Many types of dust generated during industrial processes are combustible, including food ingredients, metals, paper, pulp, plastics, textiles, biosolids, wood, rubber, dyes, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and pesticides. In addition, the dust collection system itself can be a source of an explosion if it isn’t designed or configured properly for your operation.
A dust collector is a closed vessel that is full of dry particles, which makes it ripe for an explosion. The collector holds four out of the five elements required for an explosion: fuel (the dust), oxygen, confinement and dispersion. The fifth element is the ignition source.