CN3135 Revision Tutorial

1-3 A worker is told her chances of being killed by a particular process are 1 in every 500 years.
Should the worker be satisfied or alarmed? What is the FAR (assuming normal working hours) and
the deaths per person per year? What should her chances be, assuming an average chemical plant?
Solution:
Worker works 50 workweek/year, 40 hours/week
Exposed hours per year = 2000 hrs/year
In 500 years, number of hours worked = 500 x 2000 = 1 x 106 hours

=>
FAR =

1 death every 106 hours worked

Number of fatalities X 108

Total hrs worked by employees during period covered

= 1 x 108/1 x 106 = 100 fatalities per 108 hours

FAR = 100
Based on Table 1-3:
FAR(UK) for chemical and allied products = 1.2 (for year 1987-1990)
Thus, worker should be alarmed.
Deaths per year = 2000 hrs/year x 1.2/108
= 2 x 103 x 1.2/108
= 2.5 x 10-5 (workers chance of fatality assuming an average chemical plant)

2-6 The Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) concentration is defined as the
concentration that poses a threat of exposure to airborne contaminants when that exposure is
likely to cause death or immediate or delayed adverse health effects or prevent escape from such an
environment. The IDLH implies a 30-min maximum exposure time.
a) The IDLH for chlorine gas is 10ppm. Use the Probit equation for chlorine deaths to estimate the
fraction of fatalities due to exposure at the IDLH for 30min.
b) Estimate the maximum exposure or evacuation time to result in no more than 1% fatalities at
the IDLH level.
Solution:
IDLH => maximum 30mins exposure = T
a) IDLH for chlorine gas = 10ppm = C
From Table 2-5
Probit correlations for chlorine death:
Y = k1 + k2lnV
Y = k1 + k2lnC2.0T, where C is concentration in ppm, T is exposure time in mins.

k1 = -8.29, k2 = 0.92,
Y = -8.29 + 0.92lnC2T
= -8.29 + 0.92 ln (10x10x30)
= -0.92 => 0% fatality
For 1% fatality, Y = 2.67 (Table 2-4)
Y = -8.29 + 0.92lnC2T
2.67 = -8.29 + 0.92 ln(10 x10 xT)
T = 1490mins = 24.8 hours

3-24 A worker splashfills 400 litres of tetrahydrofuran (THF) (C4H8O) over a 5-min period into a
reactor vessel of 1500 litres total volume. The filling is done through a manway of 0.5m diameter.
The local ventilation rate is 0.5 m3/s, the ambient pressure is 1 atm, and the temperature is 250C.
Estimate the local concentration of the THF, in ppm. What statement can you make regarding the
workers exposure to THF?
Physical property data for THF:
Molecular weight: 72.12
Vapour pressure: 114mmHg
Liquid density: 888kg/m3
TLV-TWA: 50ppm
Solution:

Use SI units: m, s and atm

Qv=0.5m3/min
Manway diameter = 0.5m
Splash fill, = 1
MW = 72.12
Psat = 114mmHg
P = 1 atm
Vc = 1500 litres = 1.5m3

K = mass transfer coefficient for an area A

= Ko(Mo/M)1/3
= (0.83cm/s) x (18/72.12)1/3
= 5.23 x 10-3 m/s

Fill area, A = D2/4 = 3.14 x 0.52/4 = 0.196m2

rf = 400 l/5min x 1/1500 l = 4/75 5.33 x 10-2/min = 8.89 x 10-4/sec

Note: Filling rate is based on per container or vessel. Unit is time -1. Thus need to divide by the
volume of the container.

= 114 (1x (8.89 x 10-4 x 1.5) + (5.23 x 10-3) 0.196) x 106/ (kx0.5x760)
= 705/k
k = mixing coefficient = 0.1 to 0.5
If k = 0.1, Cppm = 7050ppm
If k = 0.5, Cppm = 1410ppm
Thus with splash mixing, ambient concentration ranges from 1410ppm > Cppm > 7050ppm
Comparing with TLV-TWA of 50ppm => Worker is overexposed to THF

13-16 Determine the required thickness of a reactor with cylindrical walls that must be designed to
safely contain a deflagration (hydrocarbon plus air). The vessel has a diameter of 4ft and is
constructed with stainless steel 304. The normal operating pressure is 2 atm.
Solution:
For HC-air mixture
P2/P1 = 8 (Equation 13-5)
P1 = 2 atm
P2 = 16atm = 16 x 14.7 = 235 psi (must design vessel to withstand this)
Stainless steel 304, = 4 ft => r = 48/2 = 24
Table 13-2, Tensile strength = 80000 psi
Using Equation 13-1 since is a cylindrical vessel
P = Smtv/(r + 0.6tv)
Note: Pressure to cause elastic deformation is lower than deflagration, thus cannot use yield point
for calculation
235 = 80000 tv/(24+0.6tv)
tv = 0.0706 = 1.79mm

From Mid-Term Test (Refer to separate file for solutions)

Q1 An additive plant employs 150 full-time employees who work 8 hours per day and 300 days per
year. The plant has 4 process units, M, N, P and Q, with an FAR of 1.5, 1.0, 0.8 and 0.5 respectively.
The workers spend 50% of their time in Unit M, 20% in Unit N, 10% in Unit P and 20% in Unit Q,
Units M, N and Q are located near each other and any accident in one unit will affect the other 2
units. However, Unit P is located far enough apart such that any impact there will not affect the
other 3 units.
Calculate the overall FAR experienced by the workers.

Q6 A container of 750 litres, takes 45mins to be filled with cyclohexane (C6H12), using subsurface
filling method through a bung opening of 10cm2. The ventilation rate in the open area is 0.7m3/s.
The ambient pressure is 1 atm, and the temperature is 25oC. Cyclohexane has a saturated vapour
pressure of 97mmHg.
Assuming a mixing factor of 0.5, calculate the local concentration of cyclohexane in ppm. State your
answer to the nearest whole number.

Solution:
Using equation 3-24

MW of cyclohexane = 84
Psat = 97/760 = 0.128atm
Vessel takes 45mins to fill.
Filling rate, rf = 1/45 = 0.022 min-1 = 0.022/60 = 3.70 x 10-4 sec-1
Vc = volume of container = 750 litres = 0.75m3
K = mass transfer coefficient for an area A
= Ko(Mo/M)1/3
= (0.83cm/s) x (18/84)1/3
= 0.4966cm/s
= 0.00497m/s
Subsurface filling, = 0.5
Filling area A = 10cm2 = 0.001m2

Mixing factor, k = 0.5

Substitute into Equation 3-24. Using SI units of m, s and atm

= 0.128 (0.5 x3.70 x10-4x0.75 + 0.00497 x 0.001) x 106

(0.5x0.7x1)
= 0.365(1.39X10-4 + 4.97 X 10-6) X 106
= 0.365 x 1.44 x 10-4 x 106
= 52.56ppm
= 53ppm (nearest whole number)
If ignore evaporation, Cppm = 0.365 x 1.39X10-4 x 106 = 51ppm (nearest whole
number)
Q7 A maintenance contractor of a swimming pool in a country club, wrongly mixed sodium
hypochlorite with bleach, causing a toxic gas release. 200 employees and guests were evacuated
during the incident. It was found they were exposed to chlorine gas at 125ppm concentration for
30mins, followed by a consecutive exposure of 40ppm of chlorine gas for another 15mins during the
incident.
Compute the expected number of people who will survive the incident. State your answer to the
nearest whole number.

Solution:
From Table 2-5
Probit correlations for chlorine death: