Hydrogen venting, lessons learnt for safe design and operation

Hydrogen is the most abundant gas in the world and widely used for many industrial processes as well as power generation and fuel. However, hydrogen has unique properties that make safely handling it extremely important. Due to its high reactivity, wide flammable range and low ignition energy, hydrogen is easily ignited, and a hydrogen vent stack can present a risk of jet explosion, fireball, deflagration/detonation as well as jet fire hazards to onsite/offsite personnel.

Hydrogen is often vented to atmosphere as part of normal operations. This can be done safely, as long as the vent is designed and operated correctly, based on understanding hydrogen dispersion, ignition, fire and explosion characteristics. This presentation provides an overview of design and operation requirements, including lessons learnt from actual events.