Dust explosion prevention by addition of thermal inhibitors

Abstract

Combustible dusts such as flour, sugar, metals, plastics and coal are produced as end‐ or by‐products in many industries, including the chemical process industries. The risk of fire or explosion in the handling of these dusts has prompted considerable research effort in the areas of explosion prevention and mitigation. While this work has generally resulted in safer plant operation, the dust explosion hazard has not been eliminated.

Reducing aluminum dust explosion hazards: Case study of dust inerting in an aluminum buffing operation

“…The specific flame retardant used in the final formulation is proprietary, but is believed to be an aqueous halogenated compound. Adding inert or extinguishing materials to a potentially combustible dust is a recognized method to minimize or eliminate the fire and explosion hazards of a combustible dust described in the open literature [2,[11][12][13], reference books [14][15][16][17][18], and generally accepted industrial standards [19,20]. Historically, this method has been most widely used in coal mines where rock dust is spread on surfaces of the mine to inert coal dust.…”

Inhibition of aluminum‐silicon alloy dust explosion and flame byKH2PO4/montmorillonite composite powder

“…Note that the inerting ratio (α) was quoted in the experiment to facilitate the description of the explosion inhibitor. The inerting ratio (α) refers to the ratio of the mass of the inhibitor to the mass of the explosive dust 18 …”

“…The inerting ratio (α) refers to the ratio of the mass of the inhibitor to the mass of the explosive dust. 18…”

The role of inherently safer design in process safety

“… the use of various rock dusts (limestone, dolomite, and magnesite) in coal dust explosion applications, [ 109,110 ] prevention and mitigation of dust layer fires, [ 111–115 ] development of a new explosibility parameter known as the minimum inerting concentration (MIC), [ 116–118 ] the presence of fly ash in pulverized fuel carry‐over streams, [ 119,120 ] and mixtures of micro‐ and nano‐size metals with micro‐ and nano‐size metallic oxides. [ 121–123 ] …”