(111e) Flammable Gas Venting/Treatment Lessons Learned & Best Practices

Silane is a pyrophoric gas that requires special equipment and handling precautions to manage safely. Unfortunately many users have had various serious accidents with silane equipment since its popular inception in 1968 for semiconductor manufacture, including at least eight fatalities and many injuries. Silane usage is growing tremendously worldwide in various industries, including semiconductor, flat-panel display, photovoltaic cell, and specialty glass manufacturing. Significant uses of silane also require systems with the capability to safely vent or treat silane gas ? such as residual venting during container changes or emergency venting. Six hazards associated with venting and treating silane gas will presented in detail. Each hazard will be illustrated by an actual venting incident and resulting lessons learned will be presented. Preferred venting and treatment solutions will be discussed along with videos showing various types of venting system experiments and performance. The presentation materials have relevance to both pyrophoric gases and flammable gases that possess relatively low ignition energies.