Consequences of Fire and Explosion in Distillation Unit of Persian Gulf Star Gas Condensate Refinery Using PHAST Software

The main purpose of this research is modeling based on PHAST software, and achieving safe distances for deploying firefighting teams at the time of accidents as consequences of leakage, fire and explosion in some of the process equipment of Persian Gulf Star Gas Condensate Refinery.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019. In this study, two possible types of fire in the single distillation process (sudden fire and burst fire) were investigated. The explosion of one of the towers was also simulated to determine the extent of the effects of these events.

In the jet fire of the output line of furnace 101, the minimum distance from the accident site should be considered 120 meters, which according to the standards related to heat flux, up to a distance of 66 meters, the probability of death will be 100%. In addition, due to the pressure wave created in the wide range prone to flash fire in the rupture of the output line of furnace 101, the explosion of the fire station also affects.

According to the data obtained from the simulation, the authors concluded that in the event of leaks in the open air (flammable materials), the greatest danger threatening people and equipment, and consequently the firefighting team, is the occurrence of flash fire, which usually covers a wide area.