Similar Cases:

Fire and Explosions at an Ammonium Perchlorate Plant (PEPCON)

Ammonia Tank Explosion

Ammonia Tanker Truck Explosion

Coke Oven Gas Explosion in an Ammonia Scrubber in a Steel Mill

Aptech Engineering Services, Inc. has been acquired by Intertek USA, Inc. Please visit us at www.intertek.com/aptech.

Explosion in an Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer Manufacturing Plant (Terra Corp.)

In 1994, a massive explosion occurred in the Terra Corp. fertilizer manufacturing plant near Sioux City, Iowa. APTECH was retained by outside counsel for the plant's insurance carriers to determine the origin and cause of the explosion. We were called in early to inspect and analyze the thousands of metal fragments collected at the site that originally came from explosion-damaged vessels, piping, pumps, and valves. We determined that the explosion was a detonation and that it originated in a large vessel called the nitric acid-ammonium nitrate neutralizer. We worked extensively with consultants from several other organizations to reconstruct the conditions leading up to the explosion. We performed simulation tests of various process flow streams during the neutralizer shutdown and stand by conditions. Through laboratory and field tests, we quantified the thermal decomposition and explosion characteristics of the combination of ammonium nitrate, nitric acid, and reactive metals (i.e., titanium and aluminum). From this work, we determined that the explosion resulted from a thermal cook-off process which occurred in the neutralizer vessel while it was off-line. We performed a detailed evaluation of the neutralizer design and concluded that design defects, both in mechanical configuration and in materials of construction, were the root causes of the accident. APTECH provided expert reports and deposition testimony.

Satish Almaula		Plant failure and root cause analysis; process and design engineering analysis; process technology development and testing; plant engineering, operations, maintenance and safety management; plant and process control system management.

Kimble Clark, Ph.D.		Nitrate-based chemical explosions, Failure analysis, heat transfer & thermodynamics, process plant equipment failures & explosions, fuel science, combustion.

Philip Lindsay, P.E.		Corrosion failure analysis, metallurgy, piping systems, corrosion mitigation, materials selection.

Richard Schreiber, P.E.		Machinery and mechanical device failure analysis, mechanical testing, combustion and heat transfer, industrial fires and explosions, gas appliances.

Steven Kohan, Ph.D.		Chemical engineering, refinery processes, toxic fume generation.