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Risks of Fire and Explosion Associated With the Increasing Use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas

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Abstract

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has been in use as household fuel all over the world for several decades. Until the late 1980s, its use in the developing world was largely confined to the economically well-off strata of the society but it has since spread over a much larger catchment. The increasing use of LPG has enhanced and generalized the risk of a “boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion” (BLEVE). This is evidenced from the reports which appear now and then of a LPG cylinder having exploded in a household, some workshop, or on a bus or a train. In fact some very major tragedies have been triggered by such explosions which also set off fires and cause secondary accidents. This paper describes what BLEVEs are and how can they be controlled. The paper focuses on hazards of BLEVE in large installations which deal with LPG, and other pressure-liquefied gases and discusses the nature, mechanism, and means of control of BLEVEs.

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Acknowledgment

S. M. Tauseef thanks the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, for Senior Research Fellowship. Thanks are also due to Dr F. Tamanini of FM Global for putting us in touch with Mr Bill Walls, a pioneer in BLEVE studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Pollution Control and Environmental Engineering, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, 605 014, India

    S. M. Tauseef, Tasneem Abbasi & S. A. Abbasi

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  1. S. M. Tauseef
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  2. Tasneem Abbasi
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  3. S. A. Abbasi
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Correspondence to S. A. Abbasi.

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Tauseef, S.M., Abbasi, T. & Abbasi, S.A. Risks of Fire and Explosion Associated With the Increasing Use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 10, 322–333 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-010-9360-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-010-9360-9

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