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Compressed Gas Cylinders

Cutting torch assemblies and compressed gas cylinders are very common items in the refinery unit. They also pose an extreme safety threat.

It’s up to the unit operators to make sure the unit is safe. They should police the unit during their outside readings to monitor for unsafe conditions. Operations personnel should review maintenance work when it is complete and at the end of each shift, at which time most of these problems can be prevented. The maintenance personnel should remove these systems and loose cylinders to the units plot edge.

Loose compressed gas storage cylinders should have caps installed and be housed in storage carts, chained to immovable objects, or laid down at the unit plot edge. In the event of a fire, they are explosive. They could be knocked about from fire fighting equipment, especially from water monitors used in fire suppression.

Oil and pure oxygen are a very combustible mix, as expressed on storage cylinders warning labels. LPG storage cylinders are very explosive when subjected to fire or excessive heat.

Here are some photos taken from a site visit during a unit audit (cold eye review):

Cutting torch assemblies and compressed gas cylinders are a very common items in the refinery unit. They also pose an extreme safety threat.

Photos by Gary Pitman. Cutting torch assemblies and compressed gas cylinders are a very common items in the refinery unit. They also pose an extreme safety threat.

 

Safety Tips to Keep in Mind When Handling Compressed Gas Cylinders:

Cutting torch assemblies and compressed gas cylinders are a very common items in the refinery unit. They also pose an extreme safety threat.

Photos by Gary Pitman.

For more on coker safety, visit Gary’s Blog.

2 responses to “Compressed Gas Cylinders”

  1. gilfj74 says:

    Excellent article.

    I have a question about it:

    How do you make the final arrangement of cylinders that are out of use but contain gases inside as oxygen and that these cylinders have external corrosion at the bottom of the vessel by contact with moisture and water in a long time?

    It should be noted that the containers are stored outdoors and have no protection.

    How to safely remove these cylinders from service?

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Posted by: Gary Pitman

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