Dust Explosions

HANDBOOK OF POWDER TECHNOLOGY Volume 4

DUST EXPLOSIONS

J.C. WILLIAMS and T. ALLEN, EDITORS

PETER FIELD

Fire Research Station, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

HANDBOOK OF POWDER TECHNOLOGY

Copyright

Dedication

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

Publisher Summary

Chapter 2: THE DUST EXPLOSION HAZARD

Publisher Summary

2.1 AN HISTORICAL VIEW OF DUST EXPLOSIONS

2.2 WHAT IS A DUST EXPLOSION?

2.3 INFLUENCE OF SOME CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL VARIABLES ON THE INITIATION AND PROGRESS OF A DUST EXPLOSION

2.4 INDUSTRIES AT RISK

2.5 DUST EXPLOSION INCIDENTS

Chapter 3: DETERMINATION OF DUST EXPLOSION PARAMETERS AND THEIR INTERPRETATION

Publisher Summary

3.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND

3.2 ACTION REQUIRED BEFORE SUBMITTING A SAMPLE FOR EXPLOSIBILITY TESTING

3.3 EXPLOSIBILITY TESTS IN THE UK

3.4 EXPLOSIBILITY TESTS IN THE USA

3.5 DUST EXPLOSIBILITY TESTS IN SELECTED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

3.6 INTERPRETATION OF EXPLOSIBILITY DATA

Chapter 4: PREVENTION OF DUST EXPLOSIONS

Publisher Summary

4.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND

4.2 DUST CONTROL

4.3 PREVENTION, DETECTION, AND ELIMINATION OF POTENTIAL IGNITION SOURCES IN POWDER HANDLING PLANT

Chapter 5: EXPLOSION PROTECTION

Publisher Summary

5.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND

5.2 EXPLOSION CONTAINMENT

5.3 PLANT SEPARATION

5.4 EXPLOSION RELIEF VENTING

5.5 SIZING OF RELIEF VENTS*

5.6 LOCATION OF EXPLOSION RELIEF VENTS AND TYPICAL VENT COVERS

5.7 EXPLOSION SUPPRESSION

5.8 APPLICATION OF EXPLOSION PROTECTION METHODS TO SELECTED PLANT

APPENDIX A: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

APPENDIX B: SELECTED LIST OF ORGANISATIONS HAVING EXPERTISE IN THE STUDY OF DUST EXPLOSIONS

APPENDIX C: SIMPLIFIED ASSESSMENT OF A DUST EXPLOSION HAZARD

APPENDIX D: EXPLOSIBLE DUSTS

APPENDIX E: NON-EXPLOSIBLE DUSTS

APPENDIX F: EXPLOSION PARAMETERS OF COMBUSTIBLE DUSTS

REFERENCES

AUTHOR INDEX

SUBJECT INDEX

HANDBOOK OF POWDER TECHNOLOGY

Edited by J.C. WILLIAMS

School of Powder Technology, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

and T. ALLEN

Senior Consultant Engineer, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.

The Handbook presents, in convenient form, existing knowledge in all specialized areas of Powder Technology.

Information that can be used for the design of industrial processes involving the production, handling and processing of particulate materials so far did not exist in a form in which it is readily accessible to design engineers. Scientists responsible for characterizing particulate materials, specifying the requirements of industrial processes, operating plants, or setting up quality-control tests all have similar problems in their fact-finding missions through the scattered and scanty literature. The aim of this handbook is to remedy this deficiency by providing a series of thematic volumes on various aspects of powder technology. Each volume is written as a monograph and can be used independently of other volumes.

Emphasis is placed on setting out the basic concepts of the subject and discussing their applications to the design, selection and operation of equipment of an industrial scale. To ensure timely publication, each volume will be published as soon as the material has been delivered by the authors.

