A Comprehensive Approach to Dust Explosion Risk Reduction

粉尘爆炸是一种持续的工业事件，继续对人员造成伤害，对设备和建筑物造成损坏，因工艺停机和随后的商业活动中断而造成经济损失，以及自然环境的退化。采取适当措施防止粉尘爆炸发生并保护工人和设施免受此类事件后果的影响，在伦理、道德、法律的和财政方面都有很强的理由。本提案中描述的研究计划旨在帮助确保加拿大和全球工业企业在易燃颗粒材料的储存、加工和运输方面的安全运营。将在三个主题下开展研究：（一）灾害特性;（二）基本认识;（三）创新的减少风险技术。这些研究主题相辅相成，共同提供粉尘爆炸危害和减少风险措施的知识基础，将有效地传达给全球研究和工业实践界。要研究的具体燃料/空气系统是：（一）纳米材料（纤维素纳米晶体），（二）生物质（焙烧木材），（三）絮凝材料（低密度聚乙烯），（四）混合混合物（低密度聚乙烯和碳氢化合物气体），以及（五）轻微爆炸性粉尘（铁）。这些系统被称为“非传统的”，因为它们不代表现有的可燃粉尘球形颗粒的知识体系。因此，有必要对这些非传统的危险燃料/空气系统进行深入和创新的研究。本计画拟聘之研究人员包括五位合作制本科生、四位硕士研究生及两位博士研究生。虽然正在进行个别项目，但将强调以团队为基础的办法，以使人们接触到在各种研究活动中发展的实验、建模和分析技术技能的补充技能。因此，一批高素质的人员将接受与加拿大工业、学术界和政府劳动力有关的技能培训。在该方案范围内进行的研究对加拿大最重要的好处将是保护其公民免受工业粉尘爆炸的威胁生命的影响。这项工作有可能对如何看待粉尘爆炸方面的研究需求以及如何预防和缓解工业粉尘爆炸产生重大影响。

Dust explosions are a persistent industrial occurrence that continue to cause harm to people, damage to equipment and buildings, economic loss from process downtime and the subsequent interruption in business activities, and degradation of the natural environment. There are strong ethical, moral, legal and financial arguments for taking appropriate steps to prevent dust explosions from happening and to protect workers and facilities from the consequences of such events. The research program described in this proposal is aimed at helping to ensure safer operation of industrial enterprises in Canada and worldwide with respect to the storage, processing and transportation of combustible particulate materials.***Research will be conducted under three themes: (i) hazard characterization, (ii) fundamental understanding, (iii) and innovative risk reduction techniques. These research themes are complementary and work together to provide a knowledge base of dust explosion hazards and risk reduction measures that will be effectively communicated to the global research and industrial practice communities. The specific fuel/air systems to be investigated are: (i) nanomaterials (cellulose nanocrystals), (ii) biomass (torrefied wood), (iii) flocculent materials (low-density polyethylene), (iv) hybrid mixtures (low-density polyethylene and hydrocarbon gases), and (v) marginally explosible dusts (iron). These systems are termed "non-traditional" in that they are not representative of the established body of knowledge that exists for spherical particles of combustible dust. There is therefore a need for intensive and innovative studies of these non-traditional hazardous fuel/air systems.***The research personnel to be engaged in the proposed program include five undergraduate co-op students, four Master's students, and two PhD candidates. Although individual projects are being pursued, a team-based approach will be emphasized to create exposure to skills supplementary to the experimental, modelling and analytical technical skills to be developed throughout the various research activities. A body of highly qualified personnel will thus be trained in skills relevant to the Canadian workforce in industry, academia and government.***The most important benefit to Canada of the research to be undertaken within this program will be the protection of its citizens from the life-threatening effects of industrial dust explosions. This work has the potential to have a significant impact on how research needs with respect to dust explosions are viewed, and how the prevention and mitigation of dust explosions in industry are approached.**