Case Study – Lessons Learnt from Road Transportation Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) Study of High Pressure Hydrogen Tube Trailer in Singapore

The storage and transport of H2 via tube trailer is a mature technology with a long history of use. High pressure hydrogen is typically stored as compressed gas in a tube trailer to serve many important process applications in the semiconductor industries. The tube trailer is typically filled at hydrogen generation plants, hooked up to a prime mover, and transported to the end user facility. In densely populated areas that have sensitive receptors near roads, it is necessary to assess the risk of loss of containment of the tube trailers during road transportation.

In Singapore, safety of road transportation of hazardous materials is managed by the local regulatory authorities through the Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) framework. Transporters/logistic companies that transport pressurized hydrogen may be required to undertake a study depending on the packaging container size and transport route, as part of the transport licensing requirements.

AcuTech was recently engaged by an industrial gas company to conduct a transport QRA (tQRA) study for the road transport of gaseous H2 in tube trailer from their manufacturing facility to the Eastern side of Singapore. This case study presents the challenges and lessons learnt from the tQRA study. AcuTech will discuss credible loss of containment scenarios from H2 tube trailer and the resulting event outcomes; risk acceptance criteria for road transportation; limitations on the consequence outcome results generated by software in analyzing impacts to sensitive receptors; and practicable control measures that can be implemented to manage the risk to ALARP for all stakeholders involved.