Nuclear Production of Hydrogen, Fourth Information Exchange ...

USE OF PSA FOR DESIGN OF EMERGENCY MITIGATION SYSTEMS IN A HYDROGEN PRODUCTION PLANT
In the particular case of Section II of the SI process of General Atomics, an adequate system of
isolation, a system for neutralisation and a second electrical power back-up will maintain the frequency
of toxic cloud formation, resulting from leakage of sulphuric acid, below 1E-09 per year, which is only
16% of the frequency calculated for a system whose design is based only on process engineering.
It should be noted that in areas where there is not a reliable supply of electricity, the reliability of
back-up electrical generators is one of the elements that have more influence on the overall safety of
a mitigation system.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to the National Council for Science and Technology (Conacyt), as well as to
Ms. Jenny Medina and Alejandro and Fernando Mendoza for their valuable contribution to this work.
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406 NUCLEAR PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN – © OECD/NEA 2010