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Profit from Process Safety Pointers eHANDBOOK
Profit from Process Safety
Pointers
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 2
TABLE OF CONTENTSProcess Safety: Get Ready for 10 Changes 6Ten emerging trends will reshape how chemical makers approach and manage safety
PSM Demands Better Maintenance Planning 14Follow some pointers to succeed at sites covered by the statute.
Mitigate Explosions in Spray Drying System 20Available mitigation approaches depend on the spray dryer system and design limitations
Additional Resources 28
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 4
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 6
The practice of safety in the chemical
industry has changed and matured
significantly over the past several
decades and will continue to evolve. Taking
a glimpse into the future based on current
trends is a good place to start a dialogue
on what those changes might be. Preparing
for the future is never an exact science but
even an inexact attempt is better than no
preparation at all. That said, let me outline
some trends I see based on my extensive
consulting and field experience in chemical
safety that might impact you.
First, and possibly foremost, safety excel-
lence is growing in its critical importance
to the chemical industry. Safety mishaps
always have been an expense and negative
influence on production — but in the future
they also may provide the basis for more
and more stringent legislative and regulato-
ry actions. The past decade has seen safety
regulatory agencies turn from a cooperative
stance to an enforcement mentality, in-
creasingly focusing on catching and punish-
ing the worst offenders rather than encour-
aging the best performers.
Regardless of any changes the Trump ad-
ministration makes, organizations will seek
to stay off the radar screen of regulatory
agencies. The best way to do this is to have
excellent lagging indicators for safety. Even
though we are discovering the limitations
of lagging indicators in helping to improve
performance, they remain the holy metric
to regulators. The very nature of lagging
indicators will tempt some chemical manu-
facturers to manipulate the numbers; regu-
lators will look closely for such issues. Orga-
Process Safety: Get Ready for 10 ChangesTen emerging trends will reshape how chemical makers approach and manage safety
By Terry L. Mathis, ProAct Safety
www.chemicalprocessing.com
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 7
nizational leaders will begin to take a more
active interest in such metrics as they hear
of others in their ranks being punished for
offenses they once could blame on subor-
dinates. Safety performance and measure-
ment will become an issue for the board-
room as well as the safety department.
Savvy leaders will turn to their engineers
and other subject matter experts (SMEs) for
advice on improving performance to shape
lagging indicators.
The Trump administration most likely won’t
reduce the emphasis on safety but will
change the methods for achieving it. Expect
regulatory agencies to reemphasize former
programs such as the Voluntary Protection
Program and others that encourage a part-
nership between regulators and organiza-
tions to further safety efforts and technolo-
gies. Such programs increase the positive
reinforcement for excellence and reserve
punishment for more willful and flagrant of-
fenders. Any changes from the new admin-
istration won’t be immediate and lawmakers
could resist them, leading to even more
delays. So, organizations can hope for a re-
laxing of punitive measures in the future but
should stay mindful of current realities.
OTHER KEY DRIVERSAnother important impetus for an enhanced
emphasis on safety will come from organi-
zational leaders who will focus more seri-
ously on so-called “major operational risks”
(MORs). These risks will include safety
issues but also critical environmental and
financial threats. MORs are the risks that po-
tentially could cost the whole business. As
such, they head the priority list for stock-
holders, directors of publicly held firms and
owners of private enterprises. Very few
organizations turn over the management of
these risks to the safety department. Some
assign top executives to manage each of
them. Others are forming teams or com-
mittees to oversee the risk management
efforts. Chemical engineers will serve as key
members of such committees; their tech-
nical knowledge is crucial to successfully
manage MORs.
Insurance companies are driving the focus
on MORs as well. As they sense the high po-
tential impact of such events on traditional
coverage, umbrella coverage and public
Preparing for the future is never an exact science
but even an inexact attempt is better than no
preparation at all.
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 8
relations, insurers are attempting to help
their covered organizations protect them-
selves. As of now, most major insurance
carriers don’t agree on a clear single path to
such protection — but a growing list of sug-
gested steps is beginning to show similari-
ties. Many of these steps closely resemble
or exactly match safety efforts. This expan-
sion of safety efforts from simply prevent-
ing occupational injuries to averting other
high-impact events will have one of two
effects: It will either expand the traditional
definition of safety and greatly impact the
scope of the safety department, or it will
change the organizational design of overall
risk management, bringing it closer to the
boardroom and further from simply being a
delegated assignment.
