One autumn afternoon in 2013, operators initiated startup of a new basic oxygen furnace (BOF) located at a steel plant in the Midwest. Inside the furnace, six natural gas burners were each paired with an oxygen lance to achieve optimal combustion. Despite several reported anomalies in pressure and flow, the furnace continued to heat. At around 2pm, an engineer passed by the valve stand supplying oxygen to the furnace before proceeding upstairs. Minutes later, an incredible fire erupted from the valve stand. The flames were so intense that they singed the hair of that same engineer who was then on a catwalk three floors up. Thankfully, despite extensive equipment damage, no personnel were injured.
A subsequent failure analysis provided by WHA International, Inc. revealed the origin of the fire to be a six inch industrial oxygen valve inside the system that provided oxygen to the furnace. WHA’s forensic engineers determined that contributing causes to the fire were both unacceptable cleanliness levels and incompatible lubricants within the component which ignited and formed a kindling chain that quickly escalated into a catastrophic fire.
This fire, like many other incidents in industry, could clearly have been prevented by proper oxygen cleaning and maintenance. In fact, contamination is a leading cause of oxygen fires.
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