Syngas explosion at a university laboratoryThe university lab affected was investigating generation of hydrogen and methane from biomass (wooden chips). The experimental furnace was a concrete cylindrical furnace of the diameter of 4 m and the height of 5 m. A fire jet occurred together with the explosion, and sparks fell on the professor in charge and students nearby. Nine persons were burned in face and hands and feet, and carried to the hospital by ambulances. They were only slightly injured.

Fire following vapour explosion at a plant making titanium sponge due to design errors: A vapour explosion, followed by a fire, occurred at a drier in a plant making titanium sponge. When titanium containing water was put into the drier, it came to contact with the edge of the protecting tube of the inside thermometer, generating sparks which ignited the titanium sponge. The red-hot titanium sponge melted the drier to leak out, and reacted with water spilled from the fractured drier, producing hydrogen gas.

Explosion of nitrobenzene fluoride while mixing with hydrogen gas: Fluoronitrobenzene exploded when mixing it with compressed hydrogen gas.

Leakage of gas from blow-off pipe for depressurization while filling hydrogen in cylinder.

Fire of drums containing lithium metal powder: Spontaneous combustion took place at drums containing lithium metal powder which were charged with argon gas for experiments. While lithium metal powder had usually been kept inside films of fluid paraffin to avoid its contact with water, it was stored in drums charged with argon gas for reuse in a tentative way. Water in the air got in to react with lithium because of incomplete sealing of the drums. In addition, the reaction heat built up under hot and humid condition on the day of accident leading to ignition of hydrogen or lithium.

Fire accident at heat exchanger for hydrogenation desulfurizer of gasoline caused by expansion of a screw.

Following a catalyst regeneration a fire occurred on a hydrocracking unit during unit pressure testing prior to start-up. The fire resulted from ignition of high - pressure hydrogen-rich gas that was escaping from two shell-to-shell nozzle flanges on the hydrocracker reactor charge - effluent exchangers. Four pipefitters who were in the process of tightening the leaking flanges when the gas ignited, received first and second degree burns. The unit was depressurised to the relief system and the fire was extinguished after burning for approximately 45 minutes.

Spillage of hydrogen and heavy gas oil at heavy oil hydrogenation desulfurization device due to insufficient heat treatment after welding valve:

Explosion due to hydrogen gas leakage from an abraded pipe: A hole was made in a pipeline used for catalyst regeneration at an aromatics plant, ejecting catalysts and hydrogen gas which ignited. sulfur corrosion by chemical additives remaining in the pipeline coupled with friction by solid catalysts flowing caused the hole.

"A chlorine suction pump failed on a sodium hydroxide electrolysis unit.Recovery operations were carried out including nitrogen purging of hydrogen piping and air purging of chlorine piping before starting to add chlorine into the electrolysis vessel. A sudden explosion occurred about 40 minutes later at a chlorine chilling tower and chlorine transfer pipeline. The cause of the incident was a leak through the valve on the chlorine pipeline which was supposed to be closed after the air purging.