Critical Exposure Time and Population Density for Cost Effective Application of Thermal Protection on LPG Road Tankers

• Main Authors: S. Bonvicini, G. Antonioni, V. Cozzani, M. Birk
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2013-05-01
• Series: Chemical Engineering Transactions
• Online Access: https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/6784

Thermal protections (TP) applied to road tankers for the transportation of pressurized liquefied flammable gases are able to postpone or even avoid boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions (BLEVEs) and the following fireball. Their presence delays mechanical failure and provides more time to emergency responders. However, installation and maintenance costs of TP, as well as difficulties in inspections and maintenance of the protected steel tank limited its implementation. Actually TP is applied only where it’s mandatory due to technical standards or national regulations. In the present study a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) model is presented for the application of TP on road tankers. A simplified risk analysis is performed to determine the benefits of risk reduction by thermal fire protections, which are compared to the costs of applying them. If the average population density in the areas crossed by road tankers is higher than a critical density threshold, or if the time spent by the road tankers along the route is higher than a critical time limit, the TP results convenient. The application of the CBA model to some case studies confirmed the validity of the proposed approach.