Moore L., 2013, Using Principles of Inherent Safety for Design of Hydrometallurgical Solvent Extraction Plants, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 31, 769-774.
An Inherently Safe (IS) facility relies on the reduction or elimination of hazardous materials or processes through changes in the chemistry, physics and physical design of a process rather than by relying entirely on layers of add-on protection. The mainstream chemical processing industry (CPI) has adopted guidelines and Best Practices to better apply IS when designing or modifying facilities against fires and explosions. The mining and metallurgical refining industry – which is often chemical in nature - has not embraced IS nor are there published Best Practice Guidelines that promote IS in this industry. This paper addresses IS principles in general and explores specific IS opportunities for protection of hydrometallurgical solvent extraction (SX) plants using the concepts of intensification, substitution, attenuation, limitation of effects and simplification/error tolerance.
