Concrete measures to prevent LPG (Cooking Gas) Plant explosion

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• Author: Muyiwa Ige(LPG Stakeholder and Consultant)

No LPG Plant owner/stakeholder will be excited to see their multi-million naira investment go up in flames via an explosion in a country like Nigeria.

However, the negligence or outright failure of a Cooking Gas plant owner to put in place and adhere to safety measures and procedures can lead to a disaster such as an LPG Plant explosion.

Strict adherence to the following safety and industry practices will prevent unfortunate incidents like fire outbreaks and explosion at the LPG bottling plants in the country.

High Pressure Lorry Filling Hose

The lorry high pressure hose that is coupled to the LPG tanker (bridger) to offload gas into the plant’s surface storage tank must be of superior quality.

This is because a hose of low quality can rupture during the discharge of gas, which can have fatal consequences if cooking gas spills onto any source of ignition near-by.

Good quality high pressure LPG hoses usually have a lifespan of 5-10 years.

It is best to replace your hoses that are of good quality after every five years.

Inspection of the hose for cracks and crevices must be done regularly.

Cracked hoses must not be used for the offloading of LPG and should be changed immediately.

Power Generator House

The generator house/unit must be located far from the area where gas is being offloaded. This becomes necessary so that in the event of the rupture of the filling hose or valve failure during the offloading of cooking gas from the LPG tanker to the storage tank, the spillage of gas will not get to the power generator’s exhaust and cause an ignition, which will result in an explosion.

LPG Ball Valves

Only ball valves of top quality must be used in an LPG Plant.

In addition, a standard cooking gas plant must have a sufficient number of valves in its piping network.

These valves must be examined regularly for leakage and cracks.

Depending on its quality level, an LPG valve typically has a lifespan of 5-10 years. LPG valves should be replaced after five years of use.

Only brand new valves should be used in a cooking gas plant; plant owners and LPG engineers should desist from using fairly used LPG valves.

Sources of ignition

Mobile phones, exhaust pipes of vehicles/motorbikes, electrical fittings and naked light must not be allowed to come near the LPG discharge area.

Any other potential source of ignition must be avoided in this area or within the vicinity of the LPG Plant as much as possible.

Overfilling the LPG Storage Tank

It is unsafe o fill an LPG (Cooking Gas) tank beyond 90% of its total storage capacity, if propane (which has a higher pressure) has a higher proportion in the LPG mixture.

For an LPG mixture that has a higher proportion of butane (which has a lower pressure), the recommended maximum LPG volume is 85%.

Overfilling an LPG tank will trigger the tank’s pressure relief valve to pop open (if it has one) and cause a release of cooking gas. If there’s any source of ignition near-by, a fire incident might be the inevitable outcome.

Worse still, if the LPG storage tank is not equipped with a pressure relief valve and the tank is of inferior quality or has expired, the tank might explode or rupture with catastrophic consequences.

Static Electricity

Personnel involved in the discharge of LPG must ensure that static electricity, which has the potential of igniting LPG vapor does not build up on their body.

They must regularly discharge the static electricity that might have accumulated on their bodies by touching metallic objects with their bare hands.