Industry News

Under what circumstances will liquefied gas tanks explode

Liquefied gas tank:

The main components of liquefied petroleum gas are propane, propylene, butane, and butene, which have high combustion values, are heavier than air, and have strong volatility. Once a leak occurs, it is likely to cause combustion and explosion.

(1) Overfilling of steel cylinders. Overfilling can cause a steel cylinder explosion, which is determined by the special properties of liquefied petroleum gas. Because liquefied petroleum gas has great "expansion", when the temperature is 15 degrees, the volume expansion coefficient is about 16 times that of water. After being filled into a steel cylinder, liquefied petroleum gas is mainly in a liquid state, and its saturated vapor pressure does not rise rapidly with temperature. However, as long as the liquid state rises by about 4 degrees, it may explode due to the expansion effect of liquefied petroleum gas.

(2) The steel cylinder burns upside down. This type of phenomenon mainly occurs when users discover that the corner valve is on fire, and are afraid that the fire will burn the house. They often take the correct "decisive measures". After breaking the conduit, they use bamboo poles and hooks to drag the steel cylinder outside the house and let it burn. At this moment, if the steel cylinder is standing, there will be no explosion because the flames are spraying outward, and the impact of thermal radiation on the steel cylinder is minimal; If lying on a floor with a heat storage function such as cement, asphalt, or slate, it is possible to explode after burning for about 4 minutes. Because the steel cylinder is cylindrical, installing a pressure regulator will create a bias, causing the gas outlet to burn towards the ground. After the steel cylinder is locally heated by the reverse burning flame, the liquefied gas rapidly expands and the pressure increases sharply; At the same time, the voltage regulator will lose its regulating function after being burned. But its inlet diameter is very small, which hinders the pressure inside the steel cylinder from leaking out, resulting in an explosion.

(3) Working with defective steel cylinders. A steel cylinder is a pressure vessel that must work in a sturdy and flawless condition. If used for a long time without inspection, maintenance, and repair, the welding seam of the steel cylinder will rust, puncture, and crack, resulting in the loss of compressive strength. It is easy to explode in the event of slight high temperature, compression, or collision. In addition, some users use methods such as hot water pouring or burning steel cylinders, thinking that it can promote the combustion of liquefied gas more vigorously, but in fact, doing so is also very dangerous! Especially when burning steel cylinders, it can cause them to lose their strength and easily lead to cylinder explosions.

When replacing liquefied gas cylinders, the sealing rubber gasket of the pressure reducing valve should be checked in order to ensure that it is intact. Then, the pressure reducing valve should be connected and the rubber hose should be checked for aging. Then, the stove should be connected and the angle valve of the cylinder should be opened.