Application of Process Hazard Analysis and Inherently Safer Design in Wood Pellet Production

Area of Science:

• Process Safety Engineering
• Industrial Fire and Explosion Safety
• Sustainable Energy Production

Background:

• Wood pellet fuel production involves combustible dust, posing fire and explosion risks.
• Current safety management practices may not fully address these specific hazards.
• Incorporating inherently safer design (ISD) is crucial for mitigating risks in industrial processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To integrate ISD principles into the management of combustible dust hazards in wood pellet manufacturing.
• To enhance process hazard analysis (PHA) by explicitly considering ISD barriers.
• To provide practical guidance for implementing ISD in wood processing facilities.

Main Methods:

• Bow tie analysis was employed to systematically identify ISD barriers within the PHA framework.
• A review of existing safety management systems, including process safety management (PSM), was conducted.
• Example-based guidance for combustible dust hazards was compiled.

Main Results:

• Specific ISD barriers were identified, such as using paved feedstock storage, reducing silo size, and relocating hazardous equipment.
• The study demonstrated the successful integration of ISD into PHA for wood pellet production.
• Learnings for conducting virtual PHA workshops and applying ISD in incident investigations were documented.

Conclusions:

• ISD principles offer a robust framework for managing combustible dust hazards in wood pellet production.
• Explicitly incorporating ISD into PHA and PSM enhances overall process safety.
• The findings provide actionable insights for improving safety in wood processing industries.