Additionally, more major players in the
chemical industry will insist on safety ex-
cellence from their contractors and suppli-
ers. Most of these chemical makers either
are very good at safety or have convinced
themselves they are. As such, they don’t
want to dilute their safety programs and
cultures by mixing in contractors and sup-
pliers with lower levels of safety perfor-
mance. Good safety programs and metrics
will become not just desirable but necessary
to get contracts with the big boys. Major
petrochemical firms will use safety as an ad-
ditional screening criterion to select those
with whom to contract. Some already are
doing this on a lower level — such screening
will increase and become more stringent. In
the next few years, no other area of excel-
lence will compensate for poor performance
in safety when bidding on projects or sup-
plying major firms.
Middlemen who have placed themselves
between the major players and the contrac-
tors will become the absolute gatekeepers
for contractors. Their already strong posi-
tion will grow even stronger as the major
firms divest themselves of internal expertise
and completely outsource the screening of
contractors. Many of these companies also
will begin to require their gatekeepers not
only to select the contractors but also to
orient and train them as well. This already
has begun and has the potential for either
improvement or disaster. It remains to be
seen exactly how the companies that are
screening contractors will handle the ad-
ditional responsibilities their clients want
them to assume. However, this could mean
chemical contractors may have a new set of
standards to address in the near future.
MAJOR UNIVERSAL SAFETY TRENDSIn addition to the growing importance of
safety and the expansion of preventative ef-
forts from traditional safety to MORs, seven
other trends are emerging.
1. The very definition of safety excellence
will undergo reframing from zero ac-
cidents to sustainable and repeatable
value. Lagging indicators won’t disap-
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 9
pear but leaders will realize excellence is
in the process that produces it and not
just in the results. The goal of safety will
be defined as adding value to the safety
efforts. Both the use of new “big data”
analysis and traditional trial-and-error
will determine the algorithms between
value-add activities and results. The
leading indicators safety profession-
als are seeking will turn out to be those
activities that add value to the safety ef-
forts. The definition of safety excellence
and the approach to achieve it will move
significantly from reactive to proactive.
2. The increasing importance of safety will
drive organizational leaders to move from
the traditional programmatic approach
to a strategic one. While the detail work
of safety will continue to be delegated,
the strategy will not. Leaders will find it
necessary to develop safety strategies to
synergize with business strategies rather
than compete with them. The proverbial
“production versus safety” battle will be
fought in the boardroom by senior leaders
rather than on the plant floor by workers
and supervisors.
Such strategy will result in some basic
changes to organizational structure.
What was once the almost exclusive
duty of the safety department will be
divided among other organizational
silos according to its nature. This means
safety engineering will become the
major responsibility of the engineering
department. Safety department person-
nel will serve as SMEs to advise engi-
neering about regulatory details but the
real work of design, preventative main-
tenance and standard operating proce-
dures development will fall back to the
technical experts who best understand
the processes.
3. Organizational leaders will provide
safety leadership, not delegate it to
safety SMEs. (See “Process Safety
Begins in the Boardroom.”) The work
still will be delegated but not the
leadership. The development of safety
strategy mentioned above will be the
re-entry point of leaders into safety.
Addressing MORs also will be viewed
as a management responsibility that
can’t be delegated completely. Leaders
will break through the silos that have
divided safety from production; the
potential for truly “safe production” will
begin to become a reality.
4. Safety professionals will progress from
grunt (doing all the work) to guardian
(managing the work) to guru (becom-
ing the advisor and resource for the
line managers and supervisors who will
manage safety as a part of produc-
tion). As leaders take back the strate-
gic responsibilities of safety, the daily
oversight of safety in the workplace will
begin to be more a part of mainstream
supervision. As this happens, safety
professionals will evolve from managers
and supervisors to SMEs and advisors to
both leaders and supervisors. Likewise,
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 10
some engineers will find themselves ac-
tive members of interdisciplinary safety
committees or teams that will replace
the traditional safety-only departments.
Safety will become an aspect of every-
one’s job and will find its way more and
more into job descriptions and respon-
sibilities. This not only will impact en-
gineering but also production, training,
logistics, human resources and other
functions whose expertise is a necessary
part of safety excellence.
5. A new kind of safety consultant will
emerge. Such specialists will offer cus-
tomized solutions rather than a universal
program; their role will include modi-
fying and tailoring many existing pro-
grams rather than scrapping them and
starting over from scratch.
