Analysis of hazards related to syngas production and transport

The growing demand for energy raw materials and the ongoing implementation of restrictions on emissions of pollutants have caused considerable intensification of research on alternative fuels. Among them, syngas seems to be an especially promising option to use for electricity generation. Due to the fact that syngas is mainly composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which are both flammable gases and the latter of which is also toxic, its uncontrolled release can pose a serious hazard. The paper presents the processes involved in syngas production from coal and biomass with respect to the produced gas composition. An analysis is carried out of potential effects of a syngas release from the pipeline to the environment, such as a jet fire, an explosion and formation of a toxic gas cloud. Hazard zones arising around a damaged synthesis gas pipeline are determined. The size of the zones depends on the gas composition and is generally much smaller in the case of a release of syngas obtained from biomass gasification. It also depends on the degree of damage to the pipeline. The created hazard zone is the biggest if the pipeline is ruptured completely.