Blowdown stack

A blowdown stack is a chimney or vertical stack that is used to vent the pressure of components of a chemical, refinery or other process if there is a process problem or emergency. A blowdown stack can be used to complement a flare stack or as an alternative. The purpose is to prevent 'loss of containment' of volatile liquids and gases.

The failure of the blowdown stack to contain hydrocarbons vented from a raffinate splitter led to the catastrophic Texas City Refinery explosion in 2005.

"Chemical Safety Board's Preliminary Findings in BP Texas City Refinery Accident: Refinery Ablaze - 15 dead". Archived from the original on 2013-04-08.  (362 kb) System Failure Case Studies. NASA. January 2008, Volume 2, Special Issue. Retrieved October 9, 2012

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