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A comprehensive numerical design of firefighting systems for onshore petroleum installations

Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering volume 38, pages 1768–1780 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Petroleum facilities containing welded steel bulk flammable liquid product storage tanks possess sundry fire hazards inherent to the facility. These installations urgently require indigenous efficient firefighting systems. So, the efficient design of firewater and firefighting foam system is dynamic in controlling fire-related emergencies. The paper deals with the in-depth conceptualization of the design and analysis of firefighting systems for a typical petroleum handling, processing and storage facility in compliance with international standards. The study is aimed to formulate the elementary technique for designing an optimized firefighting system. The proposed objective was achieved by considering an ideal tank farm site that is most commonly located in a range of terminal stations, pumping stations, petroleum refineries, well sites, etc. Sufficient illumination was enumerated on the standardized classification of the liquid fuel product with respect their flammability range. Special guidelines regarding firefighting system design basis were defined and an optimized firefighting and foam system design was developed. Moreover, sufficient limitations that must be considered during the firefighting of huge tank fires are discussed. This comprehensive numerical design philosophy offers a simple and wide-ranging guide to industrial practitioners by formulating the principles for industrial firefighting system design.

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Acknowldegements

The support from the National Research Foundation of Korea under the project (NRF-2020R1I1A1A01072793) is gratefully acknowldeged. Also, this work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (2019R1A4A1027795) for Young-Kwon Park.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, M.A. Jinnah Building, Defence Road, Off Raiwind Road, Lahore, Pakistan

    Iqrash Shafiq, Murid Hussain, Sumeer Shafique, Muhammad Haris Hamayun & Ashfaq Ahmed

  2. Process Engineering Department, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Muhammad Mudassir

  3. SABIC Technology & Innovation, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Zeeshan Nawaz

  4. School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul, 02504, Korea

    Ashfaq Ahmed & Young-Kwon Park

Authors
  1. Iqrash Shafiq
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  2. Murid Hussain
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  3. Sumeer Shafique
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  4. Muhammad Haris Hamayun
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  5. Muhammad Mudassir
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  6. Zeeshan Nawaz
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  7. Ashfaq Ahmed
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  8. Young-Kwon Park
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Correspondence to Murid Hussain, Ashfaq Ahmed or Young-Kwon Park.

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Shafiq, I., Hussain, M., Shafique, S. et al. A comprehensive numerical design of firefighting systems for onshore petroleum installations. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 38, 1768–1780 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-021-0820-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-021-0820-6

Keywords

  • Fire
  • Explosion
  • Firewater
  • Firefighting Foam
  • Design Philosophy
  • Petroleum Storage Tanks