The importance of the ARAMIS approach outside the chemical industry: Application of MIMAH methodology to biogas production

Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion is currently one of the most emerging industrial sectors for energy production from renewable sources and current government funding are favoring its exploitation and development of the biogas market. From a process safety standpoint, Seveso Directive does not generally regulate biogas facilities since production plants are predominantly small to medium scale. However, recent literature has shown the rising trend of major accidents in the biogas supply chain, revealing the need for specific hazard identification. This paper describes the application of ARAMIS, more specifically the Methodology for the Identification of Major Accident Hazards (MIMAH), to a reference process scheme representing a typical small-size biogas production plant via anaerobic digestion. Bow-ties for the possible critical events related to the loss of containment of biogas from the anaerobic digester, and the most relevant hazardous piece of equipment were developed and their results are discussed.