Hydrogen Fire from a Liquid Hydrogen Transporter
The vent occurred outside a fuel cells manufacturing facility. While preparing for transfer of liquid hydrogen from tanker truck to storage tank, a release of hydrogen occurred, which vaporized into a hydrogen cloud and ignited in a flash fire and concussion loud enough to be heard inside the nearby building (the buildings seismic event detectors went off). A small amount of hydrogen gas continued to escape from the trailer tank and burn for almost eight hours, until a specialist of the truck delivery company arrived to manually shut off a critical valve. In the meantime, emergency response crews called to the scene sprayed water across the hydrogen tank as a precautionary cooling measure.As described in the PRESLHY report (see references), the driver had just terminated a first unloading of the tank. The manual valve connecting the trailer to stationary storage was apparently left in an open position after the first unloading. The driver next failed to perform the required procedure of seven purges intended to eliminate contaminants and water from the piping before connecting the hose for the second unloading. He then opened the pneumatic valve before connecting the hose, which, due to the open manual valve, resulted in a direct release of liquid hydrogen into the ambient air. The liquid immediately vaporized into a hydrogen cloud and quickly ignited.
Event Date
August 6, 2004
Record Quality Indicator
Region / Country
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Causes
Cause Comments
The immediate cause of the ignition is thought that a static electricity built up by the rush of vaporizing gas.According to the PRESLHY report (see references) the root cause was probably an error of the truck driver, who omitted or applied incorrectly a number of steps required as part of the standard safety procedure.
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
tanker truck, hydrogen bulk storage tank, valve
Storage/Process Medium
Location Type
Location description
Inhabited Area
Operational Condition
Pre-event Summary
The tanker truck was preparing to complete the second of two deliveries at the facility, by transferring liquid hydrogen from the tanker truck to a hydrogen bulk storage.
Consequences
Number of Injured Persons
10
Currency
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
According to the PRESLHY report (see references), this incident illustrated the need for " rigorous training on hydrogen properties and behavior, not only for the operators of fueling equipment but also for emergency responders and the general public"."The physical and chemical characteristics of hydrogen are different from those of fossil fuels and must be communicated, understood, and accounted for in hydrogen handling and use", to guarantee the safest transition towards a hydrogen-fueled economy.
Event Nature
Emergency Action
The emergency response crews called to the scene sprayed water across the hydrogen tank as a precautionary cooling measure.
Emergency Evaluation
Company emergency response personnel reacted as trained, the safety systems operated as designed, and the fire crews were able to manage the hydrogen fuel safely and effectively
Release Type
Release Substance
Ignition Source
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Flame Type
Source Category
References
References
A.V. Tchouvelev, "Regulations, Codes and Standards (RCS) Analysis", 2018,
Deliverable 2.1 of the FCH 2 JU project PRESLHY