Mr. Skinny
Alien Cryogenic Engineer
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2001
- Messages
- 7,843
Actually, an even more dangerous event occurs with LNG tankers.Badger said:
A tankerload of NGL (natural gas liquid) would make quite a big boom. If the tank cars rupture, allowing the liquid to gassify, when an ignition source is found, the explosion of the air/fuel mixture would be several times larger than the "Daisycutter" bomb.
I could see 3000 dead as a result, if this happened in a populated area.
When exposed to fire, an event known as a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) can occur. This occurs when a fire causes the LNG to increase in pressure while at the same time weakening the tank structure. Ultimately the tank explodes releasing a large amount of energy and sending shrapnel out for great distances.