RELIEFS

CH153: CHEMICAL PROCESS SAFETY

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INTRODUCTION
Despite many safety precautions within chemical plants, equipment failure or operator errors can
cause increases in process pressures beyond safe levels.
If pressure rise too high, they may exceed the maximum strength of pipelines and vessels resulting in
rupturing of process equipment, causing major release of toxic and flammable chemicals.

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INTRODUCTION
The defense against this type of accident involves:
o Inherent safety
o Better process control
o Installation of relief systems to relieve liquids or gases
before excessive pressures are developed

Components of a Relief System

o Relief device
o Downstream process equipment (to safely handle ejected material)

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INTRODUCTION
Installation of Pressure Relief Devices

Choose relief Develop relief

Locate reliefs Acquire data
types scenarios

Design relief Choose worst Size reliefs

system scenario (single phase
and two phases)

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RELIEF CONCEPTS
Pressure relief systems are required for the following reasons:
o to protect personnel from the dangers of overpressurizing
equipment
o to minimize chemical losses during pressure upsets
o to prevent damage to equipment
o to prevent damage adjoining property
o to reduce insurance premiums
o to comply with governmental regulations

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RELIEF CONCEPTS
Reactor Reaction Heat
Exothermic Cooling is Runaway
temperature rate production
reaction lost reaction
increases increases increases

Runaway: Explosion at T2 Laboratories - YouTube

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RELIEF CONCEPTS
Reactor Reaction Heat
Exothermic Cooling is Runaway
temperature rate production
reaction lost reaction
increases increases increases

Closed Reactor (C)

with no relief system, the pressure and temperature rise
until the reactants are completely consumed
after the reactants are consumed, the heat generation
stops and the reactor cools; the pressure drops

Vapor and Liquid Relief (B)

froth (vapor and liquid) is discharged
the pressure increases until the relief device activates at
the pressure indicated
Cooling
lost Overpressure: the incremental pressure increase over the
initial relief pressure

A typical pressure vs. time curve 7

RELIEF CONCEPTS
Reactor Reaction Heat
Exothermic Cooling is Runaway
temperature rate production
reaction lost reaction
increases increases increases

Vapor Relief (A)

vapor is discharged
the pressure drops immediately when the relief device
opens because only a small amount of vapor discharge is
required to decrease the pressure
the pressure drops until the relief valve closes
Blowdown: the incremental pressure below the initial relief
pressure

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DEFINITIONS
Set Pressure the pressure at which the relief device begins to activate

the maximum gauge pressure permissible at the top of a vessel for a

designated temperature; also called the design pressure
as the operating temperature increases, the MAWP decreases because the
Maximum Allowable vessel metal loses its strength at higher temperatures
Working Pressure
(MAWP) as the operating temperature decreases, the MAWP decreases because of
metal embrittlement at lower temperatures
vessel failure typically occurs at 4 or 5 times the MAWP; vessel deformation
at twice the MAWP

Operating Pressure the gauge pressure during normal service, usually 10% below the MAWP

the pressure increase over the MAWP of a vessel during the relief process;
Accumulation
expressed as a percentage of the MAWP

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DEFINITIONS
the pressure increase in the vessel over the set pressure during the relieving
Overpressure
process
the pressure at the outlet of the relief device during the relief process
Backpressure
resulting from pressure in the discharge system
the pressure difference between the relief set pressure and the relief
Blowdown
reseating pressure
Maximum Allowable
Accumulated the sum of the MAWP and the allowable accumulation
Pressure

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RELIEF CONCEPTS

the pressure increase in the

Overpressur
vessel over the set pressure
e during the relieving process

the pressure increase over

the MAWP of a vessel during
Accumulation the relief process; expressed
as a percentage of the
MAWP

Description of overpressure and accumulation

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 LOCATION OF RELIEFS
The specification of the location of reliefs requires the review of every unit operation in the process
and of every process operating step.
Pressure relief devices must be installed at every point identified as potentially hazardous (points
where upset conditions create pressures that may exceed the MAWP.

Sample Questions for Review

• What happens with loss of cooling, heating or agitation?
• What happens if the process is contaminated or has a mischarge of a catalyst or monomer?
• What happens if the operator makes an error?
• What is the consequence of closing valves (block valves) on vessels or in lines that are filled with liquids
and exposed to heat or refrigeration?
• What happens if a line fails, for example, a failure of a high-pressure gas line into a low-pressure vessel?
• What happens if the unit operation is engulfed in a fire?

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LOCATION OF RELIEFS
Guidelines for Specifying Relief Positions

• All vessels need reliefs, including reactors, storage tanks, towers and drums.
1

• Blocked-in sections of cool liquid-filled lines that are exposed to heat (such as the sun)
2 or refrigeration need reliefs.

• Positive displacement pumps, compressors and turbines need reliefs on the discharge
3 side.

• Storage vessels need pressure and vacuum reliefs to protect against pumping in or out
4 of a blocked-in vessel or against the generation of a vacuum by condensation

• Vessel steam jackets are often rated for low-pressure steam. Reliefs are installed in
5 jackets to prevent excessive steam pressures due to operator error or regulator failure.

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LOCATION OF RELIEFS: SAMPLE PROBLEM
Specify the location of reliefs in the simple polymerization reactor system illustrated in the
following figure. The major steps in this polymerization process include:
1. Pumping 100 lb of initiator into reactor R-1
2. Heating to the reaction temperature of 240F
3. Adding monomer for a period of 3 hours
4. Stripping the residual monomer by means of a vacuum using valve V-15.

Because the reaction is exothermic, cooling during monomer addition with cooling water is
necessary.

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LOCATION OF RELIEFS

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LOCATION OF RELIEFS
Reactor (-1)
• Every process vessel
needs a relief
• Pressure safety valve

Positive Displacement
Pump (P-1)
• Positive
displacement pumps
are overloaded,
overheated and
damaged without a
pressure-relieving
device
• PSV-2

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LOCATION OF RELIEFS
Heat exchanger (E-1)
• Heat exchanger
tubes can rupture
from excessive
pressures when
water is blocked in
(V-10 and V-11 are
closed) and the
exchanger is
heated.
• PSV-3

Drum (D-1)
• Every process
vessel needs a
relief
• PSV-4

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LOCATION OF RELIEFS

Reactor coil
• The reactor coil
can be pressure-
ruptured when
water is blocked in
(V-4, V-5, V-6, V-7
are closed) and the
coil is heated with
steam or even the
sun.
• PSV-5

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RELIEFS

CH153: CHEMICAL PROCESS SAFETY

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