Safety implications of a large LNG tanker spill over water

Abstract

in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).The increasing demand for natural gas in the United States could significantly increase the number and frequency of marine LNG (liquefied natural gas) imports. Although many studies have been conducted to assess the consequences and risks of potential LNG spills, the increasing importance of LNG imports suggests that consistent methods and approaches be identified and implemented to help ensure protection of public safety and property from a potential LNG spill.For that reason, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Fossil Energy, requested that Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) develop guidance on a risk-based analysis approach to assess and quantify potential threats to an LNG ship, the potential hazards and consequences of a large spill from an LNG ship, and review prevention and mitigation strategies that could be implemented to reduce both the potential and the risks of an LNG spill over water.Specifically, DOE requested:• An in-depth literature search of the experimental and technical studies associated with evaluating the safety and hazards of an LNG spill from an LNG ship • A detailed review of four recent spill modeling studies related to the safety implications of a large-scale LNG spill over water • Evaluation of the potential for breaching an LNG ship cargo tank, both accidentally and intentionally, identification of the potential for such breaches and the potential size of an LNG spill for each breach scenario, and an assessment of the potential range of hazards involved in an LNG spill • Development of guidance on the use of modern, performance-based, risk management ap-proaches to analyze and manage the threats, hazards, and consequences of an LNG spill over water to reduce the overall risks of an LNG spill to levels that are protective of public safety and property.This paper provides an overview of the conclusions and recommendations from that study.

Consequence Analysis of Large-Scale Liquefied Natural Gas Spills on Water

“…In the vapor dispersion process, for example, it is important to appropriately represent the topography downwind of the release point so as to obtain precise estimates of effects in actual incident circumstances. However, CFD models have also their own limitations, and its further refinement is required to improve the degree of accuracy and reliability for consequence assessment modeling (Hightower et al, 2005). In addition, due to high computational costs, CFD models are not normally used for practical hazard assessment under the present circumstances.…”

Case Study: Safety Assessment of Plant Layout between Ethylene Storage Tanks and Process Equipment According to Capacity and Weather Conditions

“…There was also a study that the separation distance between the propylene process equipment and the other facilities of chemical plant should be 37.5 kW/m 2 of thermal radiation, and propylene was applied for the source material of thermal radiation [17]. Another study applied 37.5 kW/m 2 , the criterion of thermal radiation, which has a fatal effect on structures when an explosion occurs due to a leak in an Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tank, and LNG was applied for the source material of thermal radiation [18]. Therefore, this study analyzed thermal radiation up to 37.5 kW/m 2 , considering the ethylene storage capacity and atmospheric conditions.…”

“…Natural Gas (LNG) tank, and LNG was applied for the source material of thermal radiation [18]. Therefore, this study analyzed thermal radiation up to 37.5 kW/m 2 , considering the ethylene storage capacity and atmospheric conditions.…”

Liquid Hydrogen Spills on Water—Risk and Consequences of Rapid Phase Transition

“…This phenomena was given attention by several research groups, and a general consensus for a theory on RPT was made in the early 1970s [15][16][17][18][19][20]. In later LNG safety reviews, the risk of RPT is given various attention, ranging from significant discussion [4,[21][22][23] to little more than a brief mention [24][25][26][27][28]. The peak pressure and mechanical energy has the potential to displace and damage heavy equipment [4,22,28] and cause secondary structural damage and cascading containment failures [26].…”