GUIDELINES FOR

Fire Protection in Chemical, Petrochemical, and Hydrocarbon Processing Facilities

Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5991

Copyright 2003 American Institute of Chemical Enginers 3 Park Avenue New York, New York 10016-5991 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner. AIChEand CCPS are trademarks owned by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. These trademarks may not be used without the prior express written consent of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The use of this product in whole or in part for commercial use is prohibited without prior express written consent of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. To obtain appropriate license and permission for such use contact Scott Berger, 212-591-7237, [email protected]. CCPS Publication Number G-83 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Guidelines for fire protection in chemical, petrochemical, and hydrocarbon processing facilities. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8169-0898-2 (Hardcover) 1. Chemical plantsFires and fire prevention. 2. ChemicalsFires and fire prevention. I. American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Center for Chemical Process Safety. II. Title. TH9445.C47G85 2003 660.2804dc22 2003017934
It is sincerely hoped that the information presented in this volume will lead to an even more impressive safety record for the entire industry. However, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, its consultants, CCPS Subcommittee members, their employers, and their employers officers and directors and RRS Engineering disclaim making or giving any warranties or representations, express or implied, including with respect to fitness, intended purpose, use or merchantability, and/or correctness or accuracy of the content of the information presented in this document. As between (1) American Institute of Chemical Engineers, its consultants, CCPS Subcommittee members, their employers, and their employers officers and directors and RRS Engineering (2) the user of this document accepts any legal liability or responsibility whatsoever for the consequences of its use or misuse.
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PREFACE

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has helped chemical plants, petrochemical plants, and refineries address the issues of process safety and loss control for over 30 years. Through its ties with process designers, plant constructors, facility operators, safety professionals, and academia, the AIChE has enhanced communication and fostered improvement in the high safety standards of the industry. AIChEs publications and symposia have become an information resource for the chemical engineering profession on the causes of incidents and means of prevention. The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), a directorate of AIChE, was established in 1985 to develop and disseminate technical information for use in the prevention of major chemical accidents. The CCPS is supported by a diverse group of industrial sponsors in the chemical process industry and related industries who provide the necessary funding and professional guidance for its projects. The CCPS Technical Steering Committee and the technical subcommittees oversee individual projects selected by the CCPS. Professional representatives from sponsoring companies staff the subcommittees and a member of the CCPS staff coordinates their activities. Since its founding, the CCPS has published many volumes in its Guidelines series and in smaller Concept texts. Although most CCPS books are written for engineers in plant design and operations and address scientific techniques and engineering practices, several guidelines cover subjects related to chemical process safety management. A successful process safety program relies upon committed managers at all levels of a company who view process safety as an integral part of overall business management and act accordingly. A team of fire protection experts from the chemical industry drafted the chapters for this guideline and provided real world examples to illustrate some
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Preface

of the tools and methods used in their profession. The subcommittee members reviewed the content extensively and industry peers evaluated this book to help ensure it represents a factual accounting of industry best practices.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers wishes to thank the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) and those involved in its operation, including its many sponsors whose funding made this project possible; the members of its Technical Steering Committee who conceived of and supported this Guidelines project, and the members of its Fire Protection Subcommittee. If this Guideline prevents one chemical, petrochemical, or hydrocarbon processing facility fire, the efforts of all those involved in preparing this work will be deeply recognized and rewarded. The members of the CCPS Fire Protection Subcommittee were: Robert M. Rosen, Chair, BASF Corporation Siegfried Fiedler, BASF Corporation Gene Hortz, Rohm & Haas Company Duncan L. Hutcheon, ExxonMobil Joel Krueger, BP Amoco John Sepahpur, ChevronTexaco Energy Research & Technology Company John Sharland, FM Global William A. Thornberg, Industrial Risk Insurers Della Wong, Aon Reed Stenhouse Jeffrey Yuill, Starr Technical Risks Agency, Inc. John Davenport was the CCPS staff liaison and was responsible for overall administration of the project. Additional contributors to the subcommittee were Charles E. Fryman, FMC, and Dave Moore, Acutech. Risk, Reliability and Safety Engineering (RRS), of League City, Texas (www.rrseng.com) was contracted to write this guideline. The principal RRS authors of this guideline were:
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Acknowledgments

John Alderman, PE, CSP Bill Effron, CSP Christy Franklyn Tim McNamara Additional RRS staff that supported this project includes Donna Hamilton, Marlon Harding, Ted Low, and Tom Lawrence. Daniel T. Gottuk, PhD and Joseph Scheffey, PE of Hughes Associates were the primary authors of Chapter 5. CCPS would like to thank Bud Slye, PE, Loss Control Associates, who provided technical quality review. CCPS also gratefully acknowledges the comments and suggestions received from the following peer reviewers; their insights, comments, and suggestions helped ensure a balanced perspective to this Guideline: Dr. Ezikpe Akuma, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Reginald Baldini, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Michael P. Broadribb, BP America, Inc. Keith L. Farmer, DuPont Engineering Technologies Les Fowler, BASF Corporation Eric Lenoir, AIU-Energy Darren Martin, Shell Chemical Company Lisa M. Morrison, NOVA Chemicals, Inc. Dave Owen, Exxon-Mobil Asit Ray, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Thomas Scherpa, DuPont Engineering Technologies Milt Wooldridge, MRW & Associates, Inc. The members of the CCPS Fire Protection Subcommittee and the peer reviewers wish to thank their employers for allowing them to participate in this project.

ACRONYMS

ALARP AIChE AISC AHJ ANSI API BI BLEVE CCPS CFD CFR CMPT DCS DOT EANS EHS EOC EPA ERP ERT FCC FHA FMEA FM FPS FRP GRP

As low as reasonably practical American Institute of Chemical Engineers American Institute of Steel Construction Authority Having Jurisdiction American National Standards Institute American Petroleum Institute Business Interruption Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion Center for Chemical Process Safety Computational Fluid Dynamics Code of Federal Registry Center for Marine and Petroleum Technology Distributed Control System Department of Transportation Emergency Alarm Notification System Environmental, Health, and Safety Emergency Operations Center Environmental Protection Agency Emergency Response Plan Emergency Response Team Fluid Catalytic Cracking (Unit) Fire Hazard Analysis Failure Mode and Effects Analysis Factory Mutual Fire Protection Strategy Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic Glass Reinforced Plastic
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Acronyms

HVAC HAZID HAZOP HSSD HAZMAT ICS IEEE I/O IR LEPC LFL LOPA LPG MERITT MFL MOC MSDS NICET NFPA NLE NOAA OSHA P&ID PC PDA PE PHA PML PFD PPE PSM PVC RMS RP RVP SFPE SI SIS UFL UL UK VCE

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Hazard Identification Hazard and Operability Study High Sensitivity Smoke Detection Hazardous Material Incident Command System Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Input/Ouput Industrial Risk Local Emergency Planning Committee Lower Flammability Limit Layer of Protection Analysis Liquefied Petroleum Gas Maximizing EHS Returns by Integrating Tools and Talents Maximum Foreseeable Loss Management of Change Material Safety Data Sheet National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies National Fire Protection Association Normal Loss Estimate National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration Occupational Safety Hazard Association Piping and Instrumentation Drawing Personal Computer Personal Digital Assistant Professional Engineer Process Hazard Analysis Probable Maximum Loss Process Flow Diagrams Personal Protective Equipment Process Safety Management Polyvinyl Chloride Risk Management System Recommended Practice Reid Vapor Pressure Society of Fire Protection Engineers Standard Instrumentation Safety Instrumented System Upper Flammability Limit Underwriters Laboratories United Kingdom Vapor Cloud Explosion