Improving refinery safety

The API has issued an updated pressure relieving design and installation standard to enhance refinery safety as part of its core commitments to improving workplace safety and protecting the environment. API Director of Standards, David Miller said, “the sixth edition of API Standard 520, Part II on Installation, will enhance refining safety by helping companies design and install state of the art pressure relieving devises at oil and petrochemical refineries. The standard offers engineering guidance for the design and installation of these critical safety devices which protect workers and the environment in the event of overpressure in process units and systems.”

The sixth edition of API Standard 520, Sizing, Selection and Installation of Pressure relieving Devices in Refineries, Part II on Installation, was published in March 2015. This standard covers methods of installation for pressure relief devices for equipment that are used to provide the required protection against excessive pressure accumulation.

Complimentary standards

Two complimentary pressure relieving standards were also extensively revised and published last year.

The Ninth Edition of API Standard 520, Sizing, Selection and Installation of Pressure relieving Devices, Part 1 – Sizing and Selection, published in July. This standard applies to the sizing and selection of pressure relief devices used in refineries, chemical facilities, and related industries and includes basic definitions and information about the operational characteristics and applications of various pressure relief devices.

The Sixth Edition of API Standard 521, Pressure relieving and Depressuring Systems, published January 2014. This standard is applicable to pressure relieving and vapour depressuring systems. Although intended for use primarily in oil refineries, it is also applicable to petrochemical facilities, gas plants, LNG facilities, and oil and gas production facilities.

Edited from press release by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/01042015/improving-refinery-standards/