Chemical Exposure Index (CEI) and Pilot Plants

The Chemical Exposure Index of petrochemicals is used to properly select the pilot plant and safety protection necessary to minimize the chemical airborne release rates and exposure to personnel within the processing facility.

As part of Intertek’s services to assist in identifying new process technologies, the Chemical Exposure Index (CEI) as calculated in Dow’s Chemical Exposure Index Guide will be used to evaluate programs on a case-by-case basis to determine whether continuous pilot plant testing or batch reactor testing is feasible. 

The CEI will be calculated from the estimated airborne release rate of each chemical compound and its ERPG-2 value which is defined as the maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed that nearly all individuals could be exposed for one hour without experiencing or developing irreversible or other serious health effects or symptoms that could impair their abilities to take protective actions. The ERPG value of each chemical will be obtained from its Material Safety Data Sheet. The chemicals are then grouped into four categories (A through D) according to their CEI. Current operation has been mainly restricted to “Group A” chemicals.  Independent protection layers will be evaluated to determine if the risks in continuous pilot plant systems can be reduced to acceptable levels. Alternatively, the quantity of material used and thus released can be substantially reduced by batch reactor testing with the batch reactor being potentially located in a fume hood. 

Contact us to see how Intertek can help your organization with Chemical Exposure Index (CEI) and Pilot Plants.