LPG Tank Safety

Fire Safety in LPG Tanks and Anatomy of Bleve

Onur ÖZUTKU

Abstract
LPG is a very important need in our lives and is an easily accessible energy source that makes people’s lives easier.
While this is so, we should not forget how dangerous it is. LPG has to be protected from any source of fire, very well
throughout its storage and transfer to usage area. Fire safety of gas is very important, especially in LPG storage
tanks and we should protect LPG plants and terminals with required safety precautions and barriers. Since LPG
stored in storage tanks is huge, fire incidents will lead to major accidents. This article explains fire safety require-
ments for LPG tanks, fire managenent and finally bleve (explained past accident), and the worst scenario that may
occur in case of fire, anatomy of bleve and how it can be prevented. Bleve phenomenon is explained.

LPG Usage Areas and Features slightly soluble in water. It is colorless and odorless.

D
eveloping technology and rising living stan-
dards have led to ever increasing needs of
energy. Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), one of
the important energy sources, satisfies major energy
needs. LPG, in our daily lives is consumed both as cyl-
inder gas and autogas (Figure 1).
LPG consists of a mixture of butane and propane
gases. LPG is produced while processing crude oil in
refineries or from natural gas deposits. LPG is in the
gas phase under normal conditions. But it is stored un-
der pressure in the form of liquid. LPG, though lique-
fied for transportation and storage, is consumed as gas.
It has flammable and combustible properties. It is very
For this reason, it is odorised with mercaptans or sul-
fur compounds so that it can be detected in case of gas
leakage. The presence of 2% to 9% in the air is suffi-
cient mixing ratio for the risk of explosion. For this rea-
son, both storage and transfer should be under strict
safety codes and rules.
LPG Storage Tanks And Tank Accessories
In the filling facilities and termi-
nals (Figure 2), LPG is stored in lique-
fied form under pressure in special-
ly designed cylindrical and spherical
tanks. LPG is stored in tanks in three
ways as propane, butane or mix.
Propane has highest vapor pressure
and propane storage tanks are de-
signed to resist higher pressures.
Typical Spherical LPG Tank Operations
A typical Spherical LPG tank can be built for 1000
m to 5000 m3 volume with multiple nozzles and con-
3

nection points. Of these, the maximum valve open and

Figure 1. LPG Usage
close operations are in the liquid, gas phase inlets and
Onur ÖZUTKU (Mech Engg; Masters in heat
transfer and fluid mechanics, Mustafa Kemal
University) with overall twelve years of ex-
perience, has worked in the field of produc-
tion and manufacturing and then he worked in
project-based maintenance-repair and capac-
ity increase works in Oil and LPG terminals.
Currently, he is with Milangaz as LPG Operations Engineer and as
LPG Terminal Manager. Figure 2. LPG Storage Tanks

50 Chemical Industry Digest. December 2022

 LPG Tank Safety

the drain lines. For this reason, these areas are critical
zones for operational safety. Past disasters have shown
us how important these areas, and even drainage op-
erations, are.
Over Pressure Protection in LPG Tanks
Safety valves are used to protect the tank from ex-
plosion when the LPG tanks vapor pressure increases
above the design pressure for any reason. The selection
of safety valves should be made according to engineer-
ing calculations and API standards and should be test-
ed by expert inspectors at least once every five years.

Figure 4. LPG Release

Source: API Natural Gas Liquids and Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Emergency Response Guide

