UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

LKC FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE

No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Name
Dhiviyan Janardharan
Lavani Priya Ganesan
Petersam Benard
Sabreeta Antony
Vishahan Sivalingam

Student ID
1100172
1207694
1106029
1002869
1202640

UEMK3423
Occupational Safety and Management
Assignment 1

Ms. Chong Woon Chan

24th July 2015

Process Description
Biodiesel is an alternative diesel fuel manufactured from vegetable oil such as palm oil reacted with alcohol such as methanol and
it is made of monoalkly esters formed during catalysis reaction of the triglycerides in oil with simple monohydric alcohol.
Methanol, palm oil and catalyst which is the sodium hydroxide is reacted in a reactor and agitated for about 1 hour at 60 oC to form
Free Fatty Acid (FFA). This reaction includes esterification and transesterification process. Approximately 80% of methanol and
sodium hydroxide is added at the first stage of this process and the remaining 20% is added at the second stage to ensure complete
conversion and this method uses minimum amount methanol. Next, the glycerol produced is separated in a separation tank from
the methyl esters. Since glycerol has lower solubility compared to methyl ester this process can be completed fast. Water maybe
added after the transesterification to improvise the separation of glycerol. Following that reaction, methyl ester separated from
glycerol enters the neutralization tank and passes through a stripper known as methanol stripper before water washing. Emulsion
formation can be minimized by neutralizing it. Phosphoric acid is used here as a neutralizer to split any soap that has formed
during the reaction. At the water washing step, excess soap, catalyst, free glycerol, salt and methanol from biodiesel is removed
and after this process remaining water will be removed from the biodiesel in the vacuum flash process using a distillation column.
The biodiesel extracted is then dried at the dryer and can be sent to storage.
Roles of Safety and Health Officer and Committee
A safety and health officer is in charge of the safety and its regulations in a company. Safety officers have their own team which is
the safety and health committee. The roles of safety and health officer and its committee as stated in Occupational Safety and
Health Regulations 1996 are to assist in development of safety rules and safe working environment and also to review the safety
programs held in the company. Besides that, this committee is responsible to study and investigate any problems regarding safety
or health and alert the employees on the matters. Inspection at least once every three months will be conducted by this team. The
safety committee is also responsible to promote and conduct safety activities in workplace to bring awareness to the employees.
Lastly, the safety and health committee will recommend to the employers on matters related to safety and health.
Hazardous Materials and Ways in Handling Them
Material Name
Hazard Identification
Handling

Sodium Hydroxide , Catalyst of the process

Poisonous and corrosive.
-Do not get this material in contact with eyes, skin and clothing.
-Do not breathe vapours or spray mist. CorrosiveDo not use in areas without adequate
ventilation.
-Never pour water into acid/base. Dilute by slowly pouring the product into water while stirring.
Considerable heat is generated when water or acid is added, therefore when making
solutions always add the caustic to the water or acid with constant stirring.
-The liquid hydroxides should not be stirred in an open container as it will produce a fine mist

Storage

which is very lethal.

-Store in a closed container away from incompatible materials.
-Keep away from heat and moisture.
-Avoid all contact with metal.

Ways of minimizing
exposure

-Eye/Face protection - Chemical goggles and face-shield are recommended. Provide eyewash
station and safety shower.
-Skin protection - Full protective clothing should be worn when handling this product which

includes chemical resistant gloves.

-Respiratory protection - A NIOSH- approved air purifying respirator with an organic vapour
cartridge or canister may be permissible under certain circumstances where airborne
concentrations are expected to exceed exposure limits.

Material Name
Hazard Identification
Handling

Methanol, Used to react with the feedstock

Toxic and highly flammable.
-Do not get this material in contact with eyes, skin and clothing.
-Do not breathe vapours or spray mist. Do not use in areas without adequate ventilation.
-Do not handle, store or open near an open flame, sources of heater sources of ignition. Protect
material from direct sunlight.

Storage

-Take precautionary measures against static discharge. Use only non-sparking tools.
-Store in a cool, dry and well-ventilated place.
-Ground container and transfer equipment to eliminate static electric sparks.
-Cell phones, oily rags, refrigerator, light switch, electrical outlet and motor should not be
anywhere near these tanks. Since, methanol is very flammable with a fire-hazard rating of
3; there would be a high tendency of methanol fire to occur.
-Comply with all national, state, and local codes pertaining to the storage, handling, dispensing,

Ways of minimizing

and disposal of flammable liquids.

Eye/Face protection - Chemical goggles and face-shield are recommended. Provide

exposure

eyewash station and safety shower.

Skin protection - Full protective clothing should be worn when handling this product which
includes chemical resistant gloves.
Respiratory protection - A NIOSH- approved air purifying respirator with an organic vapor
cartridge or canister may be permissible under certain circumstances where airborne
concentrations are expected to exceed exposure limits.

Material Name
Hazard Identification
Handling

Phosphoric acid , Used to neutralise the by products

Acute toxicity, poisonous and maybe corrosive to metals.
-Do not get this material in contact with eyes, skin and clothing.
-Do not breathe vapours or spray mist. Do not use in areas without adequate ventilation.
-Use caution when adding this material to water. Add material slowly when mixing with water.

Storage
Ways of minimizing
exposure

Do not add water to the material; instead, add the material to the water.
-Store in a cool, dry and well-ventilated place. Do not store in metal containers.
Eye/Face protection - Chemical goggles and face-shield are recommended. Provide
eyewash station and safety shower.
Skin protection - Full protective clothing should be worn when handling this product which
includes chemical resistant gloves.
Respiratory protection Usage of a chemical respirator with acid gas cartridge is
recommended if there is inadequate ventilation.

Material Name

Glycerin,,By product of the process

This material is combustible (with a flash-point of 160C). However, it may be

contaminated with methanol and caustic, with their associated hazards during neutralization
Hazard Identification
Handling

Storage
Ways of minimizing
exposure

process. This has a potential reduction inflash-point

-skin contact (irritant, permeator), toxic to kidneys
-Keep away from heat. Keep away from sources of ignition. Ground all equipment containing
material. Do not ingest.
-Keep container tightly closed. Keep container in a cool, well-ventilated area.
- Hygroscopic
Eye/Face protection - Chemical goggles and face-shield are recommended. Provide
eyewash station and safety shower.
Skin protection - Full protective clothing should be worn when handling this product which
includes chemical resistant gloves.

Safety Measures in Production Line

Safety measures are activities and precaution taken to improve safety. This is also to prevent any fire and explosion in biodiesel
production plant. There are quite a number of hazardous chemicals being used in biodiesel production such as methanol,
phosphoric acid and sodium hydroxide as catalyst. Therefore, to obtain a safe working environment, few safety measures should
be taken into account.
Firstly, the operators have to undergo training which must include the procedures on how to start up, operate and shut down the
production line. The operators should have a basic understanding of the mechanical and chemical reaction of biodiesel production.
This allows them to identify and respond to any root problems. Besides, the operators must know the materials used and must
have access to the Material Safety and Data Sheet (MSDS) and they must use all the personal protective equipment (PPE) provided
by the production plant. For an example, safety glasses or face shield cause chemicals such as methanol may cause blindness.
The Process Safety Management (PSM) must be implemented. The piping and instrument diagram (P&ID) of the production line
must be complete and ready for review. The P&ID must be placed around the plant for operating personnel. Besides, safety
training such as the OSHA requirement, hot work requirement and enclosed space entry permit must have taken place before the
operation begins to prevent any accidents.
Material Design
This process is alkali catalyzed transesterification where sodium hydroxide is used to as a catalyst and acid catalyst for
esterification process. Both the mixing tanks and the reactor tanks is constructed using stainless steel (type 316) because it has low
corrosion rate. The separation tank is constructed using stainless steel (alloy20). Carbon steel is used for biodiesel washing and
glycerin neutralization because the process is less corrosive. All the pipes are constructed using stainless steel alloy to prevent
corrosion due to the acid and base catalyst.
Operations

Pressure relief system is used to to prevent damages to the equipment, minimize chemical loses during pressure upsets. This
system is used for the reactors to prevent the temperature and pressure from rising. Other than that, this system can ensure the
longevity of the pumps used by releasing the back pressures. All the tanks are installed with this system as a precaution. Since this
process is in liquid state, relieve valve is used to regulate the pressure. Thermal relief is also used in prevent pipelines from
expanding while carrying heated liquids. Venting is for fires external to process vessels to prevent explosion of vessels.
Flow indicator is used in all the pipe line to provide visual indication of flow. Block valves are installed throughout the plant to
shut down the plant during unusual circumstances. These block valves are installed mainly in the lines containing hazardous
material. For this plant, block valves is added to the sodium hydroxide, methanol, glycerin, and phosphoric lines.
Explosion suppression system and flame arrestors are used to detect flame or pressure at the incipient phase of an explosion or fire.
This system acts quickly by injecting flame quenching substance into the burning system. This system is added at the pipelines and
all the vessels to detect and quench fires and explosions. Flammability diagram is used to avoid flammable atmosphere in the
plant. Furthermore, one of the common sources of ignition source within chemical plants is sparks resulting from static discharge
buildup and sudden discharge. Hence, inerting the surrounding places on of the way of eliminating static charge buildup. Lastly
sparks can be prevented by grounding and bonding.

References
1.

Biodiesel. (2009). Biodiesel Production. [online] Available at http://www.google.com/patents/US7528272 [Accessed 12

July 2015]

2.

Extension.org, (2015). Safe Chemical Handling in Biodiesel Production - eXtension. [online] Available at:
http://www.extension.org/pages/26631/safe-chemical-handling-in-biodiesel-production#.VaM3cvmqqkr [Accessed 13 Jul.
2015].

3.

Osha.gov, (2015). List of Highly Hazardous Chemicals, Toxics and Reactives (Mandatory). - 1910.119 App A. [online]
Available at: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9761 [Accessed
13 Jul. 2015].

4.

Osha.gov, (2015). Process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals. - 1910.119. [online] Available at:
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9760 [Accessed 13 Jul.
2015].

5.

Pete Moss. (Feb 23, 2010). Biodiesel Plant Safety. Available: http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/4055/biodieselplant-safety/. Last accessed 18th July 2015.

6.

S W Harper, J C Etchells, A J Summerfield, and ACockton. (2008). Health and Safety in Biodiesel Manufacture.

7.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514) and its Regulations. (2015). 1st ed. [ebook] THE
COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS
ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD. Available at:
http://www.agc.gov.my/Akta/Vol.%2011/Act%20514.pdf [Accessed 13 Jul. 2015].