Explosion at a Hydrocracking Reactor of a Refinery
A 7 inch thick reactor of a wide range hydrocracking unit being operated by computer at 2500 psi failed explosively due to localised heating. The blast caused widespread damage over a 300 yard radius including an adjoining catalytic cracker and crude pipe still where the roof of the control building collapsed. Other units were safely shut down from a blast resistant control building which sustained minor damage.
Event Date
December 5, 1970
Record Quality Indicator
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Causes
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
reactor
Location Type
Location description
Industrial Area
Consequences
Number of Injured Persons
1
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
Unknown
Event Nature
Emergency Action
Unknown
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References
Event description extracted from the UK database ICHEME in PDF
('equipment-reactors-details')
ICHEME database is no longer available for purchase, but data can be download as PDF for free.
https://www.icheme.org/knowledge/safety-centre/resources/accident-data/
(accessed October 2020)