New Dust Explosion Research Study Launched

A new dust explosion research study was recently launched under a collaboration between DNV GL, provider of technical expertise to the oil and gas industry, and explosion safety consultants Gexcon AS, to develop new approaches to combustible dust incident prevention for industry, Oslo, Norway-based DNV announced Thursday. 

Created as a collaborative project to examine large-scale dust explosions and draft new guidelines for industry, DNV and Gexcon are currently seeking corporate partners to join the project.

“Though considerable research has been done on dust explosions, experimental work has taken place in small enclosures of less than 250m3,” Clara Huescar Medina, safety engineer with DNV GL, said in a company press release. “The increasing use of biomass, particularly wood material, in the power generation industry is raising safety concerns around the potential of dust explosions occurring and we are taking measures to help the industry understand the implications.”

The project will seek to uncover specific risks posed by dust explosions in sizeable environments like biomass power generation plants. Gexcon will contribute its dust explosion modelling, and DNV is offering the large-scale experimental capabilities of its DNV GL Spadeadam Research and Testing Centre in Cumbria, UK. 

For more information, visit DNV GL's web page on the project.

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