Methanator Temperature Runaway Results in a Fire

In the 1990s and early 2000s there were at least two known methanator runaways in North America that resulted in equipment overheating and loss of containment. The particular incident addressed in this paper is one of those two. It occurred during startup of a hydrogen plant while reducing a fresh charge of methanator catalyst. Piping in the methanator circuit overheated, resulting in a large fire. Although this incident occurred almost three decades ago, it underscores the importance of having and following well written procedures, safety instrumented systems, layers of protection, and risk awareness.