Managing your HFO-1234yf BLEVE risk (Part 6)
A few months ago I wrote about this new refrigerant as having the catastrophic risk of a BLEVE event. Now I wish to offer some guidance on how a business utilizing this refrigerant can reduce the likelihood of this type of event. First, there are NO engineering standards that guide a manufacturer of an ASME pressure vessel in how to construct a pressure vessel so that it will not fail in a BLEVE event. So we can not assume that our vessel is so well designed or constructed that it will with withstand either a hot or cold BLEVE. Our FIRST LINE of defense in managing BLEVE risk(s) is the placement of our pressure vessel(s). If our facility is in a state with an adopted fire/HAZMAT code(s) we will find some baseline “facility siting” instructions in these state-adopted codes. But this new refrigerant has no specific code(s) to aid a business in how they should manage their “facility siting”. However, there are some codes and RAGAGEPs designed for other Category 1 Flammable Gases (which HFO-1234yf is) and it is these codes and RAGAGEPs I turn to when asked about tank location. |
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