We have a leak … Do we need to stop the plant?
In urea plants a leak can easily occur due to the various corrosion phenomena and the challenge to realise a proper sealing between the applied materials. In case of a leak one encounters a challenging dilemma: Should one stop the plant immediately or is it possible to wait until the next scheduled shut-down?
Topic
In urea plants a leak can easily occur due to the various corrosion phenomena and the challenge to realise a proper sealing between the applied materials.
In case of a leak one encounters a challenging dilemma: Should one stop the plant immediately or is it possible to wait until the next scheduled shut-down?
Are all leaks the same or are some more critical than others? What are exactly the risks and how one can minimize the risks and avoid leaks?
This presentation will discuss the various possible kind of leaks in critical piping systems in a urea plant and its consequences and safety risks. It will also discuss prevention and mitigation measures.
The presentation will be based on several historical cases and incidents, which can be used as guidelines in the decision making process but sometimes also can bring up surprising and unexpected learning points…
This presentation targets to reach a better understanding of the specific safety risks of the various kind of leaks leading and better decisions how to handle leaks in urea plants.The following topics will be adressed:
- What are the various kind of leaks in critical piping systems of a urea plant?
- What are the risks of a specific leak (risk assessment)?
- What are the Prevention and Mitigation Measures?
- What are the Lessons Learned?
About Mark Brouwer
Mark graduated in 1989 at the Technical University of Eindhoven as a Chemical Engineer. Mark further graduated the postgraduate continuing professional education Safety for Engineers in The Netherlands.
After military service he joined DSM where he worked first seven years as a Process Engineer in an ethylene plant during which he was involved in several turnarounds and revamp projects. In 1996 he joined Stamicarbon as Licensing Manager Urea Revamps. Later he became Manager Stamicarbon Services responsible for all Stamicarbon’s activities in existing urea plants, such as After Sales, Plant Inspections, Debottlenecking Projects, Hardware supply projects etc. In these years he did visit about one hundred urea plants worldwide and was involved in numerous revamp, relocation, debottlenecking and grass root projects.
Since January 1, 2009, Mark Brouwer left Stamicarbon and started up UreaKnowHow.com. UreaKnowHow.com’s mission is to support, facilitate and promote the exchange of technical information in the urea industry with the target to improve the Safety and Performance of all urea plants worldwide.