Explosive Dust
Most dust in manufacturing can be explosive. Any material that burns can be explosive. To be explosive the material has to be present in a high enough concentration and be confined, or else only a fire will occur. With OSHA concentrating on fire and explosion prevention, installing NFPA compliant equipment is now more important than ever. Aerodyne offers a variety of solutions for explosive applications. Our cyclones can be installed with explosion vents or chemical suppression systems. We have compact cyclones that can be installed indoors with the proper system design without requiring expensive explosion protections. And we have cyclones that use a secondary airstream that can lower the oxygen concentration, thereby preventing an explosive environment.
All dust collection systems are required by NFPA to have a Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA). This includes both new and existing systems. The DHA is a process where you analysis the process, determine if it’s dangers and then address those dangers with maintenance, procedures and safety equipment.
One of the first things you need to do in a DHA is determine if your dust is explosive. If the dust is not explosive, then no special requirements are needed. If the dust is explosive, then the DHA will determine what equipment, procedures or changes are required to protect the facility and the workers.
Besides NFPA compliant cyclones, Aerodyne can provide dust testing and pre-DHA consulting for processes.