Hydrogen Fire at a Chlorine Chemical Production Plant
Hydrogen fire at a chlorine chemical production plant (Seveso-classified)Hydrogen ignited in a chlorine electrolyzer unit. The facility was shutdown. The staff of the unit, present on site, triggered the fire alarm and put the installations in a safe state. The fire was extinguished after the start of the intervention of the internal fire brigade.According to the ARIA report (see reference), a variation in electrolyzer pressure was caused by the shutdown of a tank due to the malfunction of its level detection gauge. This variation caused, on one single cell, the tearing of the flexible PTFE belt whose role is to protect the cell from pressure shocks. This tearing resulted in the release of a small amount of hydrogen that spontaneously ignited. The other belts did not suffer, suggesting a structural weakness of the damaged one. These belts are regularly monitored by the operator, but their packaging during transport may have plaid a role.
Event Date
November 21, 2012
Record Quality Indicator
Region / Country
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Causes
Cause Comments
Immediate cause was the lose of confinement on a single cell of the chlorine electrolyzer, due to an operation on a neighboring system
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
electrolyzer cells
Storage/Process Medium
Location Type
Location description
Industrial Area
Pre-event Summary
The unit was shutdown.
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
The ARIA report (see reference) does not mention any lesson learned.One possible corrective action, could be an improved estimation of the consequences of modifications made to part of system, for the rest of the system .
Event Nature
Emergency Action
Unknown
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References
Event description in the French database ARIA
https://www.aria.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/accident/43523/
(accessed September 2020)