dance with this standard, otherwise it will be danger-

ous. In any emergency action plan in LPG Tank fires
first action is to stop the source of the burning LPG,
otherwise it is not possible to extinguish LPG fires. In
these type of fires, emergency shut-off valves play the
crucial role. If the source of the fire in the LPG leak
Figure 3. Pressure Safety Valve is to stop and the LPG in the pipeline runs out, the
Safety valves are the silent guards of the tanks and fire will continue for some more time. In the mean-
are the most important safety equipment on the tank. time, if the fire zone is wetted with plenty of water,
(Figure 3) dangerous scenarios may not occur, because, fire in-
tensity will decrease as LPG and amount of oxygen
Firefighting Tactics and Leak Prevention
in the air decrease due to the evaporation of water.
There should be zero tolerance for leakage in LPG
LPG fires can occur as jet fire (Figure 5), Unconfined
storage tanks. In this context, all inlet and outlet noz-
Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE) and Boiling Liquid
zles of the tanks should be equipped with remote oper-
Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE). Of course, the
able emergency shut-off valves in case of leaks of LPG
worst of these three fires can be BLEVE. Terminals and
leaks or other emergencies that may happen in tanks
facilities should plan the largest portion of fire fighting
or pipelines. Thanks to this emergency shut-off sys-
plan with barriers that can prevent BLEVE.
tem, LPG spreading out of tanks is prevented in case
of emergency. It is recommended to test this emengen-
cy shut-off system at regular intervals.
a. Leakage prevention system
In addition, due attention should be given to zones
where LPG can be collected in case of leakage, such as
storm drain and sewers around LPG tanks. (Figure 4)
b. Fire fighting Systems in LPG tanks
The most important active fire protection system
in LPG tanks is the sprinkler systems on the spherical Figure 5. Jet Fire
Source: API Natural Gas Liquids and Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LPG tank. All important details are given in NFPA 58
Emergency Response Guide
and API 2510 & API2510A. Like for instance, how ma-
ny litres of water should be applied per square meter c. Bleve
of the tank shells per minute, how much water reserve BLEVE (Figure 6) is when the liquid in a tank reach-
one should have for fire fighting, fire pump flow rates es a temperature well above its boiling point, rupturing
etc. Fire fighting systems should be designed in accor- the tank it is in. It happens due to high temperature ex-

Chemical Industry Digest. December 2022 51

 LPG Tank Safety

posure of the tank shell, when

the liquid LPG in the tank heats
up and increases the internal
vapor pressure. Tank shell tem-
perature increase will weaken
the strength of tank shell met-
al. High internal pressure and
the decrease in the strength of
the steel will rupture the tank
in a short time.
Figure 7 Cooling LPG tank With Water And Dry Area
Source : API 2510 A
Figure 6. Bleve Stage
Source: RT 1 – Risque industriel » Mémento du maire et des élus locaux (mementodumaire.net)
(parts above the liquid level) inside
the tank very quickly, and rupture
the tank shell resulting in BLEVE.
The best way to prevent BLEVE in
the event of a fire should be to cut
off the LPG source of the burning
fire. During this period, the burn-
ing tank and adjacent tanks should
at LPG Tank be cooled with enough water. This
cooling will gain time to prevent BLEVE and fight fire.
(Figure 7)

“
The steel strength of the steel wall of the tank be-
There should be zero tolerance for leakage in LPG storage ing cooled with water will not decrease and will pre-
tanks. In this context, all inlet and outlet nozzles of the tanks vent the increase in the pressure inside the tank. Also,
should be equipped with remote operable emergency shut- the main rule that should not be forgotten is to ensure
off valves in case of leaks of LPG leaks or other emergen- that the fire fighting is done with water in amount ac-
cies that may happen in tanks or pipelines. Thanks to this cordance with the standards for each square meter of
emergency shut-off system, LPG spreading out of tanks is the tank surface and thus provides enough cooling.
prevented in case of emergency. It is recommended to test Especially cooling the areas on the tank shell that are
this emengency shut-off system at regular intervals. not in contact with liquid LPG is very important.
At the time of the fire, the liquid level in the tank
At the end of all these scenarios, BLEVE will hap- should be known and monitored (Figure 8). Since
pen. In the event of fire, the events will develop as fol- the liquid LPG will evaporate rapidly when the safe-
lows: first of all, the tank shell will heat up with the ef- ty valves are opened, the liquid level will appear as a
fect of the direct flames. The heat on the tank shell will thin line on the tank shell, it will not be difficult to see
be transferred to liquid LPG, since the pressure of LPG the level in the tank in daylight conditions. However,
with increasing temperature will increase, the pressure in night conditions or when there is a lot of smoke, it
in the tank will reach the opening pressure of the safe-
ty valves, which will be opened and the vapor of LPG
will be discharged to the atmosphere. Therefore, the
pressure in the tank will decrease again. The liquid in
the tank will evaporate quickly again because the fire
will continue and then the safety valve will open again.
In this cycle, the vaporized LPG will cool the tank shell
and inside of tank, but if the transfer of heat to tank
shell cannot be stopped, it will increase the internal
pressure of the tank again. Heat transfer to tank can be
stopped in two ways; first is to extinguish the fire and/
or cool the tank shell with sufficient water. When the
level of liquid that can cool the tank by evaporation de-
creases or runs out, the flames will heat the dry portion Figure 8. Liquid Level Of LPG Tank

