Aspects regarding the explosion risk assessment of installations in atmospheres with combustible dust

Abstract

Many industrial processes involving the presence of dust and combustible dust, suspended or accumulated in the form of deposits, have the potential to lead to a fire, explosion or decomposition in the presence of oxygen. As the damage caused by an explosion of dust is generally greater than that caused by explosions of flammable gases and vapours, a special attention must be paid to measures and means of protection and prevention of explosions of dust. A dust explosion can only occur if there is mainly a potentially explosive atmosphere generated by the air / dust mixture and a source of ignition. The level of safety is given by the operational efficiency of the employees and technical equipment involved in the production process to ensure that at least one of the above conditions is eliminated. The probability of a dust explosion is related to the physicochemical properties of the processed materials, together with the nature of the operations performed and the equipment used. This paper highlights the principles and factors that must be taken into account when conducting an explosion risk assessment in installations with combustible dust atmospheres in order to establish prevention and protection measures, with the aim of ensuring a tolerable level of risk.