INDUSTRIA L RISK fNSU RERS

nformation~

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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

PLANT LAYOUT AND SPACING FOR

OIL AND CHEMICAL PLANTS

INTRODUCTION
Loss experience clearly shows that fires or
explosions in congested areas have re
sulted in very extensive losses. Wherever
explosion or fire hazards exist, proper plant
layout and adequate spacing between haz
ards are essential to loss prevention and
controL Layout relates to the relative loca
tion of equipment or units within a given
site. SpacIng pertains to minimum dis
tances between units or equipment.
IRI layout and spacing recommendations
are for property loss prevention purposes
only and are intended for oil and chemical
facilities. IRI guidelines only address spac
ing and layout within a plant and are only
applicable to open structures. An open air
design favors vapor dissipation, provides
adequate ventilation, reduces the size of
the classified electrical area and increases
firefigh ting accessibility.
This IRInformation manual section re
places the previous guidelines titled "Gen
eral Recommendations for SpaCing in
Refineries, Petrochemical Plants, Gasoline
Plants, Terminals, Oil Pump Stations and
Offshore Properties" published by Indus
trial Risk Insurers and adapted from Oil
Insurance Association No. 631. Additional
information can be found in several publi
cations. 1

the explOSion center is given in

IM.8.0.1.1. 2
Lower fire exposure. Radiation from a
fire qUickly decreases as the separation
distance increases.
Higher dilution of gas clouds or
plumes. Gas concentration decreases
as the distance from the emiSsion
source increases.
Easier access of equipment for mainte
nance. inspection and firefighting pur
poses.
Easier spill and spill fire control in open
areas. redUCing the overall exposure.
Lower concentration of values. result
ing in a lower property damage loss
should a given incident occur. lRI typ
ically establishes a probable maximum
loss (PML) based upon a vapor cloud
explosion where such a hazard exists.
A good spread of values and a good
spaCing between explosion hazard
areas will lower the PML.
Extensive spacing might increase the in
vestment required to build a given plant
due to the following:
More land may be required.
More piping, cabling. roads and larger
drainage systems may be required.

A good layout and suffiCient spacing be

tween hazards, equipment and units will
have the following benefits:

Additional or larger pumps or compres

sors might be required as friction loss
increases with the piping length and.
therefore, operating costs increase.

Lower explosion damage. Over

pressures created by an explosion de
crease rapidly as the distance from the
center of the explosion increases. The
mathematical relationship between
overpressures and their distances from

Proper layout and separation distances

should be designed into a plant during the
very early planning stages of the project.
This will require preliminary identification
of hazards inherent to the operations or to
the natural hazards. A good layout may

85 Woodland Street. Hartford. Connecticut 06105-1226

Copyright 0 1991. Industrial Risk Insurers

The lIjformatJDn contained herein IS not meant to Imply that every possible hazard has been Idenr!fled. or that no olher hazards exISt. lRI specYlcally dISclaims any
warranl!i or representaUon that compliance wIth any advice contained herein wUI make any premISes or operations safe or healthful. or In compliance with any law.
rule or regulation. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as Indicating the exJstence or avaUablllly of coverage under any policy for any property or type of
loss or damage. Any Interpretation qf data contained herein should be made by lRI SID.ff.

IM.2.S.2
June 3,1991
not automatically increase the construc
tion cost because proper separation be
tween hazards can decrease the exposure
protection required. For example. a con
trol room unexposed by a process unit
would have no need to be explosion resis
tant. Optimum layout Will achieve a bal
ance anlong loss prevention, construction,
maintenance and operation requirements.

equipment. Tables 1, 2 and 3 provided in

this gUide are minimum spacing gUidelines
and are mainly based on fire and vessel
explosion hazards.
Where large anlounts of flammable vapors
could be released and a vapor cloud explo
sion could occur, a more detailed hazard
analysis and evaluation would be required
per IM.B.O.l.l. The vapor cloud explosion
overpressure circles should be calculated.
The minimum spacing required between
units would be based upon the folloWing
criteria:

Computer-aided design (CAD) generates

three dimensional layouts which have
proven very effective for visualizing the pro
posed spatial arrangement of a unit or
plant. High equipment concentration.
plant congestion. etc., are spotted easily by
these computer generated techniques. The
use of CAD allows operators, maintenance
and loss prevention personnel to easily
comment and make appropriate recom
mendations. Reduced scale plastic mod
els, while more difficult to build. offer
similar benefits.