52 Chemical Industry Digest. December 2022

 LPG Tank Safety

water line and the situation may

become more dangerous.
By this method, LPG leakage
can be prevented and stopped
when water is injected into the
tank. It is one of the most basic bar-
riers that can prevent BLEVE.
January 4, 1966 Feyzin Refinery Bleve -
Case Study
What went wrong?
Figure 9. Water İnjection Method During the 6AM to 2PM shift
at the refinery, operators were re-
quired to take a routine sample and
drain from each of the LPG stor-
age tanks. The operator, due to the
fact that he had only a single valve
spanner, opened the valves in the
incorrect order. This caused the re-
lease of a small amount of water
and a small amount of LPG when
he opened the lower valve. This
prompted the operator to close the
valve and then reopen it, leading
Figure 10. Bleve Of Feyzin Disaster to only a few drops emerging. The
Source: https://prezi.com/188aqzh9wppw/feyzin-disaster/
upper valve was then opened ful-
will not be possible to see the level in the tank from the ly. This led to a very powerful jet
outside. In such conditions firefighting will be more of LPG to rush out. This release splashed up from the
difficult. In cases where the tank surface is not suffi- drain and the operator suffered burns on the face and
ciently water cooled, the time for BLEVE will run out.
Knowing this situation, one should fight
the fire.
d. The method of injecting water
When a leak occurs in the tank, espe-
cially in the nozzle flange gasket, weld
seam or valve body, the LPG leak cannot
be stopped by emergency shut-off valves.
In such cases, it will be necessary to flood
the tank. When water is injected into the
tank, it will get forced down to the bottom
of the tank due to the density difference
and the LPG will be displaced upwards.
With this operation, the LPG leak will be
replaced by a water leak (Figure 9) and
LPG leak will not take place. While de-
signing such a system, attention should be
to ensure that the water pressure should
be higher than the vapor pressure of the
LPG inside the tank. Also a check valve
should definitely be used in the water in-
jection lines. Otherwise, LPG can flow to
Figure 11. Dewatering Line And Sample Point

Chemical Industry Digest. December 2022 53

 LPG Tank Safety
forearm. As he recoiled from the flow, the operator
partly pulled off the valve handle. The other operator,
losing sight of the first operator, turned on the water
supply to the sprays fitted to the sphere and, with the
operator, attempted to reposition the valve handle and
to shut the valve.
However,they failed to do so. In addition, there
was no remote operable emergency shut-off valve in
the LPG drainage line, and there was no excessive flow
valve on the line. As a result, a big fire started. The LPG
fire continued because they could not cut the source of
the LPG leak. One more mistake was added to these
mistakes as they did not do cooling of the burning tank
with water because they believed that the safety valve
alone could protect the tank and only needed cooling
neighboring tanks with water. However, BLEVE oc-
curred in the first tank caused by fire. Not long after,
the other five tanks also exploded. As a result of this
disaster, 18 people died, 81 people were injured and
5 spherical LPG tanks exploded (Figure 10). The pos-
54 Chemical Industry Digest. December 2022
sibility of such disasters should be taken into account
with risk assessment at the installation stage and the
design of the tanks should be done correctly and the
instructions of operations should be explained to the
operators with routine training. Past accidents are a
very good guide to future safe days.
Accident Causes And Suggestions
This accident has shown us that drainage operators
should be provided with correct procedures and good
designs.
I find the most fundamental deficiency in this re-
gard in valve selection. It is recommended to use a
deadman valve in this type of sampling and drain-
age operations. Also Interlock systems that will pre-
vent the opening of both valves at the same time will
also be an important barrier in preventing such acci-
dents. Lastly, remotely controllable emergency shut-
off valves should be at all inlet and outlet connections
of the tanks, include drainage line.
m