As leaders become more strategic, they
necessarily will become less program-
matic. They will not shop for the newest
consultant-developed program but will
look for strategic partners with corpo-
rate problem-solving skills. Improve-
ment efforts will need to be fit for pur-
pose and systematically woven into the
fabric of the culture. Consultants who
can fill this new role will work more with
the C-suite and less with the site safety
professionals. They will need to be busi-
ness savvy and multidisciplinary.
6. Safety programs will begin to change
their focus from viewing the worker as
a problem to be controlled, to being the
customer whose needs should be met.
As the mindset changes from zero ac-
cidents to adding value, organizations
will realize workers are the customers of
safety to whom value should be added.
It still will be necessary to comply with
regulatory guidelines, which, in the past,
has resulted in some ineffective and inef-
ficient training activities. However, even
these required “refresher” trainings are
being restructured to both meet regula-
tory requirements and provide value to
workers. Organizations are realizing that
if they already are taking workers off the
job for training, they should make the
most of this time. The ability to custom-
ize computer-based training will facilitate
this. The same old required training will
truly add value to employees in the near
future as it already does at leading-edge
organizations.
In addition to the growing importance of safety
and the expansion of preventative efforts from
traditional safety to MORs, seven other trends
are emerging.
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 11
7. Safety metrics will evolve from lagging
indicators to leading indicators to a true
measure of value added at each stage
resembling a balanced scorecard used
by financial managers. (For insights on
potential leading indicators, see: “Bol-
ster Your Lead Process Safety Metrics.”)
The search for leading indicators is a
movement from one-dimensional to
two-dimensional thinking. However, the
world remains three-dimensional. As
organizations discover what adds value
and includes them in their list of leading
indicators, they also will discover what
drives the value-adding indicators and
what intermediate improvements lead
to lagging-indicator gains. These inter-
mediate steps also will be measured; the
result will be a true three-dimensional
balanced scorecard for safety.
SAFETY CULTUREThere’s been a lot of talk for years about the
need for chemical engineering to become
more engaged in the soft skills of culture
building and move away from the strictly
technical approach to safety. I could not
disagree with this more if it were twice as
wrong. The chemical industry has a culture
of safety that, in many respects, is superior
to those who have taken a more touchy-
feely approach. The demands of the indus-
try and the technical skills of key people in
it dictate a very distinct cultural model to
succeed at safety. All successful cultures
adapt to the survival demands of their
environmental realities. Just as indigenous
people living near the Arctic Circle devel-
oped a different culture than those on tropi-
cal islands, chemical workers developed
a different culture than that of workers in
other manufacturing sectors. No culture is
universally superior — or interchangeable
with another.
The nature of the chemical industry’s
safety issues requires more technically
savvy workers. This doesn’t mean they can
neglect to address universal issues such
as trips and falls. It means they have more
critical safety issues that should be priori-
tized as such. A “techier” culture doesn’t
have to be less humanistic or caring; it
simply must be more task- and process-
oriented. Astute leaders are recognizing
this and allowing their safety cultures to
strive for personal best versus some uni-
versal model of perfection. This approach
will continue and spread to organizations
in other industries.
PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENTWithout getting into detailed technical as-
pects of process safety management (PSM),
three important trends will emerge in the
near future:
1. PSM will continue to make almost dizzy-
ing technical advances. Computerized
controls and other technologies will
make keeping up with PSM more like
keeping up with information technology.
Organizations will be in constant flux
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 12
just understanding the changes, much
less taking advantage of all of them.
2. Organizations outside the chemical
industry will seek to emulate PSM and
adapt its primary principles and meth-
ods. They will offer to partner with
chemical companies to learn how to
do so and will look for other technolo-
gies or methodologies they can offer in
return. Partnerships between dissimilar
and non-competing organizations will
form — with the potential to create
breakthroughs in safety excellence for
both parties.
3. PSM will be viewed as the primary tool
to address technical aspects of the
above-mentioned MORs. Catastrophic
events always have been expensive and
dangerous to organizational survival.
Averting them will be even more criti-
cal in the future. Leaders will give more
attention and resources to ensure their
organizations don’t produce unplanned
major events. Regulatory agencies will
focus on organizations that make the
news with their disasters and that focus
will be increasingly punitive. Negative
coverage by news agencies will add to
the regulatory impact. The best defense
against such events will be prevention;
PSM will take the lead in that effort.
