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Purging (Gas) - Wikipedia

Purging involves introducing an inert gas into a closed system to prevent the formation of an ignitable gas mixture. There are two main purging methods: purging into service reduces oxygen levels before adding a flammable gas, while purging out of service adds inert gas to dilute flammable gases before reintroducing air. Proper purging ensures an ignitable mixture never forms and is a primary prevention method, providing more safety than secondary prevention through ignition control alone. However, some confusion can arise from also referring to the process as "inerting", as certain inert gases like carbon dioxide can still pose explosion risks in some applications.

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80 views10 pages

Purging (Gas) - Wikipedia

Purging involves introducing an inert gas into a closed system to prevent the formation of an ignitable gas mixture. There are two main purging methods: purging into service reduces oxygen levels before adding a flammable gas, while purging out of service adds inert gas to dilute flammable gases before reintroducing air. Proper purging ensures an ignitable mixture never forms and is a primary prevention method, providing more safety than secondary prevention through ignition control alone. However, some confusion can arise from also referring to the process as "inerting", as certain inert gases like carbon dioxide can still pose explosion risks in some applications.

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Purging (gas)

In fire and explosion prevention


engineering, purging refers to the
introduction of an inert (i.e. non-
combustible) purge gas into a closed
system (e.g. a container or a process
vessel) to prevent the formation of an
ignitable atmosphere. Purging relies on the
principle that a combustible (or
flammable) gas is able to undergo
combustion (explode) only if mixed with
air in the right proportions. The
flammability limits of the gas define those
proportions, i.e. the ignitable range.

Purge into service


Assume a closed system (e.g. a container
or process vessel), initially containing air,
which shall be prepared for safe
introduction of a flammable gas, for
instance as part of a start-up procedure.
The system can be flushed with an inert
gas to reduce the concentration of oxygen
so that when the flammable gas is
admitted, an ignitable mixture cannot
form. In NFPA 56,[1] this is known as purge-
into-service. In combustion engineering
terms, the admission of inert gas dilutes
the oxygen below the limiting oxygen
concentration.

Purge out of service


Assume a closed system containing a
flammable gas, which shall be prepared
for safe ingress of air, for instance as part
of a shut-down procedure. The system can
be flushed with an inert gas to reduce the
concentration of the flammable gas so
that when air is introduced, an ignitable
mixture cannot form. In NFPA 56[1] this is
known as purge-out-of-service.
Benefits of having two
purging terms
It is useful with two terms for purging
because purge-out-of-service requires
much larger quantities of inert agent than
purge-into-service.[2] The terminology of
German standards[3] refers to purge-into-
service as partial inerting, and purge-out-
of-service as total inerting,[2] clearly
indicating the difference between the two
purging practices, although the choice of
the term inerting, rather than purging, can
be confusing,[2] see below.

Comparison with other


explosion prevention
practices
Prevention of accidental fires and
explosions can also be achieved by
controlling sources of ignition. Purging
with an inert gas provides a higher degree
of safety however, because the practice
ensures that an ignitable mixture never
forms. Purging can therefore be said to
rely on primary prevention,[4] reducing the
possibility of an explosion, whereas
control of sources of ignition relies on
secondary prevention,[4] reducing the
probability of an explosion. Primary
prevention is also known as inherent
safety.[4]

Confusion with inerting


The purge gas is inert, i.e. by definition[1]
non-combustible, or more precisely, non-
reactive. The most common purge gases
commercially available in large quantities
are nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Other
inert gases, e.g. argon or helium may be
used. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide are
unsuitable purge gases in some
applications, as these gases may undergo
chemical reaction with fine dusts of
certain light metals.
Because an inert purge gas is used, the
purge procedure may (erroneously) be
referred to as inerting in everyday
language. This confusion may lead to
dangerous situations. Carbon dioxide is a
safe inert gas for purging. Carbon dioxide
is an unsafe inert gas for inerting, as it
may ignite the vapors and result in an
explosion.[2]

See also
ATEX
Flammability limits
Limiting oxygen concentration
Inerting (gas)
External links
Fighting Smoldering Fires in Silos – A
Cautionary Note on Using Carbon
Dioxide. Guest post at
www.mydustexplosionresearch.com
blog , Nov 27, 2017

References
1. NFPA 56. Standard for Fire and
Explosion Prevention During Cleaning
and Purging of Flammable Gas Piping
Systems. National Fire Protection
Association
2. Hedlund, FH (2018). "Carbon dioxide
not suitable for extinguishment of
smouldering silo fires: static electricity
may cause silo explosion". Biomass
and Bioenergy. Elsevier. 108: 113–119.
doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.11.009 .
3. TRBS 2152 Teil 2 / TRGS 722.
Vermeidung oder Einschränkung
gefährlicher explosionsfähiger
Atmosphäre. Technische Regeln für
Betriebssicherheit. Ausgabe: März
2012 [Part 2: Prevention or reduction
of explosive atmospheres]
4. Ashford, NA (1997). "Industrial safety:
the neglected issue in industrial
ecology". J Clean Prod. Elsevier. 5 (1–
2): 115–21. doi:10.1016/S0959-
6526(97)00024-3 .
hdl:1721.1/115912 .

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