Lightning Protection Design for Thermal Petrochemical Plants

Effective Lightning Protection Design For Thermal Petrochemical Plants

Lightning is a natural phenomenon that can have a significant impact on environment, production and people interacting with thermal petrochemical industries.

Thermal petrochemical plants and their storage facilities are uniquely vulnerable to lightning due to the facility designs and the often explosive and caustic nature of the raw materials being processed, handled, and transported.  Lightning strikes at these sites can have catastrophic effects– particularly fires and explosions- that pose significant risks to personnel and may result in extended outages, loss of productivity, and equipment/infrastructure failures.

However, these consequences can be avoided with suitable lightning protection designs and installation by certified companies.

Lightning protection design requirements are not adequately addressed by the national standards. A common example is explosive volumes that are created due to off-gassing from vent stacks, etc.  While a well-designed lightning protection system will prevent damage from direct strikes to the vent stacks themselves, the electrical response of the lightning protection system to the local thunderstorm conditions can ignite a flammable volume.  LEC provides innovative and customized lightning protection design solutions to address the unique requirements of thermal petrochemical plants and their storage facilities.

Drawbacks in the traditional lightning protection design

The Franklin lightning rod worked very well to protect the buildings and structures in use at the time – by providing a low-impedance path between cloud and ground. However, the large electromagnetic field generated by a lightning strike can cause damage in ways not anticipated by Franklin.

Effective lightning protection design for thermal petrochemical plants

It requires a systematic, multi-faceted approach and the very best in modern knowledge and technology. Also, every component of the plant needs to be considered separately for the protection to operate as it should.

Lightning Eliminators and Consultant’s best lightning protection system is respected as the industry leading solution and is installed on thousands of towers, buildings, plants, and factories. Due to the superior quality of the unique design, LEC continues to eliminate lightning strikes.

Our solution starts with understanding the electrical specification and relevant architectural drawings of your facility. We then offer a turnkey solution to any commercial property, with the backing of our experienced team for lightning protection design drawings, bill of materials required, installation, testing, and commissioning.

Contact us to stay protected!