Electrical Safety for Refineries and Petrochemistry

Electrical safety in refineries is of paramount importance. A crude oil refinery is an industrial operation that converts crude oil using cleaning and distillation into fractions with a defined boiling point. There is further refinement, such as extraction or chemical cleansing processes. The result is higher-value products such as diesel, petrol, heating oil, or kerosene. Interruption to operations reduces delivery quantities. ISOMETER®s or RCMS residual current systems should therefore be used for monitoring across all process stages, ensuring the availability and safety of the plant and personnel.

The ungrounded system is often the best choice for power supply systems of all types, yet it is infrequently used compared to the grounded approach. It provides several advantages, including that it is inherently safe as the electrical connection between the ground and the star point on the transformer that supplies the system is left out. An ungrounded system can comprise another power source, such as a battery as an alternative to the supply transformer. Other advantages of the ungrounded system are fault localization during operation or in de-energized conditions, no undesirable service interruptions, early detection of deteriorations, and detection of symmetrical faults. In addition, ungrounded systems can provide measurements in DC systems and in mixed AC systems with DC components.