BE PREPAREDForward-looking organizations should strive
to identify major trends that could impact
the viability of their safety efforts. The lack
of a crystal ball with exact details shouldn’t
detract from that effort. A few major trends
merit attention and likely will have some
degree of impact in the foreseeable future.
Safety already has grown significantly in
importance and will continue to do so.
Being pretty good at safety may not be
good enough for very long. Astute leaders
will assess the potential impact of the issues
discussed here and develop future-centered
safety strategies that cross over organiza-
tional silos and address safety holistically.
For the less astute, the future always will be
a dark journey full of unpleasant and poten-
tially fatal surprises. For the prepared, the
future will be a series of opportunities to
take the lead in business and drive safety
excellence to new heights.
TERRY L. MATHIS is founder and CEO of ProAct
Safety, The Woodlands, Texas. E-mail him at tmathis@
proactsafety.com.
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 14
The term OSHA 29CFR, 1910.119 can
provoke angst in maintenance plan-
ners at chemical plants and other
industrial facilities. Maintenance planning
is quite detailed in any such facility — but
those sites subject to this process safety
management (PSM) statute must contend
with significantly increased complexity of
planning. Following the spirit and letter of
the statute are extremely important for two
primary reasons: keeping plant personnel
safe and avoiding potential government
fines. Although on the surface these seem
like separate issues, connections exist be-
tween personnel safety and potential fines.
While the PSM portion of the regulations
of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) is far reaching, one
part affects the maintenance planner more
than the rest. That person has the important
task of screening the incoming requested
work for key words such as “change,”
“modify,” “add” or “delete.” In addition, the
planner must pay special attention to the
repair or replacement of equipment to pre-
clude a mistake that could cause a safety,
environmental or equipment issue. This is
crucial for ensuring the safety of techni-
cians, protecting the environment, and
avoiding collateral damage to equipment;
miscues in these areas can cost a company
dearly. Doing everything I can as a mainte-
nance planner to give the technician all the
tools necessary to complete a job safely is
something I always will be most proud of in
my career.
Very few facilities I have worked in and
around as a work management subject mat-
PSM Demands Better Maintenance PlanningFollow some pointers to succeed at sites covered by the statute.
By Roger Corley, Life Cycle Engineering
www.chemicalprocessing.com
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 15
ter expert fall under the OSHA PSM statute.
Most of them don’t do a particularly great
job of managing changes within their plants.
At plants that must comply with this statute,
OSHA is very clear in the requirements for
management of change (MOC). It’s simple
and complex at the same time. The simple
part is that any change not made “in kind”
requires initiation of a MOC process. The
complex part is determining exactly what
“in kind” means. For example, some may
consider that replacing a 3-in. 300-psi ball
valve used for level control with another 3-in.
300-psi ball valve qualifies as a replacement
in kind. However, if the valves’ Cv (flow coef-
ficient), control mechanism or other factors
don’t match, that may not be so.
I was fortunate to work for a long time in a
facility that took this statute very seriously;
it produced chlorine, phosgene, acids and
caustic. The plant required process engi-
neers to examine even a set point alteration
on a vessel level or process flow change to
determine the upstream and downstream
effects and any unintended consequences
of those changes on the process.
Working in a chemical plant that produced
lethal material caused a paradigm shift in
my thinking, making me very risk averse. So
now, no matter where I go, I view processes
through my OSHA 1910.119 eyes. Every site,
whether or not subject to the OSHA statute,
can benefit from the lessons learned from
working in that environment. The mainte-
nance planner should ask the same ques-
tions. Verifying drawings are correct, en-
suring equipment is replaced “in kind,” and
confirming the computerized maintenance
management system (CMMS) captures the
correct history will make your workplace a
bit safer every day.
PRACTICAL IDEASSo, you’re a planner in a PSM-covered facil-
ity. How does the statute affect what you
must do? Let’s walk through a typical pro-
cess for planning a maintenance job.
1. What jobs should you plan? The simple
answer is that all maintenance jobs can
benefit from some level of planning.
Replacing a reactor vessel obviously
requires a much more detailed job plan
than, say, swapping a manual discharge
valve on a pump. However, you must
look at both these jobs through your
PSM glasses to ensure that things like
material of construction, specifications,
size, etc., are considered before any work
takes place. Even something as simple
as replacing a light bulb deserves some
rudimentary planning: you should verify
a bulb of the right wattage and base size
is specified and available, and arrange for
a ladder or stool, if necessary.