Vol. 1. Particle Size Enlargement (C.E. Capes)

Vol. 2. Fundamentals of Gas-Particle Flow (G. Rudinger)

Vol. 3. Solid-Gas Separation (L. Svarovsky)

Vol. 4. Dust Explosions (P. Field)

Vol. 5. Solid-Liquid Separation Processes and Technology (L. Svarovsky)

Vol. 6. The Packing of Particles (D.J. Cumberland and R.J. Crawford)

Vol. 7. Dispersing Powders in Liquids (R.D. Nelson)

Copyright

ELSEVIER SCIENCE PUBLISHERS B.V.

Sara Burgerhartstraat 25

P.O. Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands

First edition 1982

Reprinted (with amendments) 1989

ISBN 0-444-40746-4 (Vol. 4)

© P. Field, 1982 (with the exception of British Crown Copyright Material)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author and the publisher, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V./Physical Sciences & Engineering Division, P.O. Box 330, 1000 AH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein.

Printed in The Netherlands

Dedication

To Julia and our children : Rebecca, Christopher and Nicki – and to my parents

PREFACE

This, I believe, is the first book to be devoted solely to providing a comprehensive coverage of the subject of dust explosions. It has been written in such a way that it should become a valuable reference for experienced personnel, such as plant managers, engineers, designers, and safety officers, as well as the inexperienced operative of powder handling plant who may have little or no understanding of the hazards of combustible dusts. The book should be of interest to all those involved in the manufacture and handling of powdered materials and would be a useful addition to the libraries of universities and polytechnics concerned with chemical engineering.

The approaches employed to deal with the dust explosion hazard have been relatively slow to develop up until the last decade, but now extensive research has been carried out in a number of countries and has resulted in a better understanding of the problem and led to the development of more refined methods of explosion prevention and protection.

The book initially deals with the dust explosion problem in general terms and describes how and why dusts explode and what factors influence the initiation and severity of an explosion. The historical development of the dust explosion problem to the present day is considered and a number of significant explosion incidents are outlined.

In order that explosion prevention and explosion protection techniques can be specified with confidence for a particular dust it is essential that the explosion characteristics of the dust are known. The numerous methods, some of which are new, used to determine these parameters in Europe and the USA are described, as are aspects of their interpretation and application.

The ‘common sense’ features of explosion prevention are highlighted since they are too often overlooked; these include the control of dust suspensions by extraction and collection techniques. Detailed consideration is given to the avoidance of the various types of ignition source most frequently responsible for initiating dust explosions, and their association with specific plant and processes is also dealt with. A very important method of explosion prevention concerns the reduction of oxygen concentration in the air to a level at which an explosion cannot be initiated; this is discussed in terms of established inerting techniques in which inert gas (e.g. nitrogen, carbon dioxide) is used to partially displace the atmosphere into which the dust is suspended.

Explosion protection is an area in which significant advances have been made in recent years and this is fully discussed, with particular emphasis being given to explosion relief venting and the methods used to determine the size of such vents about which there has been much debate and controversy; explosion suppression is also considered. Sample calculations have been included to assist in the understanding of ‘vent sizing’, and the application of explosion protection methods to industrial plant including grain elevators is also dealt with.

The most recent work on the subject, occurring too late to be incorporated in the main text, has been included in the appendices. Also included here are a list of world-wide centres of expertise in the study of the dust explosion problem, a ‘quick reference’ simplified assessment of the dust explosion problem, lists of known explosible and non-explosible dusts, together with the explosion parameters of an extensive range of explosible dusts.

The book is a source of information on the subject of dust explosions and the contents are as factual and accurate as it has been possible to verify. In any case of doubt concerning a specific problem, expert advice should be sought and use made of the many references included in the book which have been selected in order to provide additional information on specific aspects of the subject.

I hope that the reader of this book will obtain a sound understanding of the subject and that, as a consequence, if he or she is associated with powder handling processes, they will operate in a safe manner, due account having been taken of the explosion hazards of dust and the need for adequate explosion prevention and explosion protection techniques, as indicated in this book.

