Chemical Process Safety

Recommended Prerequisites

Chemical Thermodynamics, Transport phenomena I, II and III, Industrial Facilities and Equipments.

Teaching Methods

The course topics are presented in the classroom and their application is illustrated with examples and problems to be solved in the classroom. Slides that are provided to the students, as well the board, will be used to teach the course. Videos on chemical process safety made available by the U.S. CSB Agency will be viewed and discussed in the classroom. Quantitative risk analysis examples from the literature (CCPS, 1999) will be presented and discussed in detail in the last part of the semester to provide an integrated view of all the course material presented along the semester.

Learning Outcomes

To understand concepts and fundamentals of chemical process safety, and to apply methodologies for chemical process safety and risk analysis.

The course aims at developing the following skills:

Competence in applying theoretical knowledge in practice in practice; Ability in analysis and synthesis; Ability to formulate and solve problems; Capability of critical thinking; Quality concerns.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Statistical indices of accidents. Public perception on chemical process hazards. Cases of industrial disasters. Dose and response models. Industrial hygiene control and exposure assessment to toxicants. Hazard and operationality studies. Source models for toxic and flammable substances. Toxic release and dispersion models. Fires and explosions and their prevention. Introduction to reliefs. Introduction to risk assessment. Safety layers in chemical process. Investigations of industrial disasters.

Head Lecturer(s)

Jorge Manuel dos Santos Rocha

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Synthesis work: 20.0%
Exam: 80.0%

Bibliography

Crow, D. A.; Louvar, J. F. Chemical process safety: fundamentals with applications. Prentice-Hall, NJ, 2002.

CCPS. Guidelines for Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis. Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), AIChE, Wiley, 1999.

CSB. Completed investigations - Videos and final reports on chemical accidents. U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). http://www.csb.gov/investigations/ (assessed in July 2013)

Kletz, T. HAZOP and HAZAN - Identifying and Assessing Process Industry Hazards. Taylor & Francis, New York, NY, 1999.

Miguel, A. S. S. R. Manual de Higiene e Segurança do Trabalho, Porto Editora,  Porto, 2012.