2. Is it really necessary to visit every job
prior to planning? It is well known as
a best practice to go to every site of
a planned job before putting together
the job plan. Visiting the job site allows
you, as a planner, to see for yourself
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 16
what the job entails. Putting eyes on
the job can answer many questions that
can’t get answered otherwise. On one
occasion, while coaching a planner at
a refinery, I was working with him on a
particular job of replacing catalyst in a
reactor tower. It was a very complicated
job. During the process, I told him we
needed to climb to the top to verify
the flange sizes and fastener sizes and
types. He argued the equipment draw-
ings contained all this information. I
replied that experience shows drawings
don’t always reflect field changes during
construction. So, we climbed the 80 feet
to the top. The flanges were exactly like
the drawing — but the fasteners weren’t.
A couple of Class-150 flanges some-
how got heavy hex fasteners that didn’t
agree with the drawing. If we hadn’t
looked at the job, the craftspersons
would have made the same climb with
the wrong-sized tools, a waste of their
time. Fortunately, we did the right thing
and took the next steps for a situation
like this: checking the specifications,
allowing for the correct size fasteners,
and ensuring the drawing is updated if
needed. An engineering review may be
necessary as well.
3. What “tools” does a planner need? I
put tools in quotation marks because
some facilities I visit have a collective
bargaining agreement that precludes
the planner or supervisor from turning
wrenches (using tools). Such facilities
sometimes require different arrange-
ments to ensure compliance with the
collective bargaining agreement. This
might include assigning a tradesper-
son to accompany the planner in case
removing a guard or inspection plate
is necessary to properly plan the job.
Regardless, a planner should have some
very basic supplies for correctly creat-
ing a job plan.
• Digital camera. A picture is worth
1,000 words. So, take a good digital
camera with a flash and zoom. An
intrinsically safe (explosion-proof)
camera might be necessary in some
cases; this could be expensive — but is
a necessary tool.
• Digital voice recorder. My single most
important tool in planning jobs is a
digital voice recorder. Wet weather
doesn’t mean we plan jobs from our
desks. Taking a paper pad or job-
planning template into the rain may be
a bad idea but the voice recorder will
work there. Using the recorder to cap-
ture important details about the job
absolutely will make your job easier. It
will free up your hands to carry rags to
wipe off displays or grease from data
plates. Listening to the recording back
in the office can remind you to check
certain aspects of the job that you
might skip on paper. Of course, you’ll
need an intrinsically safe recorder in
explosive areas.
• Micrometer. Digital or analog, a mi-
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 17
crometer is an important tool to
measure flange thicknesses, fastener
sizes and many other items that a tape
measure can’t measure accurately.
• Long tape measure. Pipe typically
comes in 20-ft random lengths, so
take at least a 25-ft measure.
• Magnet. You can use this to determine
if the material of construction is fer-
rous or not. Of course, it won’t dif-
ferentiate among aluminum, titanium
or stainless steel — but can help you
get on the right track. If the metal is
painted, you can’t tell what it is but
the magnet sees through the paint.
• Flashlight and miner’s light. You have
to be able to see what the job is to
plan it correctly.
• Telescoping mirror. This is essential for
looking under and around places you
can’t see otherwise.
Many other tools may help you improve
your ability to plan jobs correctly. I
used to carry paint remover, a screw-
driver and a wire brush because paint-
ers invariably cover the data plates on
pumps. Remember to write a notifica-
tion for the painters to replace what
you removed, especially if the environ-
ment is corrosive.
4. What am I looking for? As a planner in
a PSM-covered facility, you’re the first
line of defense in recognizing when a
MOC process should be initiated. Experi-
ence should make you adept at knowing
what to examine and why. As I men-
tioned earlier, notifications with words
like change, delete, modify, install, etc.,
should raise an alarm for you to look
at the job particularly closely. Even a
job request that says “replace valve”
should remind you that “replace” im-
plicitly means “in kind.” Use resources
like manufacturers’ websites, your local
engineering department, drawings (as
long as they’re current) and, of course,
your work order history and preplanned
work order library.
5. So, is that it? Absolutely not. The
practical tips listed here aren’t a substi-
tute for experience and training. Vet-
eran planners at a facility should im-
part knowledge to less-seasoned staff.
