Risk analysis of a biomass combustion process using MOSAR and FMEA methods.
Thermal and chemical conversion processes that convert in energy the sewage sludge, pasty waste and other pre-processed waste are increasingly common, for economic and ecological reasons. Fluidized bed combustion is currently one of the most promising methods of energy conversion, since it burns biomass very efficiently, and produces only very small quantities of sulphur and nitrogen oxides. The hazards associated with biomass combustion processes are fire, explosion and poisoning from the combustion gases (CO, etc.). The risk analysis presented in this paper uses the MADS-MOSAR methodology, applied to a semi-industrial pilot scheme comprising a fluidization column, a conventional cyclone, two natural gas burners and a continuous supply of biomass. The methodology uses a generic approach, with an initial macroscopic stage where hazard sources are identified, scenarios for undesired events are recognized and ranked using a grid of SeverityxProbability and safety barriers suggested. A microscopic stage then analyzes in detail the major risks identified during the first stage. This analysis may use various different tools, such as HAZOP, FMEA, etc.: our analysis is based on FMEA. Using MOSAR, we were able to identify five subsystems: the reactor (fluidized bed and centrifuge), the fuel and biomass supply lines, the operator and the environment. When we drew up scenarios based on these subsystems, we found that malfunction of the gas supply burners was a common trigger in many scenarios. Our subsequent microscopic analysis, therefore, focused on the burners, looking at the ways they failed, and at the effects and criticality of those failures (FMEA). We were, thus, able to identify a number of critical factors such as the incoming gas lines and the ignition electrode.
Thivel
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PX
Laboratoire d'Electrochimie et de Physico-chimie des Matériaux et Interfaces (LEPMI), UMR 5631 CNRS, INPG, UJF, 1130 rue de la Piscine, BP 75, 38402 Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France. pierre-xavier.thivel@ujf-grenoble.fr
Bultel
Y
Y
Delpech
F
F
D000465:Algorithms; D018533:Biomass; D017745:Incineration; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*