Critical equipment from adjacent units

should not be located within the 3 psi
(0.21 bar) overpressure circle.
Equipment or structures from adjacent
units Within the 1 psi (0.07 bar) over
pressure circle should be designed to
withstand the given vapor cloud over
pressure.
If the minimum spaCing reqUirements
based on a vapor cloud explosion incident
appear to be less than the minimum spac
ing required by the spacing tables, the
spacing from tables should be used.

IRI POSITION
The layout and spacing gUidelines are
based on fire and explosion loss experi
ence.

Vapor cloud study results could indicate

that an even higher separation between
some units is needed because of higher
than normal explosion damage potential
and business interruption.

The folloWing factors should be considered

when determining the layout and the sep
aration required:

High hazard operations

Critical operations

Fire and explosion exposures

Other hazard analysis methods can pro

vide good loss potential evaluations and are
described in various Center for Chemical
Process Safety publications3 or in the DOW
Fire & Explosion Index. 4

Grouped operations

Concentration of values

Overall Plant Layout

Vapor cloud explosions

Maintenance and emergency accessi

bility

Drainage and grade sloping

Natural hazards and climate

Future expansions

The site selection is quite critical as it can

seriously affect exposure from uncontrolla
ble factors such as floods, earthquakes,
tidal waves. subsidence and hurricanes.
Information pertaining to site selection and
natural hazards evaluation 'will be found in
other IRlnformatlon sections.

A review ofvarious hazards and loss poten

tials will help establish the degree of sepa
ration required between units and

Once a site has been selected, layout and

spaCing can reduce the effect of some of the

IM.2.S.2
June 3,1991

CD
OCCUPIED BLDGS
LAB/W HOUSE ect

c=J
PARKING

TANK STORAGE

LOT

DO
CONTROL
ROOM

ACCESS
ROAD

STORMWATER &
WASTE WATER
DS

CCS

GATE

RAILCAR LOADING

PREVAILING
WIND
Figure 1. Good Layout Example.

Reprinted by permission of NOVACOR Chemical Ltd.

wind of potential vapor leaks or build

ing the tank farm downhill of essential
units will reduce the likelihood of an
explosion or fire ignition. Figure 1 il
lustrates a good layout based of the
prevailing wind.

following controllable and uncontrollable

factors that contribute to losses:

Site slope. climate. exposure to natural

hazards. wind direction and force are
among the uncontrollable factors.
However, locating ignition sources u p

IM.2.S.2
June 3, 1991
hazard analYSis shows that larger separa
tion distances are required. Unfavorable
conditions, such as inadequate sloping.
poor drainage, and critical operations, can
increase the exposure between units. thus
requiring higher separation distances. All
distances between units are measured
from battery limits. "Battery limits" as de
fined by IRI are imaginary lines surround
ing a unit. This line is typically box shaped
and encloses equipment required for the
operation of the unit. It generally does not
include cooling towers. maintenance bUild
ings or other structures not conSidered as
being part of this unit. This line crosses
utility. service. raw material, and finished
product piping.

Flammable liquid holdups, spill control

and the type of process are among the
controllable factors. Proper drainage
and separation will control spills and
fire spread.
Adjusting the plant layout to the physical
requirements of the site, the process flow,
the operational hazards and the loss pre
vention considerations is difficult.
The hazard assessment of each plant oper
ation should help establish the relative po
sition or orientation of blocks or units
within the plant. The possible loss events
and their consequences should be reviewed
for each proposaL The selected layout
should minimize the overall property dam
age and related business interruption
should an incident occur.

The space between battery limits of adjoin

ing units should be kept clear and open.
The clear area between units should not be
regarded as a future area for process ex
panSion.

The overall site should be subdivided into

general areas dedicated to process units,
utilities, services and offices. Each area or
unit block generally has a rectangular
shape. A maximum unit size of 300 ft
(92 m) by 600 ft (183 m) is generally rec
ommended for firefighting purposes.

Process Units
The processing units are generally the
most hazardous operations in a plant. For
operational purposes, the process units are
generally grouped together and arranged in
accordance with the general process flow.

