PROCESS FOR REDUCING THE RISKS OF INFLAMMATION AND EXPLOSION AS A RESULT OF THE DECOMPOSITION OF ETHYLENE UNDER HIGH PRESSURE, AND DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT THE PROCESS

摘要

The danger of explosion due to decomposition of high-pressure industrial process gases, such as ethylene, is reduced by maintaining in an inert atmosphere at least part of an evacuation system included between a pressurized vessel within which the decomposition may take place, on the one hand, and the atmosphere, on the other. The evacuation system to the atmosphere for the gases contained in the high-pressure vessel, includes (1) an evacuation pipe adjacent to the vessel; (2) a safety means separating the evacuation pipe from the vessel; (3) a sealing means located in the evacuation path of the gases and occupying the entire cross-section of the evacuation pipe; (4) a first gas supply circuit connected by a pipe to that part of the evacuation pipe that is located between the safety means and the sealing means, and means for the first supply pipe to control the volume of gas supplied by the first supply circuit; and (5) a second gas supply circuit connected by a pipe to the sealing system, and means for the second supply pipe to control the volume of gas fed by the second supply circuit. The apparatus is useful for the recovery of decomposition products for the purpose of averting atmospheric pollution, as well as for reducing the risk of explosion.