Research J. Engineering and Tech.

5(3): July- September, 2014

ISSN 0976-2973 www.anvpublication.org rjet

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Hazards Associated to Synthesis Gas and its Mitigation Measures

Abhishek Nandan* , Nihal Anwar Siddiqui , Prasenjit Mondal, Kanishak Chaudhary,
Rishi Pandey
Department of Health Safety and Environment, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun
*Corresponding Author:

ABSTRACT:
Fire and explosion hazards in gasification plants include releases of flammable materials. The distinction between fire
and explosion scenarios is often whether the fuel ignites promptly upon release or has delayed ignition. Prompt
ignition prevents formation of a flammable vapor cloud and, thereby, averts a VCE. Synthesis gas contains a
significant amount of hydrogen, a fuel that is easily ignited. Industry experience with accidental releases of synthesis
gas has been that it promptly ignites. Synthesis gas also contains significant amount of carbon monoxide which is a
toxic gas and can have adverse health effect on workers. After reviewing the previous accident data for synthesis gas,
carbon monoxide and hydrogen to estimate the hazards caused by accidental release no instances of synthesis gas
VCEs were found in literature; however, numerous test and accidents were reported for hydrogen. Therefore taking in
consideration the effects of hydrogen and carbon monoxide we have mentioned the mitigation measures to be followed
to reduce the probablity of hazards caused by synthesis gas release.

KEY WORDS: Syngas, Hydrogen, Carbon monoxide, Mitigation measures for hazards related to syngas.

INTRODUCTION: The syngas may contain some trace elements of impurities,

Syngas is used as an intermediate in the industrial synthesis which are removed through further processing and either
of ammonia and fertilizer. During this process, methane recovered or redirected to the gasifier. For example, sulfur
(from natural gas) combines with water to generate carbon is recovered in the elemental form or as sulfuric acid and
monoxide and hydrogen. both of these can be marketed. Syngas is a primary source
of sulfuric acid. If syngas contains a considerable quantity
The gasification process is used to convert any material that of nitrogen, the nitrogen must be separated to avoid
has carbon to longer hydrocarbon chains. One of the uses of production of nitric oxides, which are pollutants and
this syngas is as a fuel to manufacture steam or electricity. contribute to acid rain production. Both carbon monoxide
Another use is as a basic chemical building block for many and nitrogen have similar boiling points so recovering pure
petrochemical and refining processes. carbon monoxide requires cryogenic processing, which is
very difficult.
The general raw materials used for gasification (creation of
syngas) are coal, petroleum based materials, or other OBJECTIVE:
materials that would be rejected as waste. From these Hazards of synthesis gas and and its mitigation measures
materials, a feedstock is prepared. This is inserted to the Syngas is an abbreviation for synthesis gas. It refers to a
gasifier in dry or slurry form. In the gasifier, this feedstock
mixture primarily of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide
reacts in an oxygen starved environment with steam at (CO) which may also contain significant but lower
elevated pressure and temperature. The resultant syngas is concentrations of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2)
composed of 85% carbon monoxide and hydrogen and as well as smaller amounts of impurities such as chlorides,
small amounts of methane and carbon dioxide. Sulfur compounds, and heavier hydrocarbons. There are
many similarities between H2 and CO as well as some
important differences. The requirements for Syngas are a
Received on 17.09.2014 Accepted on 30.09.2014 combination of safe practices for H2 and CO, since both are
©AandV Publications all right reserved present in significant proportions. Therefore there is a need
Research J. Engineering and Tech. 5(3): July-Sept. 2014 page 144-146

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 Research J. Engineering and Tech. 5(3): July- September, 2014

for familiarization with the mitigation measures of syngas The flammability limits of wet CO in air is known to be
to deal with hazards related to it. 12.5% CO at the lean limit and 74% CO at the rich limit. A
pure CO/air mixture may not burn at NTP because of the
MATERIAL AND METHOD: absence of chain carriers and chain branching reactions
The syngas is produced by gasification of a carbon essential for flame propagation. A small amount of water
containing fuel to a gaseous product that has some heating vapour or hydrogen will ensure production of chain
value. Some of the examples of syngas production include carriers; when present in small quantities, the effects of
ation of coal emissions, hydrogen and water vapour have about the same effect on
steam reforming of petcoke, gasification
and waste emissions to energy gasification. CO oxidation kinetics. In containment, water vapour and,
possibly, hydrogen are essentially assured so the dry
The name syngas is derived from the use as an intermediate flammability limit off CO is not relevant.
in generating synthetic natural gas and to create ammonia or
methanol. It is a gas that can be used to synthesize other The flammability limit of H2 in air is 4% H2 at the lean limit
ls, hence the name synthesis gas, which was for upward propagation and 75% H2 at the rich limit for
chemicals,
shortened to syngas. Syngas is also an intermediate in both upward and downward propagation. Addition of up to
creating synthetic petroleum to use as a lubricant or fuel. 12.5% CO to a lean-limit H2-air
air mixture is not expected to
change the flammability limits of H2-air
air mixtures. Thus all
mixtures containing >4% H2 or >12.5% CO will burn
provided the oxygen limit is not reached. The oxygen limit
1% is the same, about 5%, for both CO/air (with traces of H2 or
H2O) and H2/air mixtures. Flammable range of most
mixtures widens with increasing temperature. The
19% CO
flammability limits are also influenced by the amount and
type of diluent. CO2 has a greater thermal effect on the
40% H2 flammability limits.
10% CO2 Table 2: Flammability limits for H2-CO
CO mixtu
mixtures
H2O 1:3 8.16 2.04 6.12
1:1 6.06 3.03 3.03
H2S,COS 3:1 4.82 3.61 1.20
30%
Auto-ignition:
Auto-ignition
ignition temperature is the temperature (at a given
pressure and mixture composition) at which a combustible
gas mixture will spontaneously ignite. It is of interest in
Figure 1: Composition of synthesis gas
safety assessments in the evaluation of mechanisms for
initiating combustion.
Properties of synthesis gas:
Flammability limits: Auto-ignition temperatures of H2 and CO are separately
The flammability limit is the experimentally-determined
experimentally known and are on the order of 500oC and 630oC,
minimum concentration of fuel (lean limit) or oxidant (rich respectively. There is no unique auto
auto-ignition temperature
limit) required for self-sustaining
sustaining flame propagation at a for CO-O2 or CO-air air mixtures. Even small amounts of
specified initial pressure and temperature. The flammability moisture or hydrogen can drastically alter the auto
auto-ignition
limit is of primary interest
rest in safety assessments as an temperature of CO-O2 or CO-air
air mixtures.
absolute indication of the existence of a combustion hazard
and the main reference point in defining a safety marginsHydrogen:
for a combustion hazard. Hydrogen is lighter than air, highly flammable, easily
ignited, heats up when reduced in pressure, does not support
Safety requirements for Syngas are a combination of safe breathing and is one of the most difficult gases to prevent
practices for H2 and CO, O, since both are present in from leaking. In the pure state, it presents some unique
significant proportions. corrosion mechanisms and when combined with even small
impurities (ppm), the corrosion concerns can multiply.

