How to prevent losses from explosions in grain storage facilities

Several studies report histories of dust explosion accidents.

We observe that dust explosions almost always lead to serious financial losses in terms of damage to facilities and downtime.

They also often cause serious injuries to personnel and fatalities. According to Technical Journals Online, from information from the Health & Safety Executive, 36 dust explosions with injury and 123 explosions without injury during the period 1979 to 1988.

The main pieces of equipment involved in the accidents were the mills, grinders, and filters.

In Brazil we have several incidents. We highlight here the explosion of cell C-2 of the vertical silo at the Port of Paranaguá, Curitiba (PR), which caused the death of 2 workers, in addition to five being injured. The probable cause for the explosion was the combustion of barley dust stored at the site, during a cleaning operation taking place on the tenth floor of the silo.

Industries that process products appearing in powder form at any stage of production carry a high risk of fire and explosion; consequently, they should conduct a thorough risk analysis and implement appropriate precautions prior to facility setup, as solutions are simpler and more cost-effective during the design phase. However, for existing facilities, you can rely on the expertise of a qualified professional—such as through a partnership with Wings—to effectively address these issues and mitigate inherent risks. Notable examples of industrial activities recognized as having high fire and explosion risks include the processing of agricultural products, animal feed manufacturing, food processing, metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, plastics manufacturing, wood processing, and the coal industry.

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