1. What is a BLEVE?

The acronym BLEVE stands for Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion. Strictly speaking, BLEVE corresponds to explosive vaporization.

This term was coined in the 60s to designate the rupture of a container holding a liquid at a temperature well above its boiling point at atmospheric pressure. This phenomenon therefore basically covers all overheated liquids.

From the 1970s onwards, the use of this term was progressively restricted to flammable products, and in particular hydrocarbons. Today, BLEVE is mainly associated with petroleum fuel gases (PFG), which include liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) such as propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10).