Many manufacturing companies handle, transport, process or store materials that can cause or become combustible dust. It's a likely risk for your facility that you can tackle with proper support and equipment. Keep your employees and business safe. Learn more about combustible dust and how the right equipment can help you mitigate the risks.
What is combustible dust?
The fine particles or powders released in many manufacturing processes, such as wood, sugar, flour, aluminium and steel, hold the potential to ignite and even explode. In other words: the dust that accumulates across your manufacturing site is not as harmless as it seems (which is one of many misconceptions about it). It settles in difficult-to-reach places, which makes it challenging to control the combustible cloud it will likely form if it is disturbed in any way.
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How does combustible dust catch fire?
Oxygen, fuel and heat are often called the fire triangle. In theory, you can prevent a fire or explosion by taking one of those away. So, your combustible dust mitigation strategy should cover all the bases, combining your business-specific expertise with extensive knowledge of combustible dust hazards and how to prevent them.
How does combustible dust explode?
In addition to the fire triangle, we speak of an explosion pentagon. It can help you understand the factors contributing to the severity and likelihood of an explosion. When combustible dust becomes airborne and mixes with oxygen, it becomes potentially explosive. Once that mixture encounters an ignition source, an explosion gets triggered. Confinement limits the space an explosion has to move. That means the heat and energy can rapidly increase, thereby increasing the severity of the explosion.
The essentials of your risk mitigation strategy
To prevent and mitigate the risk of fire or explosion, you must address each element of the fire triangle and the explosion pentagon.
1. Control dust accumulation
Keep your site free of dust to the best of your abilities. You can do so with good household practices, such as keeping your surfaces and floors clean.
2. Minimize the formation of dust clouds
With the correct dust control equipment, dust can be removed from the work area before it can form a dangerous dust cloud.
3. Eliminate or control ignition sources
As we mentioned before, removing the ignition source is an effective way to keep combustible dust from catching fire or exploding. Keep static electricity at a minimum by grounding your equipment and controlling any sparks flying around in the manufacturing process.
4. Focus on dust dispersion control
Minimise the suspension and spread of combustible dust particles in the air using potent dust collectors and ventilation systems.
5. Reduce pressure buildup
In the event of an explosion, you need the right equipment to have it happen safely. Proper explosion venting and pressure relief systems can help you keep the explosion under control.
Equipment delivered by experts
With the right filtration solutions, you will be well on your way to keeping your employees and operations safe from combustible dust hazards. When you choose a filtration equipment supplier, find one that can deliver solutions customised to your situation and test equipment thoroughly.
Our engineers have extensive expertise in designing custom filtration solutions for manufacturing facilities across various industries. Only after rigorous testing do we offer our solutions to our customers. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Watch how we put our dust collector to the test at a state-of-the-art test site under the watchful eye of Melina Diaz, Product Engineering Manager at Donaldson Europe.
