Abstracts
The seminar will discuss the methods used by industry to characterize flammable and reactive chemicals and materials. The purpose of this characterization is to understand these hazardous properties so that they can be used safely.
Flammable limits have been a useful tool to prevent fires and explosions ever since the concept was defined by Sir Humphry Davy in 1816. The search continues to this day to develop an apparatus that will accurately measure these limits. Unfortunately, each apparatus developed depends on an arbitrary definition of the flammable limit boundary – flammable limits do not have a fundamental definition. Today, the characterization procedure using a closed vessel shows that the flammable limit boundary is not as well defined as Sir Humphry Davy envisioned.
The proper control and management of reactive hazards requires a method to characterize the reactive nature of the chemicals involved. This technology was developed mostly by industry starting in the early 1970s. Very little of this technology is discussed in the academic curriculum.
About the speaker
Prof Daniel A. Crowl obtained his MS and PhD on Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1973 and 1975 respectively. From 1977 to 1993, he was a faculty at Wayne State University. He joined the Michigan Technological University in 1993 and is currently the Herbert H. Dow Professor for Chemical Process Safety.
Prof Crowl has been involved with chemical process safety education and research since 1985. He is the co-author of the leading process safety textbook, Chemical Process Safety: Fundamentals with Applications and the author or editor of several additional books. He was the past editor of The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) journal, Process Safety Progress. He has also produced many Safety and Chemical Engineering Education (SACHE) modules and student certificate programs.
Prof Crowl is a fellow of AIChE, the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Chemical Health and Safety and the National Speleological Society in US. He has received numerous awards including the AIChE Gary Leach Award from AIChE Board of Directors in 2011 and 2007, the Merit Award from the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station in 2010, the Chemical Health and Safety Award from ACS in 1994 and the Chemical Engineer of the Year from AIChE Detroit Local Section in 1992.
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