Having the entire planning staff located
in the same area or office can expedite
information exchange. However, I’d be
remiss not to note that an experienced
planner doesn’t necessarily follow best
practices. So, it’s essential that the plan-
ners are trained in a proven program
and held accountable to best manage-
ment practices.
FINES AND OTHER PUNISHMENTDuring my maintenance planning career, I
have had the unfortunate task of dealing
with the repercussions of injuries and even a
fatality. Generally speaking, if investigators
come to your site, they will interview the
maintenance planner. As the “super user” of
the CMMS, the planner will be asked to pull
data from the system so the investigators
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 18
accurately can determine the cause of the
incident. Some things such as paperwork
errors or clerical mistakes can incur small
fines or none at all but can lead to action
items to make corrections. Something more
serious such as willfully hiding or otherwise
withholding information can prompt larger
fines. More and more often, those respon-
sible face jail time.
In a perfect world, fear of fines and jail time
shouldn’t be the motivation for “doing the
right thing.” Instead, being risk averse and
correcting these problems by careful exami-
nation should preclude “the interview” from
a regulator. As a maintenance planner, I
always have considered the most important
aspect of my job to be the safety of those
technicians that I planned for and worked
with every day.
ROGER CORLEY is a work management and materials
management subject matter expert at Life Cycle Engi-
neering, Charleston, SC. Email him at [email protected]
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GOT COMBUSTIBLE
DUST?Call REMBE® – Your Explosion
Protection SpecialistProtection Specialist
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www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 20
Drying systems are used in process-
es to reduce the moisture content
of powders. The inherent design
of any dryer system handling combustible
dust lends itself to the potential for an ex-
plosion. A common type of dryer utilized is
a spray dryer. These dryer systems atomize
liquid material into powder through nozzles
that spray material into a chamber where
heat is introduced through an airstream.
Common materials used in spray dryers
range from pharmaceuticals to pigments.
Loss history shows us that over 20% of the
spray dryer explosions FM Global reviewed
occurred in the chemical industry. Dryer
systems typically include some type of dust
collection through a single or series of air
material separators. Cyclones can be used
to collect larger or heavier particles. Bag
style dust collectors are sometimes utilized
for finer or lighter particles. Secondary dry-
ing is also sometimes done using a fluidized
bed dryer in conjunction with a spray dryer.
For a dust explosion to occur five elements
are needed (Figure 1). Three of the elements
are common with the fire triangle: oxygen,
fuel (dust at an appropriate concentra-
tion), and an ignition source. The other two
elements of the explosion pentagon are
suspension of the dust and a confined area.
Spray dryer chambers and ancillary equip-
ment have four of the five elements present
at all times. The only element missing is an
ignition source.
IGNITION SOURCES IN DRYER SYSTEMSIgnition sources can present themselves
through a variety of ways in a spray dryer.
Mitigate Explosions in Spray Drying SystemAvailable mitigation approaches depend on the spray dryer system and design limitations
By Jason Krbec, CV Technology
www.chemicalprocessing.com
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 21
Hot surfaces can occur from
bearings on valves, friction
from atomizer wheels, and
exothermal reactions in
dust deposits. Accumula-
tions of dust can build up
and in some cases cause
self-ignition. Sometimes
dust deposits can increase
in temperature then be-
come disturbed, which re-
leases hot material to areas
of the dryer with suspended
dust. The minimum auto
ignition temperature (MAIT)
of a dust — both in layer
and cloud form — should be
known for dust being han-
dled in a spray dryer. Static
electricity can be another
source of ignition in dryers
that handle dusts with low
minimum ignition energies
(MIE). Loss history shows
that overheating is the most
common source of ignition
in spray dryers. FM Global
investigated 18 spray dryer
events in which 8 were at-
tributed to overheating.
DRYER SYSTEM MITIGATION DESIGN APPROACHThe most comprehensive
standard/guideline pub-
lished regarding combusti-
ble dust hazards associated
with spray dryer systems
is VDI 2273, Part 7. 2. This
guideline details the haz-
ards for the different types
of spray dryer systems
and addresses some of the
DUST EXPLOSION PENTAGONFigure 1. Spray dryer chambers and ancillary equipment have four of the five elements present at all times.
HAZARDOUS ZONESFigure 2. A zone analysis identifies hazardous areas in a vertical flow spray dryer system.
