2023 Spring Meeting and 19th Global Congress on Process Safety

(41w) Comparison of Hydrogen and Hydrocarbon Fuels Hazards, and Practical Risk Management Strategies

Authors

Fuller, B. A. - Presenter, AcuTech Consulting Group
Wise, W. - Presenter, AcuTech Conulting Group
As hydrogen increases in usage as a fuel and energy carrier globally, it is being incorporated into novel technologies and processes. As new hydrogen applications and processes are being developed, industry professionals need to learn the risks associated with hydrogen and develop recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP) for hydrogen processes.

While best practices and risk management strategies for similar hydrocarbon gas processes are mature and generally known within industry, these are not as well understood with hydrogen. Engineers and risk practitioners are comfortable with hazards from conventional fuel equipment such as LNG and LPG tanks, vessels, and spheres. However, most are not familiar with the hazards of hydrogen fuel equipment, such as liquid hydrogen storage tanks and hydrogen fuel dispensers.

The objective of this paper is to provide a comparison of hydrogen hazards with hazards of similar, more commonly used fuels through consequence modeling, and a review of incidents and RAGAGEP. The latest hydrogen consequence models will be assessed and used to evaluate risk of hydrogen equipment. The analysis will provide the current energy industry useful guidance to understand the risk associated with this new fuel.