All programmes > Hazardous Materials and Safety in the Process Industries

Hazardous Materials and Safety in the Process Industries (B-KUL-H06T8A)

3 ECTSEnglish20 Second term
Bernaerts Kristel (coordinator) |  Bernaerts Kristel |  Vercruysse Geert
POC Chemische ingenieurstechnieken

Aims

General aim of the course: 
1.       Identify and judge risks with respect to your own work and the work of the people you supervise when working in the chemical industry or when designing products in which chemicals or biological agents play an important role 
2.       To determine the necessary measures to exclude or to reduce risks to an acceptable level.
 
Specific aims:  

  • The student can identify and assess hazards of chemical and biological products, separately and in the context of a process.
  • The student understands the hazard vectors of chemical and biological products.
  • The student can retrieve information on the hazards of products, e.g., from databases, from legal entities.
  • The student understands and can interpret the information on hazardous products (e.g., SDS) .
  • The student knows the classification and labeling of chemical and biological products.
  • The student knows the principles of REACH.
  • The students knows the differences between chemical and biological product safety.
  • The student knows different methods for hazard evaluation and risk assessment of chemical processes (e.g., HAZOP, FMEA, ETA) and can apply these methods to a process unit in a chemical process.
  • The student knowns important methods and concepts of prevention (e.g., LOPA, safety functions, SIL) and can apply these methods to a process unit in a chemical process.

Previous knowledge

The course requires a basic knowledge of thermodynamics and transport phenomena.

Order of Enrolment


This course unit is a prerequisite for taking the following course units:
H06T6A : Chemical Process Design: Practical Chemical Engineering Design Problem

Is included in these courses of study

Activities

3 ects. Hazardous Materials and Safety in the Process Industries (B-KUL-H06T8a)

3 ECTSEnglishFormat: Lecture20 Second term
Bernaerts Kristel |  Vercruysse Geert
POC Chemische ingenieurstechnieken

Content

Introduction to the course: Incidents that define process safety

PART 1: Safety of chemical and biological products 

  • Intrinsic hazards of chemical products (e.g., toxicity, flammability, etc.) and biological product (e.g., pathogenicity) 
  • Classification & Labelling (e.g., CLP)
  • Preventive measures (e.g., PPE)
  • REACH for hazardous chemicals (e.g., legislation, chemical safety assessment)
  • Safety testing of (new) chemical compounds 

PART 2: Safety of Chemical Processes 

  • Basic and technical design of a process unit (Introduction on reading P&IDs)
  • Hazard evaluation and risk assessment methods: principles and examples (e.g. DOW FEI, FMEA, HAZOP)
  • Safety aspects during project engineering and execution (e.g., safety functions, prevention and mitigation (LOPA), safety integrity level (SIL))

Course material

Study cost: 1-10 euros (The information about the study costs as stated here gives an indication and only represents the costs for purchasing new materials. There might be some electronic or second-hand copies available as well. You can use LIMO to check whether the textbook is available in the library. Any potential printing costs and optional course material are not included in this price.)

Slides. Notes to the slides.

Format: more information

Lecture with 1 or 2 guest seminars.

Evaluation

Evaluation: Hazardous Materials and Safety in the Process Industries (B-KUL-H26T8a)

Type : Partial or continuous assessment with (final) exam during the examination period
Description of evaluation : Written, Paper/Project
Type of questions : Open questions

Explanation


The final grade of the course consists of two parts. One part evaluates the course content on product safety (PART 1 of the course) and one part evaluates the course content on process safety (PART 2 of the course). For the evaluation of product safety, each student prepares a report which is handed in before the exam period. For the evaluation on process safety, the student participates to the written exam during the regular exam period. This written exam is an open book exam, during which the student may use his/her course material, information on the specific case study/process related to the report, and personal notes with the course. 

The product safety assignment counts for 40% (8 out of 20) of the final score. The written exam on process safety counts for 60% (12 out of 20) of the final score. The scores of the report and the written exam are summed up to give the final score.

It is mandatory to participate in both exam parts to pass the course.

Students who submit their assignment too late without valid reason (doctor certificate, or approval by the course responsible for any other reason) are excluded from the exam.

Students that have to take a second exam change will only be evaluated on a written exam (open book), but this exam will now include both product and process safety questions.

Information about retaking exams

Students that have to take a second exam change will only be evaluated on a written exam (open book), but this exam will now include both product and process safety questions.