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 22
more controversial design issues regard-
ing spray dryer protection. Dryer systems
can have hazardous areas identified using
a zone analysis as shown in Figure 2. Zone
20 sections of the dryer are considered to
have a combustible dust cloud present at all
times. These areas are typical to the dryer
chamber and air material separators. Zone
21 areas are locations where lower dust con-
centrations may be present at times but is
still considered a hazardous area. These ar-
eas are typical to fluidized bed dryers. Zone
22 areas are considered to not have hazard-
ous amounts of dust present. Air intakes
and clean air sides of the bag house filters
are typical Zone 22 areas. A proper dust
hazard analysis (DHA) as required by NFPA
652 can incorporate this zone approach so
the areas in any dryer system that require
safeguards can be easily identified.
Some research supports the concept that
the minimum explosive concentration (MEC)
of a combustible dust is not present in a
dryer system. However, the issue with this
approach is it does not take into account up-
set conditions and the realities of spray dryer
operations. Dust layers becoming disturbed,
issues with the spray nozzles, and airflow
changes can all provide local increases in
dust concentration in the dryer chamber that
can exceed the minimum explosive concen-
tration resulting in a deflagration. Another
theory is that the optimal dust concentration
is not reached inside the dryer chamber. This
reduced dust concentration can allow for a
more economical explosion mitigation solu-
tion. Typical dust concentrations in a spray
dryer chamber may be as low as 100 to 250
g/m3. The air material separators in the dryer
system see much larger concentrations and
should not be considered for a reduced con-
centration approach.
NFPA 68 Standard on Explosion Protec-
tion by Deflagration Venting provides some
allowance to take a partial volume design
approach, which is considered for calculat-
ing the required explosion vent area. This
approach has the stipulation that the dryer
system is not recirculating dry product
back through the dryer chamber. Also, the
required vent area must be located in the
section of the dryer considered the partial
volume.
INHERENTLY SAFER DESIGNSManagement systems and process monitor-
ing are two ways to improve the inherent
safety of a spray dryer system. Spray dryer
systems with hygienic requirements are of-
ten cleaned at regular intervals which limits
the possibility of dust deposits becoming
a source of ignition. Process monitoring of
spray dryer systems also is critical for proper
operation; they provide another level of safe-
ty to prevent dust explosions. Temperature
monitoring throughout a dryer system can
help provide an early warning to a problem
that may ignite dust clouds or cause fires.
Interlocks to shut off the product feed and
supply/extract fans can help limit fires when
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 23
increased temperatures are
present. A layer of protec-
tion analysis (LOPA) is a
valid approach to identify
layers of protection of dryer
systems including mitigation
techniques.
EXPLOSION VENTINGExplosion vents are the
most simplistic mitigation
technology for protecting
spray dryers. These vents
need to be located on the
lower portion of the dryer
where the spray-dried ma-
terial turns from a slurry to
a powder. Explosion vents
open at a designed pressure
and relieve both the pres-
sure and flame. The flame
path must be accounted
for in the safe design of an
explosion venting solution.
Vents can be exhausted
outdoors through ductwork.
It’s important to consider
the effects the temperature
differential of the outside
elements will have on the
explosion vent. Insulation
on the explosion vents
often is needed to prevent
condensation inside the
dryer chamber. The insula-
tion and duct design both
need to be included in the
venting calculations as they
require a correction to the
required vent area. A partial
volume approach to design-
ing explosion vents may
be appropriate. NFPA 68
provides proper guidance
on partial volume designs.
Venting of the air material
separators on the dryer sys-
tem often is a best practice
approach. However, the
design and location of cy-
clone separators for spray
dryer systems may limit
the possibilities of venting
solutions. Often, chemical
suppression or flameless
venting are better options
for cyclone mitigation.
FLAMELESS VENT INSTALLATIONFigure 3. Flameless vents use a flame arrestor constructed of metal mesh that allows pressure to relieve but quenches the flame through energy absorption.
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 24
FLAMELESS VENTINGOften, explosion venting is
not possible as a result of
the limitations in spray dryer
system layouts. Flameless
venting offers the advan-
tages of an explosion vent
without the concern of the
resultant flame ball. Flame-
less vents (Figure 3) utilize a
flame arrestor on the ex-
haust of an explosion vent.
The flame arrestor is con-
structed of metal mesh that
allows pressure to relieve
but quenches the flame
through energy absorption.
