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Quantitative safety analysis of a laboratory‐scale bioreactor for hydrogen sulfide biotreatment using fault tree analysis
Author(s) -
Zytoon Mohamed A.,
ElShazly Ahmed H.,
Noweir Madbuli H.,
AlZahrani Abdulrahim A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
process safety progress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.378
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1547-5913
pISSN - 1066-8527
DOI - 10.1002/prs.11600
Subject(s) - fault tree analysis , bioreactor , hazard analysis , hazardous waste , engineering , event tree analysis , leakage (economics) , event tree , decision tree , reliability engineering , environmental science , process engineering , waste management , biochemical engineering , computer science , chemistry , data mining , organic chemistry , economics , macroeconomics
Numerous research activities are conducted all over the world to study biological treatment of H 2 S in laboratory‐scale bioreactors. Important hazards associated with these bioreactor systems include the escape of H 2 S gas and leakage of chemical/biological liquids, which have severe adverse effects on the involved labors, equipment, and materials. The objective of this article is to present a quantitative safety analysis of a laboratory‐scale continuous bioreactor system for H 2 S gas biotreatment using the fault tree analysis approach. Three unwanted top events were determined as the most hazardous events, being H 2 S leakage inside the laboratory, H 2 S leakage to outdoor from bioreactor outlet, and leakage of liquid chemical/biological solutions. The minimal cut sets and the probability of the occurrence of each top event were determined. The importance of cut sets and basic events were calculated, and priorities for control measures were determined. The analysis allows better decision on priority of control measures, and maintenance or replacement schemes of the system components in an endeavor to minimize the probability of failure or hazard occurrence. The presented analysis proves the usefulness of fault tree analysis in making quantitative risk assessment and safety analysis, which are important elements in laboratory safety management system. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 32: 376–386, 2013