Access roadways should be provided be

tween blocks to allow each section of the
plant to be accessible from at least two
directions. Dead end roads should be
avoided. Road widths and clearances
should be Sized to handle large moving
eqUipment and emergency vehicles.
Trucks and cranes may also reqUire large
overhead and lateral clearances to avoid
hitting piping racks. pipe ways. tanks or
hydrants. Roads should be unexposed by
drainage ditches and pipe ways. Slightly
elevated roads may be reqUired in areas
subject to local flooding. Hydrants and
monitors are often located along these
roads to allow easy hook-up of firefighting
trucks. There should be at least two en
trances to the plant for emergency vehicles
to prevent the possibility of vehicles being
blocked during an incident. e.g.. open
bridge, railway.

Process hazards should be evaluated and,

depending on the results of such review, be
classed high. intermediate. moderate and
minimum hazard groups as shown in
IM.2.5.2.A. The relative hazard of each
process should determine the spacing re
quired between the various blocks. Haz
ardous units should be separated from
other hazardous hazard units to avoid fire
spread. Adequate separation, "separating"
or "buffering" high hazard units by moder
ate or even lower hazard units is a way to
reduce such exposure, e.g.. a catalytic
cracker should be separated from the al
kylation unit.
EqUipment or structures common to mul
tiple process units, such as large compres
sors and turbines. central control rooms
and fired heaters, should be properly lo
cated to prevent a single event from impair

Table 1 prOvides minimum inter-unit spac

ing gUidelines but should not be consid
ered as a substitute gUideline where a

IM.2.S.2
June 3,1991

1 ft,. 0.305 m

/ " no spacing requirements

spacing given In Table 3
TABLE 1. Inter-Unit Spacing Requirements For 011 And Chemical Plants.

IM.2.S.2
June 3, 1991
Intermediate hazard pumps: All other
pumps handling flammable or combus
tible liquids. Canned and magnetic
pumps have a lower fire hazard. and
therefore. there are no specific spacing
requirements.

ing the overall operation and causing ex

tensive business interruption.
The equipment within a unit can be laid
out in two general ways or a combination
thereof:
Grouped layout. where similar equip
ment is grouped together to ease oper
ation. maintenance and control.

Proper intra-unit layout should include the

following principles:

Flow line. where equipment is arranged

in a sequence similar to the process
fl ow diagram.
Maintenance and operations accessibility
will be a governing spacing and layout fac
tor. Equipmen t needing frequent overhaul,
maintenance or cleaning should be prefer
ably located at unit boundaries. Large ves
sels or equipment should be located close
to unit boundaries to allow easy access of
cranes.
In some cases. fire protection spacing re
quiremen ts will exceed maintenance acces
sibility requirements. The relative location
of equipment depends on its probable re
lease of flammable materials, its flammable
liquid holdup and its potential to be a
source of ignition. A domino effect loss is
possible within process units.

Compressors should be at least 100 ft

(30 m) dmVI1wind from fired heaters
and at least 25 ft (7.5 m) from any other
exposing equipment. To avoid unnec
essary exposure. lube oil tanks and
pumps should not be located directly
under the compressor.
Heaters and furnaces should
tached from the unit or at least
at one corner of the unit. Such
uous ignition sources should
wind of the process units.

Table 2 provides minimum spacing guide

lines for spacing within process units. The
recommended separations are the clear.
horizontal distances between adjacent
edges of equipment. The following classifi
cations are for equipment and processes:

be de
located
contin
be up

Some very high hazard equipment sus

ceptible to explosions. such as reac
tors, can be separated from other areas
by blast resistant walls instead of in
creased spacing.

Process reactors are classed as moder

ate. intermediate or high hazard. The
relative hazard classification is detailed
in IM.2.5.2.A.

Pumps and compressors handling

flammable products should not be
grouped in one single area nor should
they be located under pipe racks. air
cooled heat exchangers and vessels.
Pump and driver axis should be ori
ented perpendicular to pipe racks or
other equipment to minimize fire expo
sure in case of a pump seal failure.
High pressure charge pumps should be
separated from any other major pro
cess equipment and other pumps by at
least 25 ft (7.5 ml.

High hazard pumps:

o Handle flammable and combustible
liquids. operate at temperatures
above 500F (260C) or above the
product autoignition temperature.

Flammable products storage should be

minimized within the process unit
boundaries. Tanks. accumulators or
similar vessels \\1th flammable liquid
holdups should be installed at grade. if
possible.

The preferred layout of a process unit is a

pipe rack located in the center of the unit
with large vessels and reactors located out
wards of the central piperack. Pumps
should be placed at the outer limits of the
process area. The practice of stacking

o Handle flammable and combustible

liquids and operate at pressures
above 500 psi (34.5 bar).
o Handle liquefied flammable gases.

