries are not allowed with one exception. Those whose first language is not English may use a standard translation dictionary to translate between that language and English provided that neither language is the subject of this examination. Subject specific translation dictionaries are not permitted. No electronic devices capable of storing and retrieving text, including electronic dictionaries, may be used. DO NOT turn examination paper over until instructed to do so

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2 SECTION A Answer ALL questions 1.

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A reactor running with an exothermic reaction is at risk of thermal runaway whenever its cooling system fails. In the event of LOW FLOW of cooling water or HIGH TEMPERATURE in the reactor, a dump valve is trip-activated to empty the entire reactor content into a quench vessel. (a) Draw the process and instrumentation diagram (include the trip system in the diagram). [5 marks]

(b)

Construct a fault tree for the top event Reactor Runaway. [5 marks]

(c)

Calculate the frequency of the top event Reactor Runaway. [10 marks]

Additional information: Failure rates, R Pump failure Cooling system blockage Supply tank empty Dump valve fails shut Low flow trip failure High temperature trip failure Formula Failure rate, = Here, t is time
(ln R ) t

Per Year 0.20 0.01 0.10 0.05 0.20 0.20

2.

With the aid of an illustration, describe the multi-causation theory of accidents. Based on this multi-causation theory, explain the rationale for implementing a safety & health system in a workplace. [10 marks]

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3 SECTION B Answer TWO questions 3. (a)

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Define the terms Hazard and Risk in the context of OSH risk management. [5 marks]

(b)

Name three types of hazards that are commonly present in a typical chemical laboratory. [3 marks]

(c)

Explain the concept of hierarchy of control in the context of OSH risk management. Give an example of risk control measure for each category of hierarchy of control with respect to one of the hazards identified in (b). [12 marks]

4.

Figure Q4 shows the process flow diagram of a methyl isocyanate (MIC) storage tank.

Figure Q4 (a) Explain how the MIC vapour release can occur? [10 marks]

(b)

Explain the safety system that prevents the MIC vapour release. [10 marks]

Additional Information: Boiling point of MIC is 39.1 oC. J13SEN-E1 Turn over

4 5.

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A storage tank containing 100 kg of propane and 10 kg of methane (at 25 oC) ruptures suddenly during a thin overcast night which exhibited a wind speed of 2 m/s. (a) Determine the lower flammable limit of the mixture in the unit of mg/m3. [10 marks] Determine the time after the release at which the vapour cloud encounters with an ignition source located at 100 m away from the release point, would cause a flame just to propagate to the centre of the cloud. [10 marks]

(b)

Additional Information: Molecular weight of propane is 44.096 g/mol; molecular weight of methane is 16.043 g/mol 1 Lower flammable limit of mixture: LFL mix = x i LFL i 1 Upper flammable limit of mixture : UFL mix = xi UFL i Conversion of concentration: Dispersion coefficient:

T (K ) C P(atm) M ( g / gmol) x = y = 0.04 x 0.92 , z = 0.10 x 0.65 < C > ppm = 0.08205

mg / m 3

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