The fire occurred after a hydrogen released from a venting valve opened for inspection. The hydrogen was at 300 bar and 300C centigrade. The hydrogen ignited probably spontaneously and killed 4 workers and injured additional 3. A similar accident seems to have taken place in the same installation 5 years ago. A safety study of the facility has been requested before the start-up of the plant

A hot oil line (8-inch) in the hydro-desulfurisation (HDS) unit failed due to fatigue cracking. Hot oil at 50 bar and 343C sprayed across the roadway into the hydrogen units where ignition occurred. The pipe break was a guillotine -type, probably in the heat affected zone at 2 inches from a welding. The intense fire around the pipe rack in the hydrogen plant caused a hydrogen line (16-inch) to rupture, adding a second blow torch to the fire. In successive order, more pipes ruptured with explosions. Damage was extensive.

A petroleum refinery experienced a catastrophic rupture of a heat exchanger in the catalytic reformer / naphtha hydrotreater unit (the NHT unit). The heat exchanger, catastrophically ruptured because of High Temperature Hydrogen Attack.Highly flammable hydrogen and naphtha at more than 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260C) were released from the ruptured heat exchanger and ignited, causing an explosion and an intense fire that burned for more than three hours.

A fire started on the primary hydrogenation reactor of a chemical plant synthesizing alcohols and acids by reactions between olefins and a H2 / CO gas mixtures. The alcohols are synthesised in 3 steps: HP (280b) / BP (3b) ozonisation, primary hydrogenation (63b), vacuum distillation and final hydrogenation (63b).A pressure drop was noted on the hydrogenation unit, caused by a leak from a thermally insulated pipe (DN 50, 3.6 mm). The pipe was containing hydrogen at 40 bar and was connected to a separator.

A leak of hydrogen gas, followed by an explosion, occurred when an engine was loaded with air, oxygen, and hydrogen, and then started for a preliminary ramjet engine combustion test. The engine was ignited with a fuse head. The test facilities were destroyed,

A severe fire in a hydrogen compressor building in a unifier unit of an oil sands refinery reportedly started in a 1,500 psi lube oil system. Fire fighting was difficult because of 40 degrees F temperatures. The building reportedly housed three centrifugal hydrogen recycle compressors, a centrifugal natural gas compressor and two 4,000 horsepower reciprocating compressors.

A road tanker was being loaded with liquid hydrogen from a 15,000 gallon storage tank, when fire broke out after 1 inch rupture disk failed, ignition source was a loose connection in down stream piping. The ignition was not immediate after rupture.

An explosion at a linear alkylbenzene (LAB) plant caused substantial damage to the facility and injured five workers. Production remains down, and the company has sent a letter to customers declaring force majeure.Four of the five injured workers were treated and subsequently released from local hospitals. A fifth worker, whose back was broken in a 30-foot fall, is in a body cast but is expected to recover fully. The plant was down for routine maintenance when an explosion occurred around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13 1998.

Following the breakdown of a piston rod, a mixture of hydrogen and light hydrocarbons was released from the fresh hydrogen compressor of an oil refinery. The rod broke down because of stress corrosion. The stress exerted on the rod was significantly increased by the looseness of the piston fixing point.The gas mixture ignited, also igniting the lubricating oil and other items in the room. Some 1,500 kg of hydrogen gas and a few hundred litres of lubricating oil were estimated to have been burned.

The on-duty field technician noticed a self-sustained ignition in the hydrogen pipes of a sodium chlorate plant. The flare-like flame of less than one metre in height was located in the space above the plant control room right above the exit door. The technician signalled an alarm to the plant control room where the field operator immediately informed the shift supervisor and also the regional emergency response centre.The other people on the site took fire extinguishers from the control room and rushed to the fire scene.