The dust flammability test starts from the explosion performance evaluation. This includes functional group checks, small-scale screening tests and oxygen balance/CHETAH calculations. At this time, the dust is marked as non-explosive or potentially explosive. The latter group conducts explosive analysis, including DSC screening and UN sensitivity testing. Some of these potentially explosive dusts are then recombined to be non-explosive.

　　 Dust explosion screening:

　　 Classification: When exposed to an ignition source in the form of a dust cloud, determine whether the powder or dust is explosive or non-explosive.

　　Ignition sensitivity:

　　Minimum Ignition Energy (MIE): Determine the minimum energy that can ignite static or mechanical sparks that disperse dust under environmental conditions.

　　Minimum ignition temperature (cloud): Determine the minimum temperature of the hot surface that can ignite the dust cloud

　　 Minimum ignition temperature layer (MIT layer): Determine the lowest temperature of the hot surface that can ignite the powder layer (5 mm deep).

　　 Flammability limit:

　　Limited Oxygen Concentration (LOC): Determine the maximum oxygen concentration that cannot ignite dispersed dust under ambient temperature and pressure.

　　Minimum Explosive Concentration (MEC): Determine the lowest concentration of dust that may be ignited.

　　Explosion severity:

　　Dust explosion severity: measure the severity of powder explosion according to specific pressure parameters

　　 Frequently asked questions about combustible dust hazards:

　　 1. What types of materials qualify as combustible dust?

　　 More than 70% of industrial powders are considered flammable. Processing powdered sugar, flour, aluminum powder and even aspirin creates a significant risk of fire and explosion, which can happen when the substance is in a powder layer, dust cloud or in the process of decomposition. Of course, there are other sources of combustible dust, and new materials that need to be tested are constantly being developed, but it is important to realize that even substances that are not normally associated with flammability or explosiveness can indeed cause catastrophic accidents. Due to a lack of awareness of the surrounding environment, these materials become more dangerous.

　　 2. What causes the dust or powder to ignite or explode?

　　 Generally speaking, fire requires fuel, oxidizer and ignition source, while explosion requires mixing and restriction. In the processing industry, fuel may be in powder or powder form-for example,-the oxidant is provided by air. In this case, ignition sources include sparks, flames or high temperatures. The mixing of air and flour forms a cloud of dust, combined with the presence of confinement and sparks or hot surfaces, creating a prerequisite for explosion.

　　 3. How do I start to deal with these dust hazards?

　　 Take a two-pronged approach: prevent the conditions required for fire or explosion, and protect your personnel and processes from being affected in the event of an accident. To do this, you need to establish a "security foundation", or a series of measures aimed at prevention and protection. First, you must check the dust and evaluate it:

　　 Flammability, the potential to form dust clouds, sensitivity to ignition sources, explosion limits, explosion severity, most of the information can be found in the material safety data sheet (MSDS) of the substance.

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