An explosion occurred due to a lightning strike on the vent pipe of a synthetic methanol compressor! !

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An ignition accident occurred due to a lightning strike on the vent pipe of a synthetic methanol compressor. I. Accident details: On July 28, 2008, a lightning strike on the vent pipe of a 60,000 t/a synthetic methanol compressor at a chemical plant in Harbin led to an ignition accident. It was 23:00, and thunderstorms were occurring, yet the equipment was operating normally. Suddenly, after a thunderclap, the maintenance worker noticed that the vent pipe of the synthesis compressor was on fire. A colleague who was informed by the factory management called the factory’s fire department, and thanks to the efforts of the fire department and all the employees and staff in the factory, a major fire was averted. II. Accident analysis: 1. The sealed oil-gas mixture from the compressor’s sealing system enters the oil-gas separator; the gas (gasoline) from the separator goes back into the compressor, while the oil from the separator enters the oil tank. The vapor dissolved in the oil is released into the atmosphere through the vent pipe. Due to the low liquid level in the oil-gas separator at that time, a large amount of syngas entered the oil tank and, via the vent pipe, was struck by lightning, resulting in a fire accident. 2. The fact that the vent pipe lacked separate lightning protection facilities and was struck by lightning was also a major cause of this accident. The lightning protection measures adopted by this plant include installing lightning conductors on the compressor building, and simultaneously using the lightning rods on nearby distillation towers for lightning protection. Since the vent pipe was above the height of the lightning protection strip, and the lightning rod installed on the distillation tower could not cover the vent pipe, neither of these measures was effective, which led to the fire accident. III. Preventive measures: The above analysis identifies the main causes of this accident as the release of large amounts of flammable gases into the atmosphere and inadequate lightning protection facilities. The specific preventive measures are as follows: 1. Strengthen inspections to ensure that the oil-gas separator operates within the specified technical parameters; any abnormalities should be addressed immediately to prevent large-scale release of syngas into the air. 2. Set up the lightning protection device correctly in accordance with standards. Following this accident, technical personnel conducted a thorough inspection of the lightning protection systems throughout the plant, based on the basic measures for lightning protection, improved the weak points in these systems, and installed high-performance lightning arresters. And a reasonable arrangement was made to ensure that similar accidents do not occur again