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Case 3: Electrostatic discharge leads to fuel gas.

Case 3: Electrostatic discharge leads to fuel gas.

Jan 25,2021

Case 3: Electrostatic discharge leads to fuel gas.

On July 12, 1997, a CMB full of passengers was refueling at a gas station in Nanjing. The inside of the fuel tank suddenly burst into flames. When the fueler pulled out the fuel gun, a small amount of remaining oil splashed on the back of his hand and on the clothes, the back of his hands and clothes caught fire. At that time, the passengers in the car were panicked. Some rushed down the CMB and some jumped out of the window. At this time, the fueler did not panic, immediately shut down the tanker, and while slamming the fire on his body, he quickly pushed in the 35kg dry powder fire extinguisher. The fuel tank fire was extinguished in just 5 seconds. A fire accident with disastrous consequences was avoided.


Brief analysis: The sudden fire from inside the fuel tank of a car is mainly caused by electrostatic discharge. There may be many reasons for electrostatic discharge. For example, the electrostatic lead-out wire of the fueling gun is broken due to frequent bending: the electrostatic grounding wire of the fueling machine is broken; the electrostatic grounding resistance of the fueling machine exceeds the specified value; the fuel tank contains more impurities, and more static electricity is generated during the refueling process. When the static electricity accumulates to the discharge voltage, the static discharge induces fuel gas.


Under certain conditions, a person’s body can be electrostatically charged by friction and natural environmental conditions. The “Personal Electrostatic Eliminating Alarm” device is designed to prevent the accumulation and accidental discharge of static electricity from a person's body.