Defusing dust detonations

摘要

It is well known that organic food dusts pose a major explosion risk. Flour, sugar, coffee and cocoa tend to become volatile during milling and grinding processes. The risk of ignition during friction is elevated and dust in the atmosphere provides the fuel for a potentially devastating explosion. The risk of dust explosions occurring during food manufacturing processes is high across all sectors. HFL Risk Services carried out a study in 2011 revealing that 2,000 dust explosions occurred in factories and refineries in Europe. An estimated 24 per cent of those recorded dust explosions occur in the food industry.