Sufe Design and Optvation ofPI-oc.

ess Vents and Emission C o n t i d $wteins

by Center for Chemical Process Safety
Copyright 02006 John Wiley & Sons, Tnc.

INTRODUCTION

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has long been

involved with process safety and loss control for the chemical,
petrochemical, and hydrocarbon processing industries. The institute has
developed strong ties with process designers, equipment builders,
constructors, operators, safety professionals, and the academic community.
AIChE has enhanced communications and improved safety standards for
industry. Its publications are important information resources for the
process industries.
In 1985, AIChE established the Center for Chemical Process Safety
(CCPS) to serve as the focal point for a continuing program to support and
advance process safety. Since that time, CCPS has sponsored and
published a number of documents, including proceedings of technical
conferences and a series of books to improve process safety. This concept
book, Safe Design and Operation of Process Vents and Emission Control Systems,
is one of that series.
The simplest process vent system is one that consists of one vent
device with minimal piping discharging directly to atmosphere at the
nearest safe location. Numerous such simple systems exist in industry and
satisfy the appropriate safety, health, and environmental requirements;
particularly, where the quantities are small and the materials are less
hazardous or non-hazardous. In practice, a number of factors have
encouraged or required the collection of individual process vents into often
complicated systems to collect these streams and treat, disperse, or dispose
of them in order to meet increasingly demanding safety, health,
environmental, and property protection requirements.

1
Safe Design and Operation of Procem Vents and Emission Control System

1.1 Objective
The objective of this book is to provide guidance for the design, evaluation,
and operation of systems to collect and handle effluent gases and vapors
vented from processes. These systems may consist of headers and
manifolds of piping or ductwork and include other components that route
or treat the effluent gases and vapors from their origin in process vessels,
equipment, and storage tanks to the ultimate disposal or destruction
system. Names for these systems include vent manifolds, vent collection
systems, emission control systems, blowdown systems, vapor control
systems, or vent header collection systems, as well as other descriptions
and names. In this book, these systems are collectively referred to as vent
header systems.
This book addresses the concepts associated with the design and
operation of vent header systems and provides guidance on:
Designing vent header systems
Preventing fires and explosions
Controlling releases of toxics
Maintaining safe operations
Normal process operations, such as intentional routine
controlled venting
Emergency operations, for example, overpressure relief
End-of-line treatment devices and their effects on the vent
header system, including devices such as scrubbers, flares,
thermal oxidizers, etc.
This book focuses on vent header systems that handle gases,
vapors, and entrained liquids that are vented from process tanks, vessels,
and equipment. This book does not provide guidance on liquid-full
systems, systems primarily intended for the removal, extraction, and
collection of dust from otherwise innocuous air streams, or systems
intended primarily to exhaust air from or ventilate working spaces.
This book does not address the details of selection or
computational aspects of sizing vent header piping systems or individual
venting devices either for emergency overpressure relief venting or for
normal process venting.

2
 Chapter 1 -Introduction

A S M E B31.3 - Process Piping [Ref. 1-11contains details for design of

piping systems for vent headers. For details on venting devices for
emergency overpressure relief, refer to Guideline for Pressure Relief and
Efluent Handling Systems [Ref. 1-21, Additional detailed design and sizing
guidance for devices that may handle multi-phase flow is available from
the Design Institute for Emergency Relief Systems (DIERS) [Ref. 1-31.
DIERS operates under the auspices of AIChE as a users group currently
comprised of representatives from 210 companies that cooperatively
assimilate, implement, maintain, and upgrade the DIERS methodology.
The group's purpose is to reduce the frequency, severity, and consequences
of overpressure incidents and develop new techniques to improve the
design of emergency relief systems.
The venting devices for normal process venting are part of each
specific process design and are typically standard process control valves
and other components.
1.2 Relationship to Other CCPS Publications
Guidelines for Vapor Release Mitigation [Ref. 1-41 contains practices for
controlling accidental releases of hazardous vapors and preventing their
escape to the atmosphere. Its focus is primarily on pre-release factors. The
1988 guideline remains useful since it focuses on practical engineering
design of mitigation systems and post-release mitigation methods. Since
the 1988 guideline was published, substantial progress and improvements
were made in many areas of mitigation design. To collect and update this
progress, CCPS published Guidelines for Post-Release Mitigation Technology in
the Chemical Process Industry [Ref. 1-51, The primary focus of the 1997
guideline is the mitigation of accidental releases of toxic or flammable
materials and, in particular, countermeasures following a release. These
guidelines make limited mention of collecting releases )+om process vent devices
into vent header systems.
In later chapters, this book discusses prevention of the propagation
of fire and explosion within vent header systems. The following two books
by CCPS provide useful background information. DefZagration and
Detonation Flame Arresters [Ref. 1-61 provides guidance on the selection and
proper application of fire and explosion arresting devices used within vent
header system lines or at end-of-pipe locations. The book, Understanding
Explosions [Ref. 1-71, published in 2003 provides a concise treatise on fires
and explosions.