Hydrogen burns
rns in air with a pale blue, almost invisible
Table 1: Properties of H2 & CO flame which increases the risk of injury in case of fire.The
LFL% 4 12.5 maximum flame propagation rate is up to 3 m/s in air.
UFL% 75 74 Although auto-ignition
ignition of leaks and atmospheric vents is
Auto Ignition Temp Deg C 500 630
Ignition Energy mJ for 100 % 0.2 0.3
always a possibility with any flammabl
flammable gas, hydrogen is
especially prone to this phenomenon. This is due to
hydrogen’s low ignition energy and the fact that, unlike
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 Research J. Engineering and Tech. 5(3): July- September, 2014
most gases, hydrogen increases in temperature when it
expands from a higher to a lower pressure. This tendency
towards auto-ignition of leaks and atmospheric vents,
combined with the difficulty in seeing the flame make small
leaks a serious potential personnel injury risk.
Carbon monoxide:
Carbon monoxide is a flammable gas. Ignited in air, it burns
with a little illuminating blue flame. Carbon monoxide is a
toxic gas. For this very reason, any CO or Syngas project
should be considered as “critical” in the sense of requiring a
detailed risk management review under the responsibility of
the owner.
Note: Carbon monoxide is quickly fixed on haemoglobin,
causing a decrease in cellular respiration, which is
particularly harmful to the central nervous system
.Therefore, it is important to understand the potential effect
of exposure to various concentrations of carbon monoxide,
which may be encountered so as to provide a safe
environment.A threshold limit value of 50 ppm is
recommended for carbon monoxide, as a concentration in
air to which nearly all workers may be exposed during an 8-
hour workday and 40-hour workweek, without adverse
effects.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION:
While studying the hazards of synthesis gas, following
mitigation measures are identified as :
• Control of third party interference.
• Ensuring that the gas feed remains dry.
• Increased thickness of the pipe.
• Installation in pipe ways or corridors.
• Nondestructive test on welds.
• Inerting of the pipe.
• Pipeline marking.
• Specific pipelines warning devices: marking mats or
tapes.
• Isolation valves.
• Excess flow or low pressure shut down valves.
• Physical protections: concrete coating or casing,
concrete slabs.
• Operating procedures, including: inspection
programmes, leak detection surveys, corrosion control
programmes, emergency plan, personnel training.
• Information of third parties, collaboration with local
authorities.
• Fire and gas detection systems for early detections.
• Fire Protection systems for the process equipment.
•
CONCLUSION:
Syngas has 50% of the energy density of natural gas. It
cannot be burnt directly, but is used as a fuel source. The
other use is as an intermediate to produce other chemicals.
The production of syngas for use as a raw material in fuel
production is accomplished by the gasification of coal or
municipal waste. In these reactions, carbon combines with
water or oxygen to give rise to carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, and hydrogen.
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There are many similarities between H2 and CO as well as
some important differences. The requirements for Syngas
are a combination of safe practices for H2 and CO, since
both are present in significant proportions.
Syngas can represent a significant hazard and needs to be
handled carefully to prevent high consequence events from
occurring. The gas, although lighter than air, disperses
quickly and the net effect of buoyancy is small inside the
flammable boundaries. Incident histories indicate that major
hydrogen release incidents result in delayed ignition in
about 4–5% of the cases. The vast majority of high pressure
releases promptly ignite, which precludes formation of a
flammable cloud and, therefore, a VCE. Experiments with
synthesis gas in a shock tube indicated that high pressure
releases would ignite at temperatures below the auto
ignition temperature of hydrogen, which is helpful to allow
use of hydrogen data to infer syngas ignition.
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