Modelling pollutants dispersion and plume rise from large hydrocarbon tank fires in neutrally stratified atmosphere

Abstract Petrochemical industries normally use storage tanks containing large amounts of flammable and hazardous substances. Therefore, the occurrence of a tank fire, such as the large industrial accident on 11th December 2005 at Buncefield Oil Storage Depots, is possible and usually leads to fire and explosions. Experience has shown that the continuous production of black smoke from these fires due to the toxic gases from the combustion process, presents a potential environmental and health problem that is difficult to assess. The goals of the present effort are to estimate the height of the smoke plume, the ground-level concentrations of the toxic pollutants (smoke, SO2, CO, PAHs, VOCs) and to characterize risk zones by comparing the ground-level concentrations with existing safety limits. For the application of the numerical procedure developed, an external floating-roof tank has been selected with dimensions of 85 m diameter and 20 m height. Results are presented and discussed. It is concluded that for all scenarios considered, the ground-level concentrations of smoke, SO2, CO, PAHs and VOCs do not exceed the safety limit of IDLH and there are no “death zones” due to the pollutant concentrations.

[1]  Mark Hailwood,et al.  Conclusions drawn from the Buncefield and Naples incidents regarding the utilization of consequence models , 2009 .

[2]  Zoe Nivolianitou,et al.  Consequence analysis of an open fire incident in a pesticide storage plant , 2006 .

[3]  H. Tennekes,et al.  The Logarithmic Wind Profile , 1973 .

[4]  Anders Lönnermark,et al.  Tank fires-Review of fire incidents 1951-2003 , 2004 .

[5]  Kevin B. McGrattan,et al.  Smoke Plume Trajectory Modeling , 2003 .

[6]  D. Spalding,et al.  A calculation procedure for heat, mass and momentum transfer in three-dimensional parabolic flows , 1972 .

[7]  A computational model for the rise and dispersion of wind-blown, Buoyancy-driven plumes. III: Penetration of atmospheric inversion , 1994 .

[8]  S. Orszag,et al.  Renormalization group analysis of turbulence. I. Basic theory , 1986, Physical review letters.

[9]  Kevin B. McGrattan,et al.  In Situ Burning of Oil Spills , 2001, Journal of research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

[10]  Ahmed F. Ghoniem,et al.  A computational model for the rise and dispersion of wind-blown, buoyancy-driven plumes—I. Neutrally stratified atmosphere , 1993 .

[11]  N. C. Markatos,et al.  Mathematical modelling of buoyancy-induced smoke flow in enclosures , 1982 .

[12]  R. Pastorino,et al.  Plume rise of smoke coming from free burning fires , 1993 .

[13]  K. Pericleous,et al.  Laminar and turbulent natural convection in an enclosed cavity , 1984 .

[14]  Cheng-Chung Lin,et al.  A study of storage tank accidents , 2006 .

[15]  Vytenis Babrauskas,et al.  Estimating large pool fire burning rates , 1983 .

[16]  D. Spalding.  A novel finite difference formulation for differential expressions involving both first and second derivatives , 1972 .

[17]  J. Hahn.  Environmental effects of the Kuwaiti oil field fires , 1991 .

[18]  B. Fisher,et al.  Modelling plume rise and dispersion from pool fires , 2001 .

[19]  T. Steinhaus,et al.  Large-scale pool fires , 2007 .

[20]  N. Hoffmann,et al.  Thermal radiation effects on fires in enclosures , 1988 .

[21]  V. C. Patel,et al.  Test Of Turbulence Models For Wind Flow Over Terrain With Separation And Recirculation , 2000 .

[22]  Paul M. Lemieux,et al.  Emissions of organic air toxics from open burning: a comprehensive review , 2004 .

[23]  H. Baum,et al.  Smoke Dispersion from Multiple Fire Plumes , 1999 .

[24]  T. Kashiwagi,et al.  Estimate of the Effect of Scale on Radiative Heat Loss Fraction and Combustion Efficiency , 1994 .

[25]  Kevin B. McGrattan,et al.  Smoke transport by sheared winds , 1999 .

[26]  N. C. Markatos,et al.  Mathematical modeling of toxic pollutants dispersion from large tank fires and assessment of acute effects for fire fighters , 2009 .

[27]  Duane A. Haugen,et al.  Lectures on Air Pollution and Environmental Impact Analyses , 1982 .

[28]  Robert B. Wilson.  Review of development and application of CRSTER and MPTER models , 1993 .

[29]  James R. Lawson,et al.  Burning of Oil Spills , 1991 .

[30]  Lindsay E. Booher,et al.  Air Emissions from Petroleum Hydrocarbon Fires During Controlled Burning , 1997 .

[31]  Ahmed F. Ghoniem,et al.  Dispersion and deposition of smoke plumes generated in massive fires , 1993 .

[32]  H. Baum,et al.  Thermal radiation from large pool fires , 2000 .

[33]  B. Launder,et al.  The numerical computation of turbulent flows , 1990 .

[34]  Toshisuke Hirano,et al.  Tomakomai Large Scale Crude Oil Fire Experiments , 2000 .

[35]  G. Briggs,et al.  Plume Rise Predictions , 1982 .

[36]  A. Huser,et al.  Application of k−ε model to the stable ABL: Pollution in complex terrain , 1997 .

[37]  D. Pyle,et al.  Observations of the plume generated by the December 2005 oil depot explosions and prolonged fire at Buncefield (Hertfordshire, UK) and associated atmospheric changes , 2007, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[38]  S. Orszag,et al.  Renormalization group analysis of turbulence. I. Basic theory , 1986 .

[39]  D.Bruce Turner.  Proposed pragmatic methods for estimating plume rise and plume penetration through atmospheric layers , 1985 .

[40]  Kevin B. McGrattan,et al.  Numerical simulation of smoke plumes from large oil fires , 1996 .