ABSTRACT
Process intensification is an important strategy in the development of inherently safer chemical processes and plants. By reducing the inventory of hazardous material or energy in the process, the potential consequence of failure to control that hazardous material or energy is reduced. Rather than relying on add-on safety features such as interlocks, procedures, and consequence mitigation systems, the safety of the plant is based on reducing the magnitude of the possible damage. While safety devices can be designed to be highly reliable, no safety device is perfect, and all will have a finite failure probability. If a chemical plant contains a large amount of hazardous material or energy, the consequences of the failure of the add-on safety devices may be large. A smaller plant is safer because we have reduced its inherent capability to cause damage, rather than because we have controlled that capability through additional safety devices.
