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LECTURE 11
Eliminate Ignition Sources
Fire or Flames Typical Control
Furnaces and Boilers Spacing and Layout
Flares Spacing and Layout
Welding Work Procedures
Sparks from Tools Work Procedures
Spread from Other Areas Sewer Design, Diking, Weed
Control, Housekeeping
pressure
Repeat steps 1 & 2 above until desired oxidant concentration
is reached
Concentration after j purge cycles, vacuum and relief is given by:
j j
nL P L
y j yo yo
nH P H
y0=initial oxidant concentration
yj=final target oxidant concentration
PH=initial pressure
PL=vacuum pressure
nH=number of moles at PH
nL=number of moles at PL
Total moles of inert gas added for each cycle is constant. For j
cycles, the total inert gas is given by:
V
nN2 j PH PL
Rg T
Example 7.1
Use a vacuum purging technique to reduce the oxygen
concentration within a 1000-gal vessel to 1 ppm. Determine
the number of purges required and total nitrogen used. The
temperature is 75 degrees F, and the vessel is originally
charged with air under ambient conditions. A vacuum pump is
used that reaches 20 mm Hg absolute, and the vacuum is
subsequently relieved with pure nitrogen until the pressure
returns to 1 atm absolute
Pressure purging
Vessels can be pressure-purged by adding inert gas under
pressure
After the added gas is diffused throughout the vessel, it is
vented to the atmosphere~usually down to atmospheric
pressure
j j
nL P L
y j yo yo
n
H PH
V
nN2 j PH PL
Rg T
Vessel is initially at PL and is pressurized using a source of
pure nitrogen at PH
nL=total moles at atmospheric pressure (low pressure)
nH=total moles under pressure (high pressure)
Initial concentration of oxidant (yo) is computed after the
vessel is pressurized (1st pressurized state)
One practical advantage of pressure purging vs
vacuum purging is the potential for cycle time
reductions
The pressurization is much more rapid compared to
the relatively slow process of developing a vacuum
Also, the capacity of vacuum systems decreases
significantly as the absolute vacuum is decreased.
Pressure purging, however, uses more inert gas.
Therefore, the best purging process is selected based
on cost and performance
Example 7.2
Use a pressure purging technique to reduce the oxygen
concentration in the same vessel discussed in Example 7.1.
Determine the number of purges required to reduce the oxygen
concentration to 1 ppm using pure nitrogen at a pressure of 80
psig and at a temperature of 75 degrees F. Also, determine the
total nitrogen required
Combined pressure purging
Purging cycles for a pressure-first purge (Fig 7.3)
Purging cycles for evacuate-first purge (Fig 7.4)
j j
nL P L
y j yo yo
nH P H
Vacuum and pressure purging with
impure nitrogen
Previous equation only applies for pure nitrogen
Nitrogen 98%+ range
Remaining impurities=oxygen
PL P L
y j y j 1 yoxy 1
PH P H
Advantages & disadvantages
Pressure purging is faster because pressure
differentials are greater. However uses more gas than
vacuum purging
Vacuum purging uses less inert gas because oxygen
concentration is reduced primarily by vacuum
Combined pressure-vacuum purging~less nitrogen is
used compared to pressure purging, especially if the
initial cycle is a vacuum cycle
Sweep through purging
Adds purge gas into a vessel at one opening and withdraws the
mixed gas from the vessel to the atmosphere from another
opening
Commonly used when vessel not rated for pressure or vacuum
Purge gas is added and withdrawn at atmospheric pressure
C1 C0
Qv t V ln
C2 C0
V=vessel volume
C0=inlet oxidant concentration
Qv=volumetric flow rate
t=time
Reduce oxidant concentration from C1 to C2
Example 7.3
A storage vessel contains 100% air by volume and must be
inerted with nitrogen until the oxygen concentration is below
1.25% by volume. The vessel volume is 1000ft3. how much
nitrogen must be added:
Relaxation Time
The time for a charge to dissipate by leakage
The lower the conductivity / the higher the dielectric
constant, the longer the time
Controlling
Static Electricity
Reduce rate of charge generation
Reduce flow rates
BONDING
Explosion Proof Equipment
All electrical devices are inherent ignition sources