What is a combustible dust?
NFPA 654 (2006) defines combustible dust as a solid particulate that presents a risk of fire or deflagration, regardless of size or shape, when suspended in air (or other oxidizing medium) at various concentrations.
Most explosive powders in the Industry
Why is a dust combustible?
By its KST (Deflagration Index), its Pmax (maximum pressure) and its MIE (Minimum ignition energy); Intrinsic variables in each dust, which, when confined and suspended, increases the possibility of exploding in a productive process.
Just 1/32” (0.80 mm) of dust (the thickness of a coin) on horizontal surfaces can cause severe explosions, capable of taking the lives of several people and destroying millions of dollars in a plant.
Do you know if your industrial dust is combustible?
Dust hazard analysis
FIKE CORPORATION offers dust analysis service to determine how dangerous it is. FIKE, a company with more than 65 years of experience, has equipment that measures variables such as KST, Pmax and MIE to determine the force that an explosion can achieve through specialized equipment.
Having a timely DHA (Dust Hazard Analysis) generates:
- Awareness of cleanliness.
- Classification of hazardous areas.
- Know and avoid ignition sources.
- Mitigate an imminent danger.
How to mitigate an explosion?
In a deflagration, the fire travels upstream and arrives at a speed greater than the speed of sound to the dust collection points, where there are always people in an environment enriched with air saturated with dust. For all of the above, the effect of the explosion must be mitigated. Fike is a specialist in active protection, that is, not only in protecting equipment from an explosion, but in isolating and extinguishing the fire before it spreads.