Fire in a chemical plant

The fire developed on one of two naphtha crackers for the production of ethylene.
The rupture of the reactor made that the hydrogen, petroleum products (benzene) and the pyrophoric catalyst came outside the reactor. The mixture immediately caught fire in the air. The fire was brief but intense.
The fire reduced ethylene production by 40% for two weeks.
The release species were: benzene: 12 tonnes; hydrogen: amount unknown; catalyst : amount unknown.

Reactor

The damge costs is estimated based on eMARS and other sources

At 3:40 p.m. a worker on the spot noticed a leak in the structure behind the reactor and reported it to the control room. The operational staff who went to the location found white smoke leaking from the hydrogen supply line followed by the outbreak of a fire with a light-coloured, horizontal flame. The alarm was raised and the order given for the unit to be rapidly depressurised and cut off.
The firefighting team attended an air cooler where a fire was clearly breaking out and in the vicinity of the reactor using the necessary firefighting vehicles and equipment to contain the incipient fire and cool the surrounding metal structures.
The local fire brigade was called at 4:05 p.m. once it had become clear how serious the situation was. When the firefighters arrived, they continued the containment and cooling activities with the help of refinery personnel. Operations continued through the night until 7:50 a.m. on 2 December, with cooling and control activities going on until the afternoon of 2 December.
As per the IEP, the local authorities were kept constantly abreast of how the accident was developing, both by the company and by fire brigade representatives present on site. Based on how the situation developed, the local authorities did not deem it necessary to trigger the External Emergency Plan (EEP).