3
Safe Design and Operation of Process Vents and Emission Control Systems

Pertinent to the topic of vent header systems, the book also covers
deflagration and detonation basics within closed equipment and purging
and inerting of systems.
Following extensive research into emergency venting, including
large-scale tests involving reactive materials and two-phase venting, The
Design Institute for Emergency Relief Systems PIERS) of AIChE published
Emergency Relief System Design Using DIERS Technology [Ref. 1-31. It
provides essential methodology for the design and sizing of emergency
relief devices, but does not provide guidance on vent header systems.
Guidelines for Engineering Design for Process Safety [Ref. 1-81 includes
information on flame arresters, pressure relief systems, effluent disposal
systems, and provides some information on vent header systems.
Guidelines for Pressure Relief and Effluent Handling Systems [Ref. 1-21
contains guidance and information on widely used codes and standards
and their application in the detailed design of emergency overpressure
relief devices and systems. It also includes the selection and design of
systems and equipment to handle vent gases.
These previous books and guidelines focused primarily on
preventing releases, the detail design of overpressure relief devices, and the
mitigation of the effects of releases to the atmosphere. They were primarily
involved with emergency overpressure relief scenarios. The previous
books and guidelines were not intended to provide guidance for the design
and operation of vent header systems intended to collect vent gases from
multiple sources during normal process operations, as well as during
emergency overpressure conditions.
This current book incorporates and consolidates information
specific to vent header systems from these and other existing sources, as
well as provides new information and learnings where possible.

13 Industries and OperationsCovered

Vent header systems are employed in one form or another in many
facilities across numerous industry sectors. The industry sectors most
commonly using vent header systems are:
Oil and Gas Production and Processing
Petroleum Refining
Petrochemicals
Synthetic Organic Chemicals

4
 Chapter 1 - introduction

Agricultural Chemicals
Specialty Chemicals
Inorganic Chemicals
Pharmaceuticals
Polymers and Plastics
Resins, Coatings and Adhesives
Paints
Synthetic Fibers
The processes employed in these industry sectors vary greatly in
complexity and scale. They may be continuous processes from raw
materials to finished products, operate in a batch mode, or be a
combination of batch and continuous processes. The vent header systems
associated with these processes are similarly diverse in complexity and
scale.
Some of these vent header systems are simple, involving only one
vent gas stream routed to a treatment device. Others may collect vent gas
streams from multiple sources within a process unit or from several process
units. Most vent header systems only handle the normal routine release of
gases and vapors from the process. Some are intended to only handle
emergency overpressure relief. A limited number are combined vent
header systems that handle both normal process vent streams and provide
the critical emergency function of safely venting effluent from overpressure
relief devices. Many of these vent header systems are environmentally
required to treat the vent gases before their release to the atmosphere.
1.4 Intended Audience
This book should be of interest to persons responsible for:
Design of new or modification of existing processes that may
require the use of a vent header system, including project
managers and process design engineers
Process safety or hazard analysis of processes with vent header
systems
Operation of process units or facilities with vent header systems,
including operating management and staff and unit process or
manufacturing engineers
Maintenance, inspection, or testing for process units or facilities
with vent header systems

5
Safe Design and Operation ofprocess Vents and Emission Control Systems

This book also provides useful reference for anyone interested in

the subject of vent header systems used in the process industries.
1.5 How to Use this Book
This book is organized to meet the needs of those readers new to the issues
associated with vent header systems, as well providing experienced readers
specific references and design considerations. The organization and
content is illustrated in Figure 1-1.

I I
introduction and objective
Chapter 1 Relationship to other CCPS publications
introduction Industries and operations covered
Intended audience

I I Environmental and societal stewardship concerns

Chapter 2 History and impact of US environmental air regulations
Management Overview The vanety of purposes and applications for vent header systems
Cost implications and business interruptions issues

Chapter 3 Types of vent header systems

Normal Process and Considerations for normal and emergency vent header systems
I Emeraencv Svstems I Design Philosophy
General Design

Chapter 4 Flammable limits

Combustion and Hybnd mixtures
Deflagrations, pressure piling and detonation phenomena

Underjtandlng the process conditions

Understanding Vent stream charactedstics
Reauirements Fiammable gases and vapors, toxic and noxious materials, reactive systems
Objectives and design concepts for normal, emergency and combined sys!ems

Combining vent header systems

Chapter 6 Systems handling flammables and toxics
Design Approach Reactive systems
Mechanical design considerations

Chapter 7 Selection of treatment and disposal methods

Treatment and Coiiection, separation, absorption, adsorption and recovery
Disposal Systems Thermal destruction
Dispersion

Chapter 8 Hazard analysis

Hazard Analysis and Hazard Identification anaiysis method
Consequencr Consequence assessment techniques

Chapter 9 Potential failure modes and concerns

Operations Pressure reiief devices
and Maintenance

Figure 1-1. Guideline Organization and Content

6
 Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.6 References
1-1 American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 2002. B32.3 - Process
Piping. New York, New York.
1-2 Center for. Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). 1998. Guidelines for
Pressure Relief and Efluent Handling Systems. New York, New York:
Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of
Chemical Engineers.
1-3 The Design Institute for Emergency Relief Systems PIERS). 1992.
Emergency Relief System Design Using DIERS Technology. New York,
New York. American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
1-4 Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). 1988. Guidelines for
Vapor Release Mitigation. New York, New York Center for
Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers.
1-5 Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). 1997. Guidelines for
Post-Release Mitigation Technology in the Chemical Process Industry.
New York, New York: Center for Chemical Process Safety of the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
1-6 Grossel, Stanley S. 2002. Deflagration and Detonation Flame
Arresters. New York, New York Center for Chemical Process
Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
1-7 Crowl, D. A. 2003. Understanding Explosions. New York, New
York: Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute
of Chemical Engineers.
1-8 Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). 1993. Guidelines for
Engineering Design for Process Safety. New York, New Y ork: Center
for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers.