Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center
Recent Submissions
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Operational Risk Assessment of Routing Flare Gas to Boiler for Cogeneration
(2019-04-11)Flaring is a controlled combustion process in which unwanted or excess hydrocarbon gases are released to flare stack for disposal. Flaring has a significant impact on environment, energy and economy. Flare gas integration ... -
Study of Cryogenic Vaporization Source-Term Due to Heat Transfer from the Solid Substrate
(2017-04-10)U.S. regulation requires LNG facilities to demonstrate a safe exclusion zone for public safety. European safety case also requires that the facility will demonstrate their risk level within a tolerable limit. Thus, cryogenic ... -
Safer Operational Conditions for Natural Gas Processing in Transmission Line to LNG Plants
(2018-11-21)Carbon dioxide must be removed from natural gas before liquefying the gas because it freezes in pipelines and corrodes process equipment. There are several processes that can be used to remove CO2 from natural gas. The ... -
Process Resilience Analysis Framework for Design and Operations
(2018-11-27)Process plants are complex socio-technical systems that degrade gradually and change with advancing technology. This research deals with exploring and answering questions related to the uncertainties involved in the process ... -
Phase Equilibrium Studies on N-Oxidation Systems to Determine Homogeneous Mixture Conditions
(2018-10-24)The N-oxidation of alkylpyridines is used in the pharmaceutical industries to synthesize alkylpyridine N-oxides that are involved in the production of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs. The synthesis process involves ... -
Flammability Characteristics of Light Hydrocarbons and Their Mixtures at Elevated Conditions
(2018-11-01)Accurate data of flammability limits for flammable gases and vapors are needed to prevent fires and explosions. The flammability limit is the maximum or minimum fuel concentration at which a gas mixture is flammable in a ... -
Risk Analysis Including Organizational Aspects In Process Industries
(2015-07-09)The lack of management of organizational change has been found to be a contributing factor in a number of accidents. Proper management of organizational change considering the possible process safety incidents is essential ... -
Pipeline Risk Assessment Using Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) for Internal Corrosion
(2018-08-03)Pipelines are the most efficient mode of transportation for various chemicals and are considered as safe, yet pipeline incidents remain occurring. Corrosion is one of the main reasons for incidents especially in subsea ... -
DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF PROCESS SAFETY INDICES IN EARLY DESIGN PHASE OF CHEMICAL SUPPLY CHAIN
(2018-08-06)Supply chain network design and optimization are very important in decision making, which gives the ability to stakeholders to assess the massive supply chains to increase profit while minimizing risks. Risks in supply ... -
Investigation of a Cost-Effective Method of Nitrogen Inerting of Multicomponent Hydrocarbon Gas Mixtures in Large Storage Tanks
(2018-08-01)The heavy dependence of the world on oil and gas for daily activities has made it highly vital that we do not lose them to incidents such as fires, spills, etc. In addition to economic losses, these incidents also result ... -
Chemical Kinetics of Organophosphorus Fire Suppressants
(2018-06-18)Organophosphorus compounds (OPCs) have significant fire suppression capabilities but are not well understood. Chemical kinetics mechanisms can provide invaluable information about how OPCs suppress flames; however, the ... -
Systematic Analysis of Spontaneously Combustible Substances
(2018-05-27)The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the hazards of spontaneously combustible substances, and to develop a safety index to categorize the hazards of these materials. Furthermore, storage/handling guidelines ... -
Systematic Analysis of Spontaneously Combustible Substances
(2018-05-27)The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the hazards of spontaneously combustible substances, and to develop a safety index to categorize the hazards of these materials. Furthermore, storage/handling guidelines ... -
Mass Integration for Hazardous Wastewater Reuse with Incorporation of Economic and Safety Objectives
(2018-04-25)With the development of society and the increasing population, the water crisis has been a severe problem for several regions in the world. Although various water-treatment technologies have been developed, water shortages ... -
Optimize Ventilation Systems in Confined Workplaces Using Computational Fluid Dynamics
(2018-04-30)Chemical industry and society always want to eliminate the damage to the environment and lower the casualty if an incident occurs. Finding a more efficient and effective way to achieve this goal is now more critical than ... -
Stabilizing High Expansion Foam Using Zirconium Phosphate
(2018-04-25)Natural gas has been a fast developing industry for its advantages over other energy sources such as coal. Natural gas is usually stored as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). In the case of a leak of LNG, a potential risk for a ... -
Thermal, Mechanical and Flammability Studies of Flame-retardant Polymer Nanocomposites
(2018-03-23)Polymers are widely used in our day-to-day lives and we are often oblivious to the fire hazard imposed by these hydrocarbon-based materials. The current study introduces the application of fire retardant nanofillers for ... -
Consideration of Solar Radiation in Flare Design
(2018-05-01)At oil refineries and other chemical processing plants, a flare stack is used to get rid of unwanted or excessive gases and relieve the system of excess pressure. These gases can be generated during different stages of ... -
Experimental Study of Polyethylene and Sulfur Dust Explosion Characteristics
(2018-05-01)Polyethylene and sulfur are widely used substances in today’s industries, and therefore, the assessment and control of dust explosion risks associated with their production, storage, and usage are of paramount importance ... -
Methodology for Inherent Safety Assessment of Heat Exchangers in Early Design Stages
(2018-02-13)Shell and tube heat exchangers are used extensively in the process industry; they are a part of every process and make up for significant part of the capital cost investment. Due to high number of heat exchangers present ...