However, flameless vents
are not without limitations
when it comes to spray
dryer systems. All flame-
less vents are limited in the
volume of a combustible
atmosphere they are able
to mitigate. Dryer cham-
bers may be too large to
economically protect using
flameless vents. Air mate-
rial separators and fluidized
bed dryers are ideal loca-
tions for flameless venting.
CHEMICAL SUPPRESSION Chemical suppression for
dryer mitigation is perhaps
the most universal solution
across different dryer appli-
cations. Suppression sys-
tems (Figure 4) consist of
timely detection and con-
trols to initiate rapid sup-
pressant delivery from pres-
surized bottles. Detection
can be done using pressure,
thermal, or radiant energy
detectors. The tempera-
tures present in a dryer sys-
tem can pose a challenge
for these detectors and
design limitations should be
considered. Suppressant is
typically in the form of dry
chemical powder propelled
CHEMICAL SUPPRESSIONFigure 4. Suppression systems on spray dryer chambers consist of timely detection and controls to initiate rapid suppressant delivery from pressurized bottles.
www.chemicalprocessing.com
Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 25
by pressurized nitrogen.
Suppressant bottles range
in size from 2.5L up to 50L
in volume. Larger 50L sup-
pressant bottles provide the
most economical means of
suppression on dryer cham-
bers by utilizing less bottles
to get the required amount
of suppressant delivered
into the volume. Telescopic
suppressant bottle nozzles
that mount flush with vessel
and duct walls are critical to
avoid abrasion and prod-
uct build up in spray dryer
systems. Unlike venting
solutions, chemical suppres-
sion systems require routine
maintenance to sustain the
reliability level needed for
proper mitigation. Typically
circuit testing and detector
calibration is done annually
at a minimum. Proper safety
training for plant operators
is must in facilities that have
suppression systems. Lock
out tag out procedures
must be followed to pre-
vent accidental discharge
during maintenance and
cleaning operations of the
dryer system.
ISOLATIONChemical isolation (Figure
5) is another important ele-
ment in explosion mitiga-
tion for spray dryer sys-
tems. Components of the
dryer system are connected
through pipes and duct-
work that can lead to the
propagation of a flame front
CHEMICAL ISOLATIONFigure 5. Isolation limits the effects of a deflagration by providing a mechanical or chemical barrier to the vessel where the event initiated.
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Process Safety eHANDBOOK: Profit from Process Safety Pointers 26
throughout the entire dryer system. The
concept of isolation is to limit the effects
of a deflagration by providing a mechani-
cal or chemical barrier to the vessel where
the event initiated. Mechanical isolation is
possible using explosion isolation pinch or
slide gate valves. Back flap valves and floats
valves tend not to be favorable for dryers
systems due to potential product build up
issues. Larger scale spray dryer systems
often have big pipelines and limited instal-
lation locations making mechanical isolation
more difficult. Chemical isolation is often
the most practical and economical solution
to address the challenges of isolation in
larger dryer systems.
CONCLUSIONSpray dryer systems propose some unique
design challenges for explosion mitigation.
While the dust concentration is often re-
duced in these systems they have inherent
ignition issues. Explosion mitigation is
critical for spray dryer systems handling
combustible dusts. Loss history in the
chemical industry shows these systems can
contribute to large losses of production,
injuries and even deaths. Process monitoring
should be incorporated into any dryer
system mitigation solution. A variety of
mitigation approaches are available depend-
ing on the type of spray dryer system and
design limitations. Considerations should be
given to the temperature requirements,
designs to limit product build up, and opera-
tor training for mitigation solutions utilized
on spray dryer systems.
JASON KRBEC, PE, is engineering manager for CV
Technology, and a technical committee member of
the NFPA 652 committee amongst others. He can be
reached at [email protected].
REFERENCES1. Febo, Jr, Henry, Processes for Drying
Powders – Hazards and Solutions
2. European Guideline VDI 2263-7, Dust
Fires and Dust Explosions-Hazards, Evalu-
ation and Protection Measures,
3. Siwek, R., van Wingerden, K., Hansen,
O.R., Sutter, G., Kubainsky, C.,
Schwartzbach, C., Giger, G., Meili, R.: Dust
explosion venting and suppression of
conventional spray dryers, Paper pre-
sented during the 11th Int. Symp. On Loss
Prevention and Safety Promotion in the
Process Industries, Prague, 31 May- 3
June, 2004
4. NFPA 68, Standard on Explosion Protec-
tion by Deflagration Venting
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