Does anyone have details? All I found was the headline.
Here is the latest as of 4:53PM yesterday from the Bellingham newspaper. Six cars derailed. The train was carrying molton sulfur. No spilsl or injuries. The line is closed while they clean up the derailment.
Train carrying molten sulfur derails in Whatcom County; BNSF investigation underway
By Jack Belcher Updated June 05, 2024 4:53 PM
An investigation is underway after a train derailed in Whatcom County on Tuesday night, June 4, 2024. The train, which was carrying molten sulfur, derailed around 10:45 p.m. near Custer. Six cars were derailed in the incident, according to BNSF. No injuries or spills were initially reported, according to Chief Jason Van der Veen with North Whatcom Fire and Rescue. âOur Division of Emergency Management has processes in place to support first responders in events such as this,â said Sheriff Donnell âTankâ Tanksley in a news release about the incident. âOur priority is always life safety, and it is gratifying that there was and is no risk to the public from this event.â There are also no reports of damage to private property, Van der Veen told The Bellingham Herald. BNSF employees and North Whatcom Fire and Rescue arrived to investigate the cause around midnight, Van der Veen told The Herald. BNSF is leading the ongoing investigation. The Herald has reached out to BNSF, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board for more information. âWe will continue to monitor developments, and respond as appropriate,â Tanksley said in the news release. Portal Way between Valley View and Arnie Road is closed due to the derailment and is expected to remain closed for the rest of the day, according to a Whatcom County Sheriffâs Office Face
How long before it freezes? Doe it expand when it freezes and can cars adapt to that expansion?
Sulphur is loaded into tank cars as a liquid (molten). At normal âroom temperaturesâ that sulphur becomes a solid. The consignees of molten sulphur, upon getting the cars in their plant hook the cars up to a steam supply which heats the contents back to a liquid state so the commodity can be unloaded.
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We haul it from several refineries around here. The driverâs call it the best running liquid tank load in the world. Youâre required to have the X endorsement to haul it but itâs as solid as a rock in the trailer at room temperature.
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Not too surprising. The melting point of sulfur is 115 degrees Celsius.
We laugh when the customer says must be kept heated while in shipment. We go why our coolant heaters donât have enough heat to keep it liquid. They run at under 100 C max unless the engine is running hotter than that pulling a hill.
Solid Sulphur is more dense than the liquid; it shrinks when it âfreezesâ
Liquid (molten) Sulphur: weighs 1 800 kg/mÂł
Solid Sulphur: weighs 2 070 kg/mÂł
As opposed to Water, which as we know - expands when it freezes
Note that the steam has to be supplied at sufficient saturation pressure that it will be âhotâ enough to melt the sulfur, with a heat-transfer area that liquefies the contents in a reasonable time.
Optimal âhandling temperatureâ is about 140 to 150 C, which translates into steam pressure of about 65 - 85psi. Higher pressure might be used for âfasterâ melting of bulk sulfur in the tank; istr references up to about 120psi.
Note that the transfer lines are often steam-jacketed as well as insulated. Sulfur is not quite as wretched as high-melting NaK if it freezes in the lines⌠but itâs still plenty wretched to deal with.
With NaK, one could run a current through it to warm it up.
Wouldnât you need god-level current density, especially since you have to treat it as parallel resistance in a metallic pipe
https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/5935241
Better just to use the eutectic around NaK-77, and arrange controlled higher-temperature atmosphere around parts of the system affected by lower ambient temperatureâŚ