IM.2.5.2
March 2, 1992

----

1 ft 0.305 m equirements
I no spacing r
TABLE 2. Intra-Unit Spacing Requlrements For

on And Chemc
i al Plants.

IM.2.S.2
March 2, 1992
equipment in process structures should be
limited to equipment with no fire potential.

Services
Warehouses, laboratories, shops, fire bri
gade stations and offices could be unduly
exposed if located too close to process
areas. Welding equipment, cars and
trucks as well as large numbers of people
are "uncontrollable ignition sources."

Utilities
Central services, such as cooling towers,
boilers. power stations and electrical sub
stations, should be located away from haz
ardous areas. They should not be affected
by a fire or explosion within the plant nor
be a source of ignition for any potential
flammable liquid or gas release. Adequate
separation between different utility ser
vices is recommended because utility
losses could then lead to unsafe conditions
in other plant units, possibly creating fires
or explosions. Safe spacing between boil
ers or generators will increase the reliabil
ity of the utilities.

Loading racks, piers and wharfs should be

well spaced from other areas due to large
numbers of trucks, railcars, barges or ship
carrying large amoun ts of flammable or
combustible liqUids. To limit vehicle traffic
within the plant. loading and off-loading
operations should be located at the plant
perimeter close to the entry gate. Reducing
plant traffic will ease emergency vehicle
movement and limit accident hazards.

Electrical substations and motor control

centers are generally scattered throughout
the plant. They can be a potential ignition
source if not properly pressurized or sepa
rated. Locating substations away from
hazardous areas will increase the reliability
of the power supplies should a loss occur.
Electrical distribution cables should be
buried to limit their exposure to explo
sions, fires, storms, and vehicles, and to
ease firefighting accessibility.

The location of flares depends on their

height and flare load. SpeCific spacing re
quirements can be found in API 521. 5

Control Rooms

Different types of tanks and contents

should not be grouped or diked to
gether.

Storage tanks should be located at a

lower elevation than other occupancies
to prevent liquids or gases from flowing
toward equipment or buildings and ex
posing them. Tanks should be located
downWind of other areas.

Atmospheric storage tanks and pres

sure vessels should be arranged in
rows not more than one or two deep
and should be adjacent to a road or
accessway for adequate firefighting ac
cessibility.

Piping involved in ground fires usually

fails within 10 or 15 minutes of initial
exposure. Therefore, piping. valves
and flanges should be held to an abso
lute minimum when located within

Tank Farms
Large fires have spread quickly within tank
farms because of poor spacing, diking.
drainage or layout.
Generally. the following layout recommen
dations should be conSidered:

Traditionally, control rooms were located

at the edge or within the process unit, but
technological developments have allowed a
more remote location. The control room is
an essential element in the process control;
its location and construction should allow
operators to safely shut down units under
emergency conditions. The control room
should be unexposed by fires or explo
sions, otherwise the control building
should be designed to withstand potential
explosion overpressure. Where control
rooms are exposed, the emergency loss
control coordination center should be relo
cated to a safe area.
Unmanned satellite computer rooms, ter
minal rooms, rack rooms etc., should be
considered equivalent to motor control cen
ters for the purpose of this gUideline.

IM.2.S.2
June 3,1991
dikes. Pumps, valve manifolds, and
transfer piping should be installed out
side dikes or impounding areas.

Atmospheric Storage Tanks

Open top floating roof tanks limit product
evaporation and have little or no vapor
space above the liqUid because the pontoon
floats on the stored liqUid. Internal floating
roof tanks should be considered as floating
roof tanks when pontoon roofs are pro
vided. When plastic, aluminum, or a steel
pan are used in the construction of the
internal floater, the tank should be classi
fied as a cone roof tank for spacing pur
poses.

Tanks should be properly diked or

drainage to a remote impounding pro
vided.
Where large tanks are present, mini
mum distances should be greatly in
creased and 500 - 1000 ft (153 305 m)
spacing could be recommended.
Table 1 provides minimum spacing be
tween tank farms and other units.
Tanks should be spaced so that the ther
mal radiation intensity from an exposing
fire is low enough to prevent the contents
of the adjacent tanks from igniting. Toler
ances of tanks to thermal radiation can be
increased by:

Floating roof tanks: Crude oil and

flammable liqUids (Class I) should be
stored in floating roof or internal float
ing roof tanks.

