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Summary
A fluidized bed drier was in use for drying palladium on carbon catalyst. A batch of catalyst had been partially dried and left overnight. Shortly after the batch had been put back into the drier the next day, and drying restarted, a fire and minor explosion occurred inside the drier. The supervisor stopped the drier fan and operated the fire alarm. The Local Authority Fire Brigade, together with the Works Fire Team, extinguished the fire. No one was injured and the only damage was to combustibles inside the drier (filter bag and rubber seals), the drier pan and some loss of catalyst.
Whenever possible, batches of catalyst should be fully dried in one operation thus removing the risk of heating up of the carbon between separate drying periods. Where this is not possible, the following precautions should be taken: cool the drier pan down by blowing cold air through for about 30 minutes with the heating off, before removal from the oven; check that the carbon temperature is below 30oC after removal of the pan from the oven; keep the pan covered, to prevent convected air being drawn through the carbon bed, for as long as it is outside the oven; before re-introducing the pan back into the oven, check that the carbon temperature is still below 30C and that the pan is cold; after resumption of drying, keep a careful check on operations to ensure that the rate of heating up is normal. Consider the use of a continuous flow process for acetone removal. The more acetone that is removed, the less likely is the heating of carbon by slow oxidation. Make the hazards associated with activated carbon, whether catalyst impregnated or not, more widely known.
Authors note
It is worth noting some of the general hazards associated with heat transfer in fluidized beds, whatever they are being used for. In order to ensure good, uniform heat transfer between the bed itself, the fluidizing gas and the reactor vessel and mechanical parts, it is essential that the bed and gas are in homogenous contact with each other at all times. This is particularly true where a strongly exothermic reaction is being carried out, or where the use of high energy external or internal heating is necessary in order to carry out an endothermic reaction. If parts of the bed become static they can rapidly heat up to dangerous levels and the reaction can run out of control. Consequences of this can include fire, explosion, serious damage to reaction vessels, and
Recommendations
The recommendations for avoidance of recurrence of similar incidents were:
over-pressurization, with the possibility of dangerous materials being released to the working area and beyond. The fluidized bed must be a homogenous, well-mixed mass for it to be truly safe. This incident shows what can happen when a fluidized bed reaction is suspended and the bed left static in a potentially reactive state. Localized areas of an operating fluidizing bed can pose similar hazards if they are not fully mobile.
Sophisticated systems of temperature measurement and control of the bed and the reactor vessel are necessary in order to prevent temperature excursions that might lead to incidents. When a reaction has to be suspended before it is complete, it is good practice (if practicable) to keep the bed fluidizing by the use of an inert gas, for example nitrogen, to ensure that the homogeneity of the bed is maintained.
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