A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SPILLAGE HAZARDS IN THE GAS TANK STORAGE AREAS

Based on the personal field investigation and literature revision, this paper has done a quantitative analysis of the spillage hazards that are highly likely to happen with the gas production and storage in the gas-container storing areas. The present research focuses its attention on the following key points: First, we have chosen three gas tanks of the storage tank areas (i. e. 10 000 m 3 coal gas tank, 600 m 3 hydrogen tank and 200 m 3 hydrogen middle pressure tank) as the research objects. Second, we have done a careful calculation on the maximum flammable/toxic range in the wind direction by using the spillage model and Gaussian dispersion model for the hazard analysis. Third, sensitivity analysis has been done to identify the influence of the wind speed in the spillage area on the likely hazards. The primary results obtained by the authors include: (1) Among the three storage tanks, the 600 m 3 hydrogen tank has the least severe fire hazard, and the 200 m 3 hydrogen middle pressure tank has the most severe fire hazard. (2) For the 10 000 m 3 coal gas tank, the toxic hazard is more severe than the fire hazard. (3) Wind speed and the spillage area may have strong influence on the spillage hazards. As the spillage area increases, the maximum flammable range down the wind direction increases; however, as the wind speed increases, the maximum flammable range decreases. And, finally, the authors have brought about some effective safety suggestions on the preventive work.