Floating roof tanks in excess of 300,000

barrels (47,700 m 3 ) should be arranged
in a single row. If multiple rows are
necessary, tanks should be spaced far
ther than one diameter apart.

Cone roof tanks: Combustible liquids

(Class II & III) may be stored in cone
roof tanks with the following limitations
or exceptions:

Painting vessels with a reflective color

(generally white or silver).

Providing a fixed water spray or tank

shell cooling system.
Refer to
IM.12.2.1.2 6 for additional gUidance.

Insulating or fireproofing the tank

shell. Guidance can be found in
IM.2.5.1. 7

o Cone roof tanks in excess of

300,000 barrels (47,700 m 3 ) pres
ent an unacceptable amount of po
tentially explosive vapor space,
even if storing heavy oils. In such
cases, floating roof tanks are rec
ommended.

Table 3 prOvides general recommendations

for spacing aboveground storage tanks in
the oil and chemical industry. The spacing
is given as a tank shell to tank shell sepa
ration distance and is a function of the
largest tank diameter. Adverse conditions
such as poor fire water supply, difficult
firefighting, poor accessibility, poor diking,
poor drainage, etc., will require additionctl
spacing.

o Liquids with boilover characteris

tics should not be stored in cone
roof tanks larger than 150 ft
(45.8 m) in diameter, unless an in
erting system is provided.
o Storage of flammable liquids
(Class I) in cone roof tanks should
be avoided. Cone roof tanks less
than 150,000 barrels (23,850 m 3 )
could be used for flammable liqUids
storage, if an inert gas blanket is
provided. Increased spacing will be
reqUired.

NFPA 30 defines flammable liquids as

Class I materials, and combustible liquids
as Class II & III materials. The classifica
tion depends on the flash point of the prod
uct. Crude oil should be treated as a
flammable liqUid. In some very hot cli
mates, Class II liqUids could behave as
flammable liqUids because the storage tem
perature could exceed the flashpoint tem
perature. Unstable liqUids or gases, and
monomer storage require special precau
tions and are not addressed in Table 3.

o Cone roof tanks storing Class IIIE

liquids with a flash point above
200or~ (93C), operating at ambient
temperatures, should be spaced as
"floating and cone roof tanks

IM.2.S.2
June 3, 1991

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D '" Largest Tank Diameter

1 Barrel", 42 Gallons'" 159 L
c '" (oF_ 32) x 0.555
1 ft 0.305 m
"For Class II,III products, 5 ft spacing is acceptable.
"Or Class II or III operating at temperatures T> 200 F

TABLE 3. Storage Tank Spacing Requirements For Oil And Chemical Plants.

10

/1

IM.2.S.2
June 3,1991
smaller

than

3000

barrels

ited to not more than 6 vessels or

300,000 gals (1136 m 3 ) combined ca
pacity in anyone group. The spacing
between groups should be at least
100 ft (30 m) or the largest tank diam
eter. Vessels should be aligned so that
their ends are not pOinted toward pro
cess areas or other storage areas.
These vessels tend to rocket if they fail
during a fire. Multiple row configura
tion is not recommended. Pressurized
storage vessels should not be located
above each other.

(480 m 3 )."

o Cone roof tanks in excess of

10,000 barrels (1590 m 3 ) contaIn
ing combustible liquids stored at a
temperature higher than 200F
(93C) will require a greater separa
tion.

Pressure and Refrigerated Storage

Tanks
Spheres and spheroids: The spacing
between groups of vessels should be at
least 100 ft (30 m) or the largest tank
diameter. A tank group should be lim
ited to a maximum of 6 vessels. The
minimum spacing between vessels is
given in Table 3.

Refrigerated dome roof tanks: The

spacing between groups of vessels
should be at least 100 ft (30 m) or the
largest tank diameter. A tank group
should be limited to a maximum of 6
vessels. Greater spacing could be re
quired if exposed combustible insula
tion is used on the tanks.

Drums and bullets: Horizontal pres

surized storage vessels should be lim

REFERENCES
1. Hazard Survey of the Chemical and Allied Industries. Technical Suroey No.3. 1968. American Insurance
Association. New York. NY.

An Engineer's GUide to Process-Plant Layout. F.F. House, July 28. 1969. Chemical Engineering. McGraw Hill. New

York. NY.

