Keywords
CFD
Dispersion
Chemical plants
Toxic gases
Process safety
How to Cite
Abstract
Process safety plays a crucial role in the proper design and operation of chemical plants. Currently, the scenarios that pose a risk in chemical processes must be understood from the point of view of the transport phenomena of the fluids involved; specifically, the dispersion of toxic gases, which endanger the health of workers. In this sense, technological advances and the exponential increase in computing power in the last decades have favored computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques over conventional dispersion models. This paper describes the fundamentals of CFD techniques complemented with a review of studies on this computational tool in the modeling and simulation of toxic gas dispersion in chemical plants. In addition, a demonstrative case study and a discussion on the perspectives of this approach are included: its current status, advantages, limitations, and areas of opportunity. These points allow emphasizing the role and importance of CFD techniques in the risk analysis carried out in chemical plants, especially those where leakage and dispersion of toxic gases can occur.
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