Experimental determination of self-heating and self-ignition risks associated with the dusts of agricultural materials commonly stored in silos

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 175; no. 1; pp. 920 - 927
• Main Authors: Ramírez, Álvaro, García-Torrent, Javier, Tascón, Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 15.03.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Accidents, Occupational - prevention & control; Agricultural materials; Agriculture - methods; Applied sciences; Atmospheric pollution; Chemical engineering; Coal; Crops, Agricultural; Dust; Dust explosion; Equipment Design; Exact sciences and technology; Explosions - prevention & control; Facility Design and Construction; Fires; Food Handling; Food Industry - standards; Hot Temperature; Pollution; Reactors; Safety Management; Self-heating; Self-ignition; Silos; Temperature; Triticum; Silos; Self-ignition; Dust explosion; Agricultural materials; Self-heating; Ignition; Explosions; Pollutant emission; Thermal stability; Dust; Storage; Fires; Coal; Agricultural product; Self heating; Air pollution; Oxidation; Thermodynamic properties; Activation energy; Silo
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.10.096

Agricultural products stored in silos, and their dusts, can undergo oxidation and self-heating, increasing the risk of self-ignition and therefore of fires and explosions. The aim of the present work was to determine the thermal susceptibility (as reflected by the Maciejasz index, the temperature of the emission of flammable volatile substances and the combined information provided by the apparent activation energy and the oxidation temperature) of icing sugar, bread-making flour, maize, wheat, barley, alfalfa, and soybean dusts, using experimental methods for the characterisation of different types of coal (no standardised procedure exists for characterising the thermal susceptibility of either coal or agricultural products). In addition, the thermal stability of wheat, i.e., the risk of self-ignition determined as a function of sample volume, ignition temperature and storage time, was determined using the methods outlined in standard EN 15188:2007. The advantages and drawbacks of the different methods used are discussed.