Dust Explosion Scenario Paper
Abstract taken from the paper:
Abstract
The new CCPS book, entitled Guidelines for Safe Handling of Powders and Bulk Solids,
discusses several different types of accident scenarios, including scenarios that can lead to a
combustible dust explosion.
The dust explosion scenarios are divided into the following three
categories:
Explosions within Process Equipment,
Explosion Propagation into Interconnected Equipment, and
Secondary Dust Explosions in Buildings.
Examples of process equipment explosion scenarios include dryer explosions involving particulate clouds or hybrid vapor-dust mixtures ignited by overheated (often smoldering) dust layers, blender explosions ignited by either electrostatic discharge or a failed bearing, and dust collector explosions ignited either by tramp metal impact against the collector wall, by a smoldering nest from upstream equipment, or by an electrostatic discharge. Explosion propagation into interconnected equipment often occurs via either pneumatic or conveyor transport ducting. Secondary explosions in buildings occur when the primary explosion causes a breach of equipment or a weak enclosure, and the associated blast wave creates a suspended dust cloud that is ignited by the vented flame from the primary explosion. Case histories illustrating these common dust explosion scenarios are described in this paper, along with a brief summary of dust explosion assessment tests that can be conducted to make material and facility specific determinations of the most appropriate protection measures.
