Logo image
Estimating the flammability of vapours above refinery wastewater laden with hydrocarbon mixtures
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Estimating the flammability of vapours above refinery wastewater laden with hydrocarbon mixtures

M. El-Harbawi, S.N.A.Bt.S. Shaaran, F. Ahmad, M.A.A. Wahi, A. Abdul, D.W. Laird and C-Y Yin
Fire Safety Journal, Vol.51, pp.61-67
2012
pdf
estimating_the_flammability_of_vapours.pdfDownloadView
Author’s Version Open Access
url
Link to Published Version *Subscription may be requiredView

Abstract

In this study, the likelihood of fire hazards attributed to the vapourisation of hydrocarbon components derived from refinery wastewater drainage systems was assessed. Liquid samples containing mixtures of hydrocarbon products and water were collected from a refinery drainage system and subjected to a distillation process to separate oil and water. The oil–liquid phase was analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to examine the composition of the sample. Hydrocarbon compounds ranging from C9 to C16 were detected. Mole fractions of 28 selected components in the liquid phase were obtained from the GC–FID data and used to calculate mole fractions of components in the gas phase via modified Raoult’s law. Lower Flammability Limits (LFLs) and Upper Flammability Limits (UFLs) for individual components were calculated using a stoichiometric concentration method, while the LFL and UFL values for the mixture (LFL mix and UFLmix) were calculated using the Le Chatelier equation. The LFL mix and UFLmix values were used to construct a flammability diagram and subsequently used to determine the flammability of the mixture. The findings of this study may assist in minimising fire hazards associated with the presence of hydrocarbon vapours derived from refinery wastewater streams.

Details

Metrics

542 File views/ downloads
88 Record Views

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types
Industry collaboration
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
7 Engineering & Materials Science
7.177 Combustion
7.177.238 Combustion Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas
Engineering, Civil
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
ESI research areas
Engineering
Logo image