Process Plant Layout, by J.C. Mecklenburgh. John Wiley & Sons. New York. NY.
Loss Prevention In the Process Industries. F. P. Lees. Volumes 1 & 2, Butterworths. Boston. MA.
Loss Prevention Fundamentalsjor the Process Industry. O. M. Slye Jr.. Loss Prevention Symposium. March 1988.
American Institute of Chemical Engineers. New York. NY.

NFPA 30-1990. Flammable and Combustible LiquIds Code. National Fire Protection ASSOCiation, QUincy. MA.

NFPA 59A1990.

Llqu~ied

Natural Gas. National Fire Protection ASSOCiation. QUincy. MA.

2. IRInformation IM.B.O.l.l. Oil and Chemical Properties Loss Potential Estimation Guide. Industrial Risk Insurers.
3. Center for Chemical Process Safety. American Institute of Chemical Engineers. New York. NY.
4. Fire & Explosion Index, Hazard Classification Guide. Dow Chemical Company. Sixth edition. available from the

American Institute of Chemical Engineers, New York. NY.

5. API RP 5211982: Guide jar Pressure-RelieVIng and Depressurizing Systems. American Petroleum Institute,
Washington. DC.
6. IRInformation IM.12.2.1.2. Water Spray and Deluge Protection jor
Insurers.

all

and Chemical Plants. Industrial Risk

7. IRInformation IM.2.5.1. Fireproojlngjor at! and Chemical Properties. Industrial Risk Insurers.

11

IM.2.S.2.A
June 3,1991

HAZARD CLASSIFICATION OF PROCESS OPERATIONS

FOR SPACING REQUIREMENTS

INTRODUCTION
Processes differ from each other because of
their inherent hazards. Processes and op
erations can be empirically classified into
one of the three classes according to their
explosion and fire hazards.
There are three hazard groups:

Moderate

Intermedlate

High

These classifications do not substitute for

a proper hazard identification or analysis
method. They are intended only to be used
in determining spacing requirements.
Many additional factors and judgements
can stUl affect the class to which the pro
cess is assigned. Therefore. it may be de
sirable to classify a process in a higher
class if the materials. size of unit or haz
ards associated with the process are higher
than normal. Typical process examples
are given for each classification.
An evaluation method for estimating dam
age from a vapor cloud or vessel explosion
can be found in IM.B.O.I.I.

FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARD

CLASSIFICA1"ION
Moderate

flammable liqUids or gases are also in

cluded in this hazard group. Typical pro
cess examples include:

Acetic anhydride (carbonylation of

methyl acetate)

Acetone (dehydrogenation of alcohol)

Adiponitrile

Ammonia

Chloromethanes

Ethanol (from methanol)

Methyl amines

Crude distillation
Dimethyl formamide

Ethylene glycol
Formaldehyde (methanol oxidation)

Methyl ethyl ketone (dehydrogenation

of alcohol)

Solvent extraction
Styrene
Urea
Visbreaking

Intermed iate
Processes or operations having an appre
ciable explosion hazard and a moderate fire
hazard are included. This category gener
ally includes slightly exothermic reactions.
Typical process examples include:
Acetic anhydride (from acetic acid)

Processes or operations having a limited

explosion hazard and a moderate fire haz
ard are included. This category generally
includes endothermic reactions and other
operations. such as disttllation. absorp
tion. mixing and blending of flammable liq
uids. Exothermic reactions with no

Alkylation (Refinery)
Benzene (from toluene-xylene)
Benzene-Toluene-Xylene (BTX)
Cumene

IM.2.S.2.A
June 3,1991

Cyelohexane

Acrylic acid

Ethyl benzene

Acrylonitrile

Methanol (Reforming)

Butadiene (oxidation)

Polyethylene HD (small units)

Polypropylene

Polystyrene

Dimethyl terephtalate

Polyvinylchloride

Ethylene

Terephtalic Acid

Maleic anhydride (butane oxidation)

Methyl metacrylate

Phenol (cumene oxidation)

Polyethylene HD (large units)

Reforming (Refinery)

High
Processes or operations having a high ex
plosion hazard and moderate to heavy fire
hazard are included. This category ineludes highly exothermic or potential run
away reactions and high hazard products
handling. Typical process examples inelude:

Acetic acid

Acrolein

Acetaldehyde (oxidation)

-._--'

Caprolactam
Cumene hydroperoxide

Ethylene oxide
Hydrocracking (Refmery)

Phtalic anhydride
Polyethylene LD (high pressure)
Propylene oxide
Vinyl acetate
Vinyl chloride (VCM-EDC)

Acetone (cumene oxidation)

._../