Natural Gas Release from A Containment Vessel: Basic Calculational Approaches

Abstract

In order to assess the hazard impact of the release of natural gas from a pipeline or storage container, a computer analysis was undertaken to determine the concentration profiles and energy output during continuous and instantaneous release conditions. The Excel procedure requires the input of parameters including inside diameter, temperature and pressure of the natural gas, gas healing value, molecular weight, and wind velocity. A study of a hypothetical set of release conditions, based on data from the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, found that the radius of heat radiation with probale lethal effects was between 6 and 90 m, depending on the volume of gas. If the release occurred continuously, there was no significant impact on surrounding atmospheric conditions during the resulting fire. Significant impact on suttounding atmospheric conditions during the resulting fire. However, for the case of instantaneous release and explosion producing a fireball, significant and severe changes would occur, especially with respect to the atmpspheric stability categories E and F