Peter Field

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is deeply grateful to colleagues at the Fire Research Station, Borehamwood, England, for their considerable help and encouragement during the preparation of the text and, in particular, to Mr. K.N. Palmer who provided valuable advice and comments on the text. Thanks are due to researchers and organisations throughout the world whose work has been referred to in the text, especially the following individuals and organisations, who either made specific contributions or provided information on various aspects of the subject: Dr. W. Bartknecht, Ciba-Geigy, Central Safety Service, Basle, Switzerland; Dr. R.K. Eckhoff, Christian Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway; Dipl. Chem. G. Kühnen, Berufsgenossenschaftliches Institut für Arbeitssicherheit (BIA), Bonn, W. Germany; Dr. rer. nat. G. Leuschke, Bundensanstalt für Materialprüfung (BAM), Berlin; National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Boston, USA.

The author would also like to thank the companies and organisations that have contributed photographs to complement the text, specific acknowledgement being given alongside the appropriate photographic plate.

Finally, thanks are due to Dr. J.C. Williams for his most helpful editorial comments.

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Publisher Summary

This chapter discusses the initiation of dust explosions and highlights the typical industries at risk. Dust explosions occur in any industry handling fine particulate combustible material. A dust capable of causing an explosion is regarded as explosible and its explosion characteristics are referred to as its explosibility. The frequency of dust explosions is not in the case of explosions resulting from flammable gas, and this is one of the principal reasons why it has taken so long for the explosion hazards of dusts to become widely recognised. Dust explosions occur when combustible dusts are suspended in air or some other flammable atmosphere and are subjected to a source of ignition. The severity of a dust explosion depends on many factors, but a principal influence is the particle size becausethe consequences of a dust explosion worsen with decrease in particle size. This chapter is guide for managers, scientists, engineers, safety personnel, and others involved in the handling and processing of materials in solid particulate form. It describes the available knowledge, drawn from many countries, on the subject of dust explosions and indicates the methods used to assess, remove, or minimize the hazard.

Dust explosions can occur in any industry handling fine particulate combustible material. An understanding of what is meant by a dust in the context of dust explosions is needed, since a number of terms applied to materials having specific particulate characteristics are often used indiscriminately. A British Standard [1] states that a powder is composed of discrete particles of dry material having a maximum dimension of less than 1000 µm, grit is defined as hard particles, usually mineral, of natural or industrial origin, retained on a 75-µm BS test sieve, while a dust is said to be particulate matter which is, or has been airborne and passes a 75-μm BS test sieve. These terms, whilst being technically appropriate in certain industrial situations, can lead to confusion in the context of dust explosions. Since combustible particulate matter in excess of 75 µm is known to be capable of causing an explosion, the term dust, in respect of dust explosions and throughout this book, should be regarded as combustible particulate matter capable of being airborne and generally having a particle size less than 500 µm. Another term used to avoid confusion is the term explosible, which is preferred to explosive, the latter being used in connection with high explosives. A dust capable of causing an explosion is therefore regarded as explosible and its explosion characteristics are referred to as its explosibility. It is also appropriate at this stage to point out that the pressures referred to throughout this book, unless otherwise stated, are gauge pressures, and that the unit of pressure is the bar, (where 1 bar = 10² kN/m² = 14.5 lbf/in²).

The frequency of dust explosions is not as great as in the case of explosions resulting from flammable gas and this may be one of the principal reasons why it has taken so long for the explosion hazards of dusts to become widely recognised. Recent widespread recognition of the industrial explosion hazard probably resulted from several major explosions in the American grain industry towards the end of 1977, which involved large loss of life and widespread destruction of plant. However, some industries still find it difficult to accept that a hazard exists with a material that may have been handled safely over a long period. In other industrial processes, the hazard is not acknowledged either because the main product of the factory is not in particulate form and is in some cases inert, or because it is not recognised through ignorance. A dust explosion has often been initiated because of the careless handling of an unwanted combustible by-product. Typical industries at risk include those involving the manufacture of