Event
- Event ID
- 351
- Quality
- Description
- 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. - Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Fire (No additional details provided)
- Macro-region
- Europe
- Country
- Finland
- Date
- Main component involved?
- Compressor / Booster / Pump (Piston)
- How was it involved?
- Rupture
- Initiating cause
- Material Degradation (Stress-Corrosion)
- Root causes
- Root CAUSE analysis
- The IMMEDIATE CAUSE was the breaking rupture a rod due to stress corrosion. The stress exerted on the rod was significantly increased by the looseness of the piston fixing point.
The ROOT CAUSE, although not provided by the source, could be identified in shortcomings in service and maintenance. Nevertheless, also a design error cannot be excluded.
Facility
- Application
- Petrochemical Industry
- Sub-application
- Generic refinery process
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- Hydrogen Compression (No additional details provided)
- All components affected
- rod,
piston,
gas compressor - Location type
- Open
- Location description
- Industrial Area
- Operational condition
- Pre-event occurrences
- A piston rod broke down in a 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.
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Post-event summary
- Some 1,500 kg of hydrogen gas and a few hundred litres of lubricating oil were estimated to have been burned.
Event Nature
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Released amount
- 1500
- Presumed ignition source
- Not reported
- Deflagration
- N
- High pressure explosion
- N
- High voltage explosion
- N
References
- Reference & weblink
Source lost
JRC assessment
- Sources categories
- Unknown
