7 Injured When NGV Tank Explodes While Being Filled

[george]

7 injured when NGV tank explodes while being filled

SAMUT PRAKAN: -- Seven people were injured when an NGV tank of a lorry exploded while being filled at a petrol station here late Sunday night.

The accident occurred at about half an hour after midnight at the PTT petrol station at the kilometer marker 29 of the Bang Na-Trat Road.

Police suspected that the tank might be made of substandard material or the staff who filled the gas might try to put in too much gas.

The injured were two station staff who were filling the gas next to each other, the drivers of two vehicles, whose tanks were being filled, the station owner, and two staff of the convenient store located in the station.

Most of them suffered from ear injuries.

-- The Nation 2008-03-

[BigSnake]

Yes hear tell these tank can be dangerous if not properly install, beware all.

[sibeymai]

Yes hear tell these tank can be dangerous if not properly install, beware all.

Installed, operated, inspected and maintained.

In 10 years from now it will be a regular occurrence for vechicles fitted with aged tanks to vanish in a ball of flame. You think Thai roads are dangerous now.....wait another 10 years.

[monty]

LPG is around for much longer then 10 yaers, yet you don't see LPG cars go up in flames every other day!

[hansnl]

LPG is around for much longer then 10 yaers, yet you don't see LPG cars go up in flames every other day!

Ah, but NGV, or Compressed Natural Gas is something very different from Liquified PetroleumGas.

The trick seems to be in the liquid form of LPG, at least, that is what I seem to remember.

What I do know is that in Rotterdam harbour the security measures for tanker with CNG are more stringent than for tankers with LPG, specially during loading and unloading.

The tank for CNG and LPG is VERY strong, I have seen a car that was hit by a train at high speed.

There were only parts to be found of the car plus inhabitants, but the tank minus the appendages was completely sound, scratched, with a few bumps, but after testing was still free of leaks!

Mostly when something goes wrong with LPG-cars, it is the appendages on the tank and on the engine.

And those should be controlled on a regular basis.

In Holland during the big traffic controls by combined police, customs and other authorities, the complete LPG installation is checked out as a matter of fact!

The problem with CNG is that a truck needs many tanks to get some range, and that means a lot of extra connections.

And there is Murphy's law!

When something can go wrong, it will go wrong!

And if one of the tanks goes, the chance for more going too is very big.

So it is........boom and then a split second later BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Oops

[kmart]

They obviously weren't wearing the correct amulets.

[Heng]

Gasoline rules.

[hansnl]

They obviously weren't wearing the correct amulets.

I have no idea, there were 3 people in the car, but only one transportcoffin was needed.

They are still looking for 3 feet, some ears, 2 arms, one complete leg, a nose, and an assortment of other parts.

So I guess wrong or no amulets, who knows

[misterman21]

They obviously weren't wearing the correct amulets.

Protective amulets are to be issued free when purchasing any sub standard crash helmet. Although, not untill after the Songkrahn period, as the numerous deaths due to serious head injurys during this time could stifle peoples believe in their effectiveness (the amulets not the helmets - there has never been any claim to the protecitve properties of the helmets)

[monty]

Biggest difference between LPG and CNG is the pressure at which it is stored.

CNG is stored at up to 200 Bar, LPG at up to 9 Bar.

So yep, when a CNG tank goes boom, it is with a serious bang

If I interpret the article correctly, it was the tank which failed...

[hansnl]

Biggest difference between LPG and CNG is the pressure at which it is stored.

CNG is stored at up to 200 Bar, LPG at up to 9 Bar.

So yep, when a CNG tank goes boom, it is with a serious bang

If I interpret the article correctly, it was the tank which failed...

Thank you!

As I understand CNG is still in gaseous form, while lpg is a liquid.

As I seem to remember from my green wearing instructor, gas always gives a nicer bang as liquids.

On the other hand, he was also a little mad!

[Martin]

"The injured were two station staff who were filling the gas next to each other, the drivers of two vehicles, whose tanks were being filled, the station owner, and two staff of the convenient store located in the station.

Most of them suffered from ear injuries."

Ah, the typical laziness of the modern (graduate) journalist, writing the half of the story that they can do without taking their backside off the chair at the office desk, and thinking that that is good enough.

In the days when they started as fifteen-year-old 'cubs', they learnt to do some legwork, and this story would have told us how far away the bang was heard, how far away windows blew in, and so on.

[thaisail]

Biggest difference between LPG and CNG is the pressure at which it is stored.

CNG is stored at up to 200 Bar, LPG at up to 9 Bar.

So yep, when a CNG tank goes boom, it is with a serious bang

If I interpret the article correctly, it was the tank which failed...

I am glad someone cleared up the difference between CNG and LPG. Any tank capable of withstanding that 200 bars of pressure, should have been hydro tested like a scuba tank. This hydro test is stamped on the tank by the person who tested the tank by filling it completely full with water and bringing the pressure up to 1.5 times the maximum allowed working pressure inside of concrete enclosure to make sure that if the tank exploded no one would be hurt. All tanks of this type of pressure must also have some sort of safety relief valve so that if someone is stupid enough to exceed that pressure, the filling would be stopped or vented off to safe place. I will be very interested to see what actually happened to cause this accident because having owned an LPG car for 10 years, I know that it is safer than gasoline by far if the installation and operation is done according to normal safety guidelines. I hope the person responsible for this accident will be found and given the right amount of punishment to be a deterrent to keep others from following this kind of insanity.

[george]

Update:

Tanks blamed for explosion

BANGKOK: -- Substandard NGV tanks have been blamed for an explosion that damaged five vehicles and injured seven people at a service station early Monday.

The explosion also damaged the roof of the PTT service station.

As customers waited to have their vehicles filled at the PTT service station on Bang Na - Trat Road in Samut Prakan, the tanks on a tenwheeled truck suddenly exploded. Three people remain hospitalised with ear injuries.

"The tanks were substandard," Energy Business Department directorgeneral Metta Banturngsuk said, after the results of an investigation.

According to Metta, the truck's iron tanks do not have a fibreglass lining and are unable to cushion normaloperation impacts. In all, there were up to eight NGV tanks, each measuring 1.2 metres, on the truck.

"We are going to summon the truck owner for questioning. We will find out who installed these substandard tanks," Metta said, "They must face legal action".

PTT executive Chitpong Kwangsuksathit also urged motorists to seek proper installation for NGV tanks if they switch from petrol to the cheaper choice of NGV.

"PTT can provide safe installation," he said.

--The Nation 2008-03-31

[slapout]

I am glad that due to this investigation we know the tanks were not capable of cushioning normal operation impacts. Now where are the rest of the results, namely what caused the intial explosion? What kind of abnormal impact to a tank would you have while refilling ? The conversion kits sold in Thailand range from CNG or LPG manufactor components to knock off copies with tanks rangeing from manufactor stamped to those built by somchai's welding shop. CNG and LPG conversion and use in motor vehicles is as safe as the people handleing it if equipt is built and installed to spec. To say the individual who installed the system "must face legal action" would indicated Mr Metta is not real aware of choices out there for the customer. The components used in these conversion kits are very seldom if ever made by the man or company who installs them.Of course we would not want to question the tank manufactor, unless the tanks are imported. I would wager PTT verfied it was not their company who installed the kit on this truck prior to saying what they did about safe installation. The truck involved had a safe installation of the kit as it had used up the fuel and was being refilled, now lets determine if it was a component or people failure that caused the explosion.

[Scott]

Well, I won't be filling up at one of those stations where they have NGV.

I wonder how many substandard tanks have been installed.