Drill = spark = boom = nasty stuff all over surrounding area

keepamovin 20 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Righti didn’t realize It was explosive like that but it really is

Flash point 2 °C (36 °F; 275 K) Autoignition temperature 435 °C (815 °F; 708 K) Explosive limits 1.7%-8.2%

Drilling is too risky then. What about dumping liquid nitrogen on the thing until it’s doused?

	▲	VTimofeenko 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Quick googling sez that liquid nitrogen might solidify the MMA inside, turning it into even more of a pressure cooker

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SoftTalker 19 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's possible to drill or cut without creating sparks. Just need to control the speed of the cutter.

Besides, tanks like these have various portholes, valves and drains already. The article mentions an "inoperable valve" so maybe that's the problem but I'd be surprised if there were just one. They must have been getting the contents out of the tank and into the manufacturing process somehow.

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VTimofeenko 17 hours ago | parent [-]

IIUC, the stuff inside is polymerizing, turning into goop that gummed everything up. It was probably not goop when used for the original purpose

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ssl-3 17 hours ago | parent [-]

Does this mean that we should shoot holes in it like cowboys to relieve pressure, or does that instead mean that we should not shoot holes in it like cowboys to relieve pressure?

(Because, I mean: If this thing is as sketchy as it is made out to be, then nobody is just walking over there with a spanner to loosen a cover. There aren't enough dollars nor PPE available to make this happen.)

	▲	VTimofeenko 15 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Shooting holes in pressurized vessels with explosive stuff is probably a very bad idea, as outlined in my comment[1]. Slowly loosening a valve is a better idea. That being said, in no way, shape or form am I an authority on the subject. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48254381

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20 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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peterbecich 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What about airlifting a containment vessel on top of it? To lessen the impact of an explosion?

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keepamovin 13 hours ago | parent [-]

I refer you to this excellent literature review of the topic: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M9AXXLAonh8

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artisin 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The escalation from a cute firecracker, that's a bit dangerous, to holy hell, that's not a firework, that's a hand grenade is sublime.

	▲	keepamovin 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Yes, and hard to stop watching. Really want to find out what happens to that steadfast pot.

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randerson 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

What if built a containment dome and then filled it with cold water?

	▲	keepamovin 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		water is incompressible. Blast overpressure is way more damaging in it

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DannyBee 18 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The standard choice for MMA processing is actually stainless steel, because carbon steel/iron/etc scavenge the inhibitor used to prevent thermal runaway. HDPE would work, and often how it is transported in drums, but for actual processing, everything would normally be spec'd as stainless steel.

Which, of course, is pretty spark resistant to begin with.

Even if this wasn't true, this is not a hard problem, you can use non-sparking tools, proper coolant, lots of things to avoid sparks.

Or you know, we could require that highly flammable materials subject to thermal runaway have "drill here in case of emergency" patch of non-sparking material or something.

The cost of ATEX/Class 1 Div 1 compliance would not really go up if you required this.

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VTimofeenko 17 hours ago | parent [-]

Inb4: I don't work in the industry, my knowledge is limited to a faint memory of a college course on fluid dynamics.

If I recall correctly, high pressure ignitable stuff can spontaneously turn !!FUN!! in absence of heat if it is suddenly relieved through a pinhole. Basically jet is followed by a ring-like zone where the stuff mixes with oxygen. Jet creates tiny zones of very high temp, thus igniting the mixture ring that follows.

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DannyBee 8 hours ago | parent [-]

This is true in other cases but in this case they are actually hoping it leaks

	▲	VTimofeenko 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Maybe the thought process is that leak would effectively be pressure normalizing over a larger area and more gradually than creating a tiny hole, so whatever I said about jet ignition would not be applicable

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lokar 20 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Inert gas?