Inherent occupational health assessment in chemical process development and design

Sustainability is now a necessity to process industry. Therefore the safety, health, and environmental (SHE) evaluations are required in process design and operation. Various methods for assessing safety and environmental friendliness have been presented in literature. However, occupational health evaluations have received much less attention even though each year more people die from work-related diseases than are killed in industrial accidents. Inherent occupational health assessment is an approach to reduce hazards by choosing healthier chemicals and process concepts. I.e. inherent occupational health relies on the healthier and safer properties of chemical substances, process conditions, operations, and work procedures in a process. This thesis presents new systematic approaches for evaluating inherent occupational health of chemical processes in process development and design. In the R&D stage, the Inherent Occupational Health Index (IOHI) is proposed based on healthier and safer reaction chemistries, properties of compounds present, and process conditions such as pressure, volatility, exposure limits, and temperature etc. In the preliminary design stage, chronic health risk is calculated due to exposure to fugitive airborne emissions based on flow sheet data and precalculated process modules' emission, estimated process plot areas, and wind velocities. Health Quotient Index (HQI) is used as a health indicator to compare the estimated chemical concentrations to their exposure limits. In the basic engineering stage, the Occupational Health Index (OHI) utilizes detailed fugitive emission calculations based on piping and instrumentation diagrams. The method evaluates quantitatively chronic inhalation risks to noncarcinogens and carcinogens, acute inhalation risk, and qualitatively dermal/eye risk. For fugitive exposure estimation new methods were developed. Three approaches for estimating chemical concentration due to fugitive emissions are proposed based on simple PFD, detailed PFD, and PID, which were tested on the actual Borealis Polymers plant in Porvoo. A more realistic approach was developed for estimating health risks of fugitive occupational exposure by using statistical meteorological data. Finally the integration of the inherent occupational assessment methods with the existing computer aided design tools was studied. Also the correlation between index-based SHE assessment techniques was analyzed to find out, if any interdependency exists between SHE characteristics at the inherent level

Problem-based learning in facilities planning: a pilot implementation

In Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Problem Based Learning (PBL) is proposed as an alternative to lectures in moulding engineering graduates to acquire attributes that are required to excel in today’s k-economy. To investigate if PBL is viable for undergraduates in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, a pilot implementation of PBL in Facilities Planning, a subject required for final year Mechanical Engineering undergraduates with specialization in Industrial Engineering was executed. With 60 students in the class, the whole syllabus of the subject was covered using three main PBL problems. PBL was conducted with the help of industrial partners: a semiconductor company, and a furniture factory. The outcome of the implementation was highly encouraging. Students were able to illustrate good understanding of the content, while progressively exhibiting maturity in their generic skills, such as communication, team-working, self-directed learning and problem-solving. However, several aspects of the execution can be further improved

Measurement of PCDD/Fs emissions from a coal–fired power plant in Malaysia and establishment of emission factors

AbstractThis paper presents the PCDD/Fs emissions measured from a coal–fired power plant in Malaysia. The study discusses partitioning of PCDD/Fs in particle and gas phase, effects of coal quality to PCDD/Fs formation, effects of air pollution control device (APCD) configuration to PCDD/Fs formation and establishment of emission factors of PCDD/Fs from the studied coal–fired power plant. The results presented in this study were mostly in good agreement with the previous works on PCDD/Fs emissions conducted in other countries. Laboratory analysis results showed that PCDFs were the dominant congeners. The emissions of PCDD/Fs were low which most probably due to the high combustion efficiency. The PCDFs/PCDDs ratio was more than 1 and PCDD/Fs were detected in fly ash, hence speculating that the formation of PCDD/Fs during coal combustion was mainly through de novo synthesis. Analysis on partitioning of PCDD/Fs showed that the compounds were mainly emitted in gas phase. This study also indicated that type of coal influenced the formation of PCDD/Fs during coal combustion where bituminous coal with high sulfur (S) content resulted in slightly lower PCDD/Fs emissions compared to sub–bituminous coal. It was also found that operation of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) reduced the emission of PCDD/Fs. The established emission factors for PCDD/Fs were in the range of 0.08 to 0.11ng I–TEQ/kg

Emission factor establishment for palm oil mill boiler

A study to establish the total particulate emission factor (EFs) from boiler of a palm oil mill plant equipped with a multi-cyclones particulate arrestor was performed and reported in this research. The mill employs a 500 kg steam/ h capacity of water-tube typed boiler and processes 60 tonnes per hour of fresh fruit bunch (FFB). The samples of the dust were collected iso-kinetically using the USEPA method 17 sampling train through a sampling port located after a multidust cyclone unit. Results showed that the total dust generated from the boiler is 62.15 g/s and the calculated total dust emission factor based on the boiler capacity is 7.46 g/kg. Poor combustion process is among the main factor that leads to the high particulate emission. EFs data allows for early prediction of pollutants emission, which subsequently will assist in determining the degree of control and the air pollution control system needed, besides evaluating the effectiveness of the existing pollution control strategies. The establishment of EFs for palm oil mills will definitely bring benefits for a better management of health and safety risks in palm oil mills, now and in the future

Comprehensive review on risk assessment methodologies for HAZMAT transportation between 1995-2015

Issue related to safety, health and environmental has become major priority to be concerned of in the transportation of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) worldwide. Due to the high risk that entailed in the operation of HAZMAT transportation, many accidents in this industry have been reported which include chemicals spillage, fire and explosion. In order to quantify the degree of hazards and risks of these accidents, various assessment methods have been introduced either by the academia, the industry as well as the authority. The methods present various approaches for the assessment, ranging from a simple to highly complicated ones depending on the purpose of the assessment and the available resources and constraints. To date there is yet any study conducted to review those available methods. This paper intends to present a comprehensive review of the existing methods for hazards and risks assessment of HAZMAT transportation between years 1995-2015 which considers road, marine, railway, air and pipeline system. Based on careful screening of the abundance of methods available, 151 of them were selected – that is those specifically meant for hazards and risks assessment of HAZMAT transportation only. The methods are reviewed in terms of the types of assessment; either qualitative, quantitative or hybrid techniques, as well as their specific application in different mode of transportation. Also, statistical analysis was performed to determine the trend of past publications regarding on the type of journal, year of publication and also financial support received in the context of hazard and risk assessment of HAZMAT transportation

Strategies for assessing and reducing inherent occupational health hazard and risk based on process information

Over the last few decades, the concept of inherent occupational health has gained increasing attention to reduce occupational hazards that may adversely impact workers' health. In order to assess occupational hazards in the chemical process, different inherent occupational health assessment methods have been developed at the early stages of process development and design. The methods in the order of process information availability - ranging from the detailed piping and instrumentation diagrams to a simple sketch of process concepts are the: occupational health index (OHI), health quotient index (HQI) and inherent occupational health index (IOHI). This paper proposes systematic heuristic frameworks to assist process designers and engineers in assessing and reducing inherent occupational health hazards or risks based on process information availability. Strategies for reducing health hazards or risks in the OHI, HQI and IOHI methods based on inherently safer design (ISD) keywords of minimization, substitution, moderation and simplification are included in this study. It is worth mentioning that the proposed frameworks act as guidelines for design engineers in systematically selecting the appropriate index and methodology to assess and reduce health hazards/risks based on the availability of the process information. A case study is solved to illustrate the proposed framework

Overview of Health Impacts Due to Haze Pollution in Johor, Malaysia

Haze pollution is one of the major environmental issues caused by aerosols, having brought about a history of heavy smog pollution events like the London smog in 1952 and the Los Angeles smog in the 1960s. However, in Malaysia, haze events are attributed to forest and peat fires in Kalimantan and Southern Sumatra, Indonesia. The burned biomass basically contains concentrated particulate matters that are hazardous to health among susceptible population groups. Based on the extensive literature review conducted, the small number of available local studies on the health effects of air pollution in Malaysia conducted so far focused on air pollution sciences. In this paper, a comprehensive overview of studies done on the impacts of haze on health conditions among populations in Malaysia is presented. The result shows that the number of upper respiratory tract infection cases was directly proportional to the particulate matter concentration and Air Pollution Index value in Johor in the years 2014 and 2015. Particulate matteris the major contributor in the formation of heavy hazes and is more likely to initiate detrimental health effects compared to other inhalable particles due to their size, large area, and strong activity, making them more likely to carry harmful substances causing a higher number of infected patients with upper respiratory tract infections

Enhancing learning through cooperative learning: UTM experience

Lecture-based classes are the predominant teaching method in all levels of education. This teaching style, undoubtedly is able to deliver knowledge to students and produce graduates. However, this teaching technique is usually unable to invoke higher level of cognitive skills. With an ever-growing volume of knowledge that must be covered in engineering education, an alternative technique must be used to enhance learning. Co-operative learning is a proven teaching technique that is able to enhance students’ learning through active learning. This technique has been widely accepted in engineering education in the United States, Europe, United Kingdom and Australia. In UTM, lecturers from different faculties of engineering implement cooperative learning in their classes. The main aim is to induce better retention, in-depth understanding and mastery of knowledge among students. This paper shows how cooperative learning successfully enhance students' learning by looking at the performance of their grades in different engineering classes

A review and survey of Problem-Based Learning application in Engineering Education

This paper gives a review of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) applied in engineering courses worldwide, and a survey of academic staff who have implemented PBL in engineering classes in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The review of PBL application illustrates the extent of acceptance and success of PBL in schools of engineering in the international arena. The survey, on the other hand, illustrates the acceptance of PBL among engineering lecturers and the possibility of applying PBL in Malaysia. The main purpose of the survey is to obtain feedback on PBL regarding the impressions, set-backs and constraints faced, as well as innovations and tips for successful implementation from the faculty members involved

The effect of conventional and microwave heating techniques on transesterification of waste cooking oil to biodiesel

This research is focused on the effect of processing parameters such as molar ratio of sample to solvent (1:3 - 1:15), catalyst loading (0.5 - 2.5 wt %), temperature (40 - 80 C) and time of reaction ( 5 - 180 min) on the transesterification yield of waste cooking oil (WCO) in conventional thermal heating and microwave heating technique s . The analysis carried out revealed that the microwave assisted transesterification produced a comparable yield to conventional heating transesterification with ~ 5 times faster in heating up the reaction mixture to a reaction temperature and reduced ~ 90% of the reaction time required . This study concludes that microwave assisted transesterification , which is a green technology, may have great potential in reducing the processing time compared to conventional thermal heating transesterification