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Blowdown
Emergency Depressurisation
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Emergency Depressurisation This article has not been peer reviewed or expert
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Emergency depressurisation/ Blowdown is an emergency response action to reduce the risk of escalation in
case of a fire or leak of explosive or toxic gas. For pipeline systems they may be used in non-emergency
applications, such as maintenance preparation. [Editorial Comment: We need to either include a “ /
Blowdown” each time the Emergency Depressuring term is used, or we need to include some wording at the
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beginning that the terms are synonymous with each other but the different terns are used for different
businesses within Shell. I think we may want to do both (define and always use both terms)] API Standard We welcome your contribution or feedback on this
521 covers vapor depressuring of surface facilities and is well recognized in the Industry. This standard is article.
supplemented by DEP 80.45.10.12-Gen. on Emergency Depressuring and Sectionalization. In addition, the
new Process Safety Basic Requirement (PSBR for DEM2) number 8 on avoiding brittle fractures calls for a Edit this Article

demonstration that equipment steel can withstand the cold temperatures, for instance during plant
depressruing. Deleting Articles
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To reduce the risk of pressurised equipment failing when it is engulfed by a fire. The heat would
weaken the strength of the steel equipment, until it could not contain its internal pressure. Without Nominate this article for deletion
emergency depressuring / blowdown it may cause the fire emergency to escalate into a catastrophic
equipment failure and/or Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion (BLEVE). Depressuring will tend
to reduce the stresses on the steel when it is in the weakened state. Discussion
To reduce the risk quickly during emergency scenarios (e.g. loss of Instrument Air, evacuation, Power Discuss this article Content on Yammer, Shell's
failure) business discussion forum.

To reduce size of a flammable gas escape during loss of containment

Article History
To reduce size of a toxic gas plume Version history
To ‘switch off’ a Jet fire where the jet fire is being produced from equipment that can be depressured Compare older versions
/ blown down.

To reduce the risk of equipment failure during an internal exothermic runaway reaction.
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As part of Normal operation procedure (e.g. pig traps, hydrate removal) for pipelines

As part of Maintenance procedure for pipelines

Emergency Depressuring / Blowdown can reduce the risk of lead to Pool Fire, Jet fire and BLEVE Enterprise Encyclopedia Support

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The primary design decisions are:

At what rate must gas be released from each equipment item to meet the required depressuring
times (so what total flare capacity is required)

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What is the lowest metal temperature experienced in each equipment item and in the flare system
(which low-temperature materials are necessary)?
What size Restriction Orifice (RO) or other rate controlling device and flare connections are required
for depressuring of each section of the plant and how will the plant be secgtionalized?

Emergency Depressurisation System

During depressuring the equipment inlet and outlets (both gas and liquid) of the system may be closed
where the system is isolated. The depressuring valve is opened and the gas is disposed of via a Restriction
Orifice (RO), fixed choke, or control valves into the flare (or vent) system. Upstream generally uses RO to
fix the flow rates during emergency depressurization. It is also possible to use depressuring valves of known
Flow Coefficient (Cv).

The system to be depressured can consist of multiple pieces of equipment. These systems can operate with
pressure, temperature or composition gradients. For example, in a gas compression unit, the suction
scrubber and discharge cooler normally operate at quite different temperatures, pressures and liquid
fractions. In a pipeline, the pressure and temperature are greater at the upstream end.

During depressuring of a sectionalised system, the boundary Emergency Shut Down (ESD) valves may close
and the system may start to settle out depending on the initiating scenario, before the depressuring valve
opens. In addition to ESD valves and control valves sometimes serve for section isolation. While settling,
the fluid will redistribute inside the blocked-in system. This pressure change may cause condensation or
evaporation and changes in fluid temperature. As a result, the starting conditions for the depressuring
calculations may be quite different from the normal operating conditions. If the equipment could be left
shut-in for a prolonged period before being depressured, it may cool (or warm) towards ambient air
temperature.

Emergency Depressurisation Rate

High rate depressuring typically depressures the equipment(system) to 7 barg or 50% of design
pressure, whichever is lower, within 15 minutes. This is intended to protect pressure vessels against
catastrophic failure when exposed to pool fires.

Low rate depressuring will depressure the equipment to 50% of design pressure within 60 minutes. This
is intended to protect against reactive hazards.

Previous revisions of DEP 80.45.10.10 recommended depressuring only to 50% of design pressure in 15
minutes. Compliance with the “690 kPag” criteria often means that depressuring becomes the largest flare
sizing case (greater than relief cases)for upstream assests.

Faster or slower depressuring rates might be selected, depending on the equipment and scenario to be
protected, and depending on the site emergency response philosophy.

Problems caused by Emergency Depressurisation

Emergency depressurisation can lead to some problems. These include the following:

Brittle fracture in materials can be caused by the rapid cooling that results during emergency
depressurisation.

Simulation tools

There are a number of simulation tools available to predict the depressuring phenomenon. The BLOWDOWN
tool was specifically developed for this application and validated against full scale experiments.
Unfortunately, the tool has limited functionality and is prone to instabilities. The UniSim Design Process
Simulation tool has a depressuring utility, which is easy to use, but the results have a wider range of
uncertainty. UniSim Design Dynamics can also be used for depressuring but requires a lot more user input.
For pipeline depressuring both Compas and OLGA can be used. The report GS.09.53369 provides step by
step flow charts to implement the established design standards and processes and to assist in choosing the
correct simulation tool. This report is written with a primary focus on Upstream assets, yet the document
can be applied selectively to Downstream assets.

FRED
Blowdown simulation tool
UniSim Design
Compas
OLGA
Pipeline Studio

Relevant standards

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API Standard 521 – Pressure-Relieving and Depressuring Systems
DEP 80.45.10.12-Gen Emergency Depressuring Systems
DEP 30.10.02.310-Gen Metallic Materials – Prevention of Brittle Fractures
GS.09.53369

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