Determination of the amount of harmful substances released due to leaks in technological equipment for organizing air exchange in industrial facilities

Abstract

The article considers the current problem of determining the amount of harmful substances released into the air of the working area due to leaks in the technological equipment of industrial enterprises. Such sources include flange connections, gland seals, threaded joints and microdefects of materials that lose their tightness during operation. It is shown that even minor leaks can significantly affect the concentration of hazardous impurities in the production environment, especially under conditions of increased pressure or temperature of the working environment.

It is substantiated that ensuring regulatory air exchange in industrial buildings and structures directly depends on a reliable assessment of mass emissions of harmful substances. Underestimation of leaks leads to exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations, while their overestimation leads to an irrational increase in energy consumption of ventilation systems. In this regard, the development of refined methodological approaches to determining the actual volumes of emissions due to leaks becomes particularly relevant.

The paper proposes a comprehensive approach that combines analytical modeling of leaks based on equations of hydrodynamics of compressible media, experimental studies of the characteristics of various types of seals, and statistical processing of the results of field measurements at industrial facilities. Empirical relationships between the excess pressure in process equipment, geometric parameters of leaks (in particular, the area of ​​the conditional passage) and the mass flow rate of leaking gas or steam have been established.

The results obtained allow us to refine the calculation of air exchange for general and local ventilation systems, in particular when designing local exhaust fans in areas of potential leaks. The proposed methodology helps to reduce the excess reserve of ventilation equipment performance, increase the energy efficiency of microclimate systems, and improve working conditions. In addition, the reliability of the assessment of occupational risks for service personnel increases, which is an important factor in ensuring industrial safety and reliability.