ABSTRACT
The basic mathematical equations correlating the parameters affecting a dust or a gas explosion are almost equivalent. For a gas explosion, the fuel is in a gaseous state and is considered part of the volume. For dusts, the fuel is in a solid state and essentially is not considered part of the volume. The mixture formed when dust is dispersed in a vessel is rarely uniform either in density or in particle size distribution. A gaseous fuel is composed of molecules, but a dust is made up of macroscopic solid matter. Most dust explosions in both research and industry occur when air movement or an air blast disperses dust onto an igniting source. Except for aluminum and magnesium dusts, having impervious oxide coating, the ignition temperature tends to be lower for dust layers than for the low molecular-weight gases. It is striking that iron dust ignites at 310